This album opens with a cover of “Blossom’s Blues,” here titled “Roberta’s Blues.” The song’s first lines will be familiar to Grateful Dead fans, for they are a variation on lines from “New Minglewood Blues,” which was written by Noah Lewis and covered by the Dead throughout the band’s thirty-year career. “My name is Roberta, I was raised in a lion’s den/Now my name is Roberta, I was raised in a lion’s den/My nightly occupation is stealing other women’s men.” This is a playful, totally enjoyable tune, delivered with a smooth, sweet, sexy style. It has a kind of relaxed approach which is endearing. “Some men like me ‘cause I’m snappy/Some think I’m happy/Some call me honey/Some think I’ve got money.” Plus, this track features some delicious work on bass. That’s followed by “Peel Me A Grape,” a song written by Dave Frishberg and included on Blossom Dearie’s 1967 album Sweet Blossom Dearie. There is something so adorable and seductive about Roberta Donnay’s delivery here that I just melt. “Best way to cheer me, cashmere me/I’m a-getting hungry, peel me a grape.” And who could deny her when she sings “When I say do it, jump to it”? And the music has such a cool vibe, this track featuring some wonderful work on guitar. “Never out-think me, just mink me/Polar bear rug me, don’t bug me.”
As with Blossom Dearie’s 1958 rendition, Roberta Donnay’s recording of Cole Porter’s “Just One Of Those Things” begins with a great bass line. Though it is different from that on the Blossom Dearie record; here it is slowed down. As Roberta Donnay sings, “Trip to the moon on gossamer wings,” you can imagine her possessing those wings herself. The pace then soon picks up, and there is some absolutely delightful work on piano during that fast-paced instrumental section. MB Gordy joins Roberta Donnay on percussion on “Inside A Silent Tear,” one of only a couple of tracks on this release that Blossom Dearie co-wrote (this one with Peter King). It’s a pretty song with a gentle Latin groove. There is an intimate quality to Roberta Donnay’s vocals on this one. “I am always finding love when it’s not meant to be/What is reality and can it be defined.” Things then get swinging with “Plus Je T’embrasse,” which is sung in French. There is a sweet joy in her delivery, and her performance ought to get you smiling. This track also features good leads on both guitar and piano.
I say it often, but you can never go wrong with Gershwin. On this disc, Roberta Donna covers “Someone To Watch Over Me,” one of my personal favorites of the material written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. Blossom Dearie included it on her My Gentleman Friend album from 1959. Like that recording, this version begins with the vocals supported only by piano and bass in that opening section. Roberta Donnay delivers a wonderful rendition. It is gentle and moving. It’s followed by “Moonlight Saving Time,” which was included on Blossom Dearie’s Once Upon A Summertime. (It is also listed as “(There Ought To Be A) Moonlight Savin’ Time,” and on this disc it is listed as “Moonlight Savings Time.”) This track might contains the disc’s most delightful vocal performance. And of course we’ve been thinking of Daylight Saving Time lately, for wasn’t there a bill that was supposed to make it permanent? Well, until then, bring on Moonlight Saving Time. Something about this track’s bass line makes me smile. “A Paris” is the other song co-written by Blossom Dearie, this one with Tony Proteau. It is a pretty number, sung in French, with warmth to the piano work.
The bass gets thing moving on “The Party’s Over,” a song Blossom Dearie included on Sings Comden And Green. “Now you must wake up/All your dreams must end/Take off your makeup/The party’s over/It’s over, my friend.” Well, the party may be over, but from her approach, it seems there is still something to celebrate. Something good remains. Life goes on, and we’ll keep on dancing, party or no party. That’s followed by “If I Were A Bell,” a song written by Frank Loesser. When she sings, “Well, sir, all I can say is if I were a gate, I’d be swinging,” on the word “swinging,” she gives us that sense of swing. But she is most adorable when imitating the bell: “ding dong ding dong ding.” I also like how the piano and bass work together at certain moments. Then “Spring In Manhattan” begins in a warm, loving, mellow place, Roberta Donnay’s voice supported by piano. During the instrumental section, the others come in, and there is some nice work on guitar. Following that section, her vocals are also supported by some sweet work on harmonica. That’s David Sturdevant on harmonica.
Roberta Donnay delivers a pretty, intimate rendition of “Unless It’s You.” On this track, we hear something vulnerable in her voice. “You know I’ll stay/I always do/For what is love to me/Unless it’s you.” That’s followed by “You Fascinate Me So,” the first of two tracks composed by Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman. I love the sweet and pretty sound of Roberta’s vocal performance here, and how the guitar and piano seem to match that. There is a wonderful warmth to her voice on “I Wish You Love,” and I feel that just by listening, we will receive the thing she wishes for us in this song. “I wish you shelter from the storm/A cozy fire to keep you warm/But most of all/When snowflakes fall/I wish you love.” The second of two songs written by Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman is “It Amazes Me,” and Roberta Donnay’s vocal performance has an endearing honesty. “It amazes me/It simply amazes me/What you see in me/Dazzles me, dazes me.” The album then concludes with “Put On A Happy Face,” a song Blossom Dearie included on her 1964 album May I Come In? (where it was also the closing track). We can always use a little optimism, and this track provides it. And Roberta Donnay’s voice is the perfect one to deliver it. I believe good things are coming while listening to this track. “Gray skies are going to clear up/Put on a happy face/Brush off the clouds and cheer up/Put on a happy face/Take off the gloomy mask of tragedy/It’s not your style.”
CD Track List
- Roberta’s Blues
- Peel Me A Grape
- Just One Of Those Things
- Inside A Silent Tear
- Plus Je T’embrasse
- Someone To Watch Over Me
- Moonlight Savings Time
- A Paris
- The Party’s Over
- If I Were A Bell
- Spring In Manhattan
- Unless It’s You
- You Fascinate Me So
- I Wish You Love
- It Amazes Me
- Put On A Happy Face
Blossom-ing! was released on October 21, 2022.
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