Dream Street

WHAT NYMITH SAYS

A rotten idea in the first place: turn Peggy Lee into Frank Sinatra. Because Decca executives know that's what we all really want when we listen to Peggy Lee: Frank Sinatra! Makes sense, doesn't it?

In the service of this idea, Lee's musical directors put in an order for harp (the most prominent instrument by far), vibraphone and piano and seemingly interrupted all of Lee's first takes to tell her "Peggy, take the edge off. Do it again, but gently." The songs they selected also lacked melodic potential and so the whole thing ended up a gruesomely inadequate and rather exploitative rip-off of In the Wee Small Hours that actually comes out worse, lacking that album's groundbreaking significance and wasting the talents of a singer who was still going strong in those years.

In all fairness, the attempt may have been equally inspired by the previous year's rendition of 'You're My Thrill,' which in hindsight was something of a blueprint for Dream Street - a tuneless dirge with harp and bells all over it. But you know how Peggy sang THAT one? She sang it like the object of her affection was tied to a chair and she was whispering it in his ear. It was bloody well intense and unforgettable - and contrary to first impressions, contained plenty of energy, noticeably missing here.

Beyond Sy Oliver's saccharine, faux-artsy arrangements, the song selection is also to blame. Two songs from In the Wee Small Hours are placed right next to each other in the middle of the album - no way was that accidental - but the main problem is that these showtunes are played like showtunes. I've seen My Fair Lady and in the context of the film 'I've Grown Accustomed to [Her] Face' worked as an epiphany on Rex Harrison's part but here the dramatic pauses and heavy silences are kept while the visual component and story buildup are removed. It no longer makes sense as a song and becomes a slice of slow, ponderous fluff surrounded by similar (and even weaker) material. The showtune teams who wrote these songs came up with some precious little phrases, too... "I love my ceiling more / now that it is a dancing floor?" "My old flame / I can't even think of his name?" Stoner rock's got nothing on this stuff.

As with In the Wee Small Hours there is a total lack of passion and desperation despite the melancholy vibe they're clearly aiming for. Peggy even sounds disinterested. Two seperate attempts are made to raise the energy level, namely 'Something I Dreamed Last Night' (with locomotive percussion and a vibraphone break) and 'It's All Right With Me.' They're not bad songs and should work but in this environment Peggy almost seems nervous about revving it up.

So what works on an album like this? Not a lot. 'Street of Dreams' builds some tension through a good violin intro and has a certain elegance that the rest of the songs merely shadow. 'Too Late Now' transforms into a quasi-Arabian fantasia ... for some reason. It doesn't fit the song but it does make it stand out a bit in the chintzy fairyland of bells and harps that is Dream Street.

The punchline comes at the end, when standup bass ushers in a jazzy, playful take on 'So Blue' that serves the sole purpose of saying "Peggy Lee's still got it!" It sounds like an outtake from an earlier, happier session. Remember when John Lennon ended Mind Games with 'Meat City,' like he was saying "I could have rock and rolled my way through this session but chose not to?" The producers of Dream Street could be saying the same thing. Not being John Lennon, they did not get away with their choice.

I don't really have to mention that this is a completely conservative record for 1957, since In the Wee Small Hours was conservative for 1955. It may have been designed as a conscious demonstration of what "adult" music should be all about, as the rock and roll wave gained ground but it actually serves to demonstrate why the Songbook and the Singers were losing all relevancy. You want an album from 1957 that proves the opposite? Go listen to Lena Horne's Stormy Weather, a hot coal next to Dream Street's sugarcube.

WHAT TICHARU SAYS

Whether you like this album or not, music is such a subjective thing, all I can say is I didn't hear what I love about Peggy Lee in this collection. It has a half-baked, under performed quality. Sure, there are some performances better than others and the low-key tone of the record might appeal in a certain mood. It actually sounds pretty good on headphones. If the producers were telling Peggy to "take the edge off", well that's exactly what made Peggy such a fabulous singer. The edge! She knew what she was doing in front of a microphone. Don't mess with a natural artist. So this album is a bit of a disappointment.

I don't doubt that producing an album for the 1957 market would be choppy waters. It worked out reasonably well for all involved would be my guess. 60 odd years after the fact and I'm disappointed with production decisions. One is tempted to say whatever!

If you're just now discovering Peggy Lee it is most likely through a collection of her best work and a few of these tracks will find there way into a collection like that. You'd have to be listening pretty close for it to make any difference. For the year 1957 The Cold Coffee Music Library ranks Dream Street a step off the mark from Peggy's usual brilliance.

Cover Critique: A copy of In the Wee Small Hours with all the noire mystique removed. This is supposed to be a themed album centered on lost love but Lee's look is one of vacant optimism. Meh. Two stars. Nymith

It looks like the Peggy Lee colouring book! Start again... Ticharu