The Puppini Sisters : We Have All the Time in the World

The Puppini Sisters are a vocal team (not actually sisters, although one is actually named Puppini) who perform swing music with close vocal harmonies, much like the Andrews Sisters and other similar acts. They perform all sorts of tunes, from old swing standards like "In the Mood" to more modern tunes like "Heart of Glass", "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Crazy in Love", as well as some originals.

"We Have All the Time in the World", originally sung by Louis Armstrong, was written by John Barry for the soundtrack to On His Majesty's Secret Service. The lyrics were penned by Hal David, who was the other half of the classic Bacharach/David songwriting machine.  The song is played over the closing credits of the movie as James Bond cradles his dead wife, so in the movie there's a sort of sad irony to the lyrics.  But it's a gorgeous song with a lush melody that expertly straddles the line between joy and pathos. 

Here the sisters turn this hidden gem into a slow, stilted cabaret-style waltz in a surprising 5/4.  The song is primarily scored with an acoustic jazz trio, but it starts and ends with some plaintive accordion and is enveloped in the middle with sumptuous strings.  And of course they bring their gorgeous voices to bear on some exquisite harmonies which you won't find on the original, but which send the song truly soaring.

You can find "We Have All the Time in the World" on the Puppini Sisters' most recent release, 2007's The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo. Everything I've heard off this album has been top notch, and it's at the top of my "to buy" list.

[You can listen to The Puppini Sisters' "We Have All the Time in the World" by navigating to the post "Song099" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Tears for Fears : I Believe

Okay, here's a secret. With all the crazy, wild and fun music I listen to, one of my top ten favorite albums of all time, coming in just under Paul Simon's Graceland which I think at this point takes top honors, is Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair. You've already heard the two most popular songs from the album, "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". "Shout" used to get on my nerves something awful, but I loved, loved, loved "Everybody". That's what prompted me to get the LP in the first place, I think.

I remember being 15 and driving at night in our Subaru through the back country of ... Montana? Colorado? Utah? One of those western states, through desert and down canyon roads with my mom in the car and this cassette playing over and over. Bless her heart, it must have cycled around five or six times before she finally asked me to take it out. She doesn't really like music at all, especially anything like this, but she put up with it. I love ya, mom.

There were a couple of tunes I could have chosen. I thought about going with the Discipline-inspired "Broken" or the moody electronic Yaz-ish art rock of "Listen". Instead I went for the simple, still beauty of "I Believe".

"I Believe" is 'blue-eyed soul'. That is, sweet soul sung by white boys. That sounds perversely derogatory, but it's actually complimentary, applied to Robert Palmer (pre-"Addicted to Love") and Daryl Hall ("Sara Smile" anybody?) back in their heyday. Nowadays people throw it at Michael Bolton and Joss Stone, both of whom make me shudder.

The song is simply orchestrated. A jazzy kit, some piano and a lone sax, plus the vocals.  It plays like a light jazz combo in a hotel lounge. The vocal line is superb, soft but strong, with a subtly complex melody, on top of which they throw in some tricky little touches. At one point a sax solo steps in & takes over, purposefully derailing the rest of the band. At another, there's a sudden burst of light applause, a phantom audience suddenly expressing their approval at an incongruous announcement from the singer.

It's a gorgeous song and I hope you enjoy it. "I Believe" is from Tears for Fears' excellent 1985 release, Songs from the Big Chair.

[You can listen to Tears for Fears' "I Believe" by navigating to the post "Song068" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Ralph Font : Cosita Linda

"Ay, Cosita Linda" (which I think means "Hey, pretty little thing") was written by Pacho Galan, a Columbian composer, and was made somewhat popular by a recording of the song by Nat "King" Cole on 1959's A Mis Amigos LP. I can't tell for sure, but I think this recording came out before that, most likely in the early fifties.

Ralph Font was a New York jazzster put out a couple of latin-themed albums. The music on his album Tabu is relatively generic small-combo latin jazz, and there are (literally) a thousand records that sound just like this one. But it's a peppy little record and fun listening, chock full of latin standards, like "Bésame Mucho", "The Peanut Vendor" and "Tabu", with "Cosita Linda" being my favorite.

Font kicks off his take with a nifty little piano run, into a snare hit, and then the vocals. Now the vocals (in what seems to be a running theme here) are what makes the song for me. The combo is solid. It's a fine latin-tinged cocktail-jazz workout, led by the piano and backed by a plethora of percussion instruments. There's some good horn work and a nifty trumpet solo, but what truly puts it over the top are the vocals. Every time the singers pipe in with a line, everything else stops and drops out. The vocals themselves are relatively quiet next to the bustle of the rest of the tune and they're sung in an oddly low-register falsetto. They're almost... cute. As if some shy hispanic guy just tapped a pretty lady on the shoulder and is politely asking her to dance.

As I mentioned before, this fun little ditty can be found on Font's album Tabu. If you see it in a thrift store (it's not on CD), it's definitely worth a buck. You'll at least have something fab to drop the needle on the next time you're making margaritas. And as for the cover art, well, we'll just say it's clearly the product of a bygone era, and leave it at that.

[You can listen to Ralph Font's "Cosita Linda" by navigating to the post "Song010" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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