15.11.11

Kitty Kallen "Quiet Nights" (1964)


Kitty Kallen is bossa nova land.


Just as on her previous country album she smoothed out every hard core country influence and replaced them with easy-listening croon,here Kallen uses similar approach with material by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Henri Mancini and Hoagy Carmicahel - no matter is it original bossa nova tune or classy pop standard of the day ("The Nearness of You", "I Wish You Love", "Moonglow") everything gets polished latinized treatment that actually works very well for a singer, who seems far more comfortable and lively here than on her country excursion. Kallen occasionally channels Julie London's slow-burning sensuality but most of the time her girlish charm keeps album in a polite,inoffensive territory where no one could criticize her for being overtly sensual - while in other hand's this music could have been perhaps more daring and seductive, Kallen sounds like girl-next-door singing gentle lullabies and that's just fine.


Other singers paid attention to this album and the very next year Doris Day recorded her own "latin" album that completely copies this one, going so far that both albums shame the same opener ("Quiet Nights" or "Corcovado") - where Kallen gently croons, Day actually turns the most seductive singing of her career. Unfortunately this also marked the last album by Kitty Kallen who was forced to retire permanently due to health problems (lung infections gone wrong). However unintentionally, it also means that Kallen finished her recording career not with a whimper but with a really beautiful album that stands the test of time.

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