16 Most Requested Songs
This compilation features a lot ofRosemary Clooney's early novelty-ish songs ("Mambo Italiano" is so dumb that it's enjoyable) but also plenty of her signature ballads. The contrast can be jarring. Between "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciani Piccina)" and the following track, "Hey There," we hear two completely different singers. (Of course the songs themselves might as well be from different planets.) It's the Clooney we hear on "Hey There" who's the best known now: the sultry interpreter of love songs. But Clooney also had an imperial grip on midtempo numbers, as her assured performance on "Be My Life's Companion" shows. This CD is a good starting point (at a budget price) for those who want a basic overview of Clooney's career; those further along the path might want to look into a couple of the albums she recorded with Nelson Riddle: 1965's masterpiece of longingLove, or 1961's brassy, upbeatRosie Solves the Swingin' Riddle!.--Elisabeth Vincentelli