Rating:
Genre:
Vocal Music
Release Date: 08/22/2006
Living Era presents a beautifully constructed tribute to
Mae West, the archetypal cinematic saucepot. Born and raised in Brooklyn,
Mary Jane West was the daughter of a pugilist and a corset maker. After developing her act on-stage as
Mae West, she began a tumultuous career in motion pictures, wittily expressing her own whimsical philosophy of hedonism and celebrating human sexuality in a cheerfully smutty manner that was completely unacceptable to certain self-appointed guardians of public morality. What so provoked persnickety presbyter-turned-politician
Will Hays and his pack of Hollywood censors was
West's spectacularly sensuous appearance, her marvelously bawdy lyrics, and her amazing habit of moaning and growling like a Siamese feline in heat. This magnificent compilation maps
Mae West's career with chronological precision, following a trail of films beginning with
"She Done Him Wrong" and
"I'm No Angel" (1933) through
"Belle of the Nineties" (1934),
"Goin' to Town" (1935),
"Klondike Annie" to
"Go West, Young Man" (1936) and
"My Little Chickadee" (1939). Much of this material comes directly from vintage motion picture
soundtracks. Picking up where
Sophie Tucker left off,
West's remarkably amiable relationship with
jazz and African-American culture is spelled out in songs composed by
W.C. Handy,
Shelton Brooks,
James P. Johnson, and
Harvey Brooks. Many will consider tracks seven through ten to be the most precious, for here
Mae West performs in collaboration with
Duke Ellington, his piano and orchestra.
"My Old Flame" was issued as a
Victor phonograph record; the other three
Ellington/
West selections were culled directly from the
soundtrack of
"Belle of the Nineties." Mae West's postwar period is well represented by eight
Mezzotone recordings from 1947, and four sultry selections with accompaniment by
Sy Oliver's Orchestra that were released on the
Decca label in 1954. A delicious parcel of 30 arousing performances that could make a dead man sit up and take notice.
~arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide
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