Lizabeth (album)
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| Lizabeth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1958 |
| Recorded | October 28–30, 1957 |
| Label | Vik Records |
| Producer | Herman Diaz, Jr. |
Lizabeth is a studio album by American actress and singer Lizabeth Scott, released in 1958 by the RCA Victor subsidiary label Vik Records. It features Henri René as arranger and conductor.
Background
[edit]The album's liner notes were written by columnist Earl Wilson, who interviewed Lizabeth Scott. Wilson wrote that the actress "played in about six movies in which she was allegedly a singer," but the studio always hired another singer to dub her voice. Scott told Wilson:
Every actress is a frustrated singer. For years I wanted to sing. And I even said, "I going to start taking singing lessons." But do you know what the studio said? They said, "You're out of your mind. You're an actress, not a singer. Don't bother with singing lessons!"
Scott spent two-and-a-half years studying singing with Hollywood voice teachers Harriet Lee and Lillian Rosendale Goodman. She then made a demo and played it for the studio executives to convince them that she could sing. They "liked it" and Scott was given the opportunity to record the album; it was "a satisfaction as important [to her] as her success in You Came Along and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, her first pictures."[1]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Billboard | [3] |
In 1958, Billboard gave the album a positive review: "Movie actress Lizabeth Scott makes her recording debut on the [Vik] label with pleasant, throaty interpretations of a group of standards, and some new tunes including special material like 'Men,' and 'He Is a Man.' The cover is outstanding."[3] The magazine also rated the album's sale potential in its two-out-of-four stars category, which meant "moderate potential—salable qualities".[3]
Jason Ankeny of AllMusic gave it a mixed review, writing, "Scott is an intriguing singer with style and sophistication in spades, but the over the top carnality is simply too much to take in large doses."[2]
Accolade
[edit]On May 5, 1958, the album won Billboard's "Album Cover of the Week" award.[3] "Excellent color photo of movie star Lizabeth Scott makes an attractive cover," Billboard wrote. "It should cause second glances and spark buys."[3]
Track listing
[edit]Side one
[edit]- "Can't Get Out of This Mood" (Frank Loesser, Jimmy McHugh) – 2:15
- "Men" (Frank Whitfield, George Wyle) – 2:00
- "I'm in Love Again" (Cole Porter) – 2:30
- "He Is a Man" (Carroll Coates, Ronnie Selby) – 2:45
- "Legalize My Name" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 2:40
- "It's So Nice to Have a Man Around the House" (Jack Elliott, Harold Spina) – 2:43
Side two
[edit]- "He's Funny That Way" (Richard Whiting, Neil Moret) – 2:55
- "A Deep Dark Secret" (Marilyn and Joe Hooven) – 2:04
- "Lucky" (Patrick Welch, Michael Merlo) – 2:58
- "When a Woman Loves a Man" (Johnny Mercer, Bernie Hanighen, Gordon Jenkins) – 2:55
- "Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) – 2:30
- "How Did He Look?" (Gladys Shelley, Abner Silver) – 2:35
Personnel
[edit]- Lizabeth Scott – vocals
- George Wyle – arranger
- Henri René – arranger, conductor
- Herman Diaz, Jr. – producer, director