"Black Coffee" by Peggy Lee (1953)

It took me forever to warm up to Peggy Lee since she emulated you-know-who so much, but eventually with time I came to appreciate (if not exactly love) her. For one thing, hers is art of smoke and mirrors - Lee whispers and croons, rather than bowls listener with sheer power or beauty of the voice - and she was definitely not the first singer who discovered that gentle whisper can be far more effective than a shout (Maxine Sullivan and Lee Wiley did it before). But if the initial success was gimmicky ("Mañana", "Caramba! It's the Samba" and "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" were just few of her 1940s hit singles) by early 1950s she somehow metamorphosed into first-class interpreter of American songbook and what distinguish her from the crowd is willingness to experiment and take risks - switching between "Decca" and "Capitol" and back, she always insisted on artistic integrity and employed only the top of conductors, arrangers and producers (Sinatra famously conducted one of her albums).

Her first proper album, "Black Coffee" is still a stunner after all these years -Lee croons and whispers right in your ear, as she creates aural equivalent of smoke rings. Recorded with just a basic quartet and focusing on classy repertoire (Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Johnny Mercer and her old favourite Willard Robison) she gives a lesson of what sophisticated nightclub singer was all about in the early 1950s. Its all very intimate and seductive, but mind you,  some of lyrics sound dated and masochistic today, I think - I hope! - that women today are not such doormats as back in 1953. Not that Lee was doormat at all - just listen how assertive she could get in "Love Me or Leave Me" and its clear that all of this was carefully arranged stage act but she loved to play around with image of soft, vulnerable woman. The original album had eight tracks and was later fattened with four additional songs which perfectly suit the atmosphere and the sound of the original - perhaps the attraction of the album is in its simplicity and late-hours atmosphere, sometimes less is more and maybe this is why the album continued to live on. "You're My Thrill" and "There's A Small Hotel" are absolutely luminous, kind of stop you in the tracks, absolutely hypnotic pieces.