Whisper it softly but good ‘ol Blighty and the US of A are on the verge of a ‘40s revival with high street outlets stocking up on vintage frocks and a burgeoning retro club scene threatening to spill out into the mainstream.
Hell, even that saucy ex “Mouseketeer” Christina Aguilera has picked up the scent with her forthcoming Back to Basics album paying homage to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, among others.
And one of the acts leading this revival is the Puppini Sisters (Marcella Puppini, Stephanie O’Brien and Kate Mullins) who have gained a cult following thanks to their classically trained background and doobie doo wop reinterpretations.
Their debut album, Betcha Bottom Dollar, is produced by composer Benoit Charest, the chap behind the Oscar nominated soundtrack for animated film Belleville Rendez Vous and the Pupps’ original inspiration.
They say:
musicOMH: “Once you get beyond the novelty of close harmony songs performed in a 1940’s jazz style there’s not a lot going on.”
BBC: “The singing is faultless but there’s no soul.”
CD Times: “Definitely best sampled in small doses and anyone with the tenacity to do it all in one hit has my sympathies.”
We say:
Picture it. Like Doc Brown and Marty McFly, you swindle a group of Libyan terrorists out of a supply of plutonium, hop into a modified DeLorean sports car and travel back in time to the year 1945 – ten years prior to your predecessors.
You stop by a small town diner where teenage girls are giggling over milkshakes and twirling their hair, and a pre-pubescent Biff Tannen is using George McFly’s face as a footrest. Meanwhile, a Wurlitzer jukebox fills the room with the sound of ‘Mr Sandman’, ‘Jeepers Creepers’ and ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’, all tight three part harmonies, jazz guitar and swing pop lightheartedness. This is Betcha Bottom Dollar at its best.
At its worst, it has all the appeal of a Goodnight Sweetheart marathon on UK Gold, with the limp ‘Java Jive’ sending the customers to sleep and the saccharine ‘Sisters’ triggering nausea. Unfortunately, the latter occurs far too often.
Not even a side order of more contemporary hits that include Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass’, Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ and the Smiths’ ‘Panic’ (that sound you hear is Morrissey crying in his sleep) can help digest the syrupy nostalgia. This one is strictly for listeners of Parky’s Sunday Supplement.
Like this? Try these:
The Andrews Sisters – 20th Century Masters: The Best of The Andrews Sisters
The Roches – The Roches
The Chordettes – Harmony Time Vol 1 & 2
RELEASED
31st July 2006
LABEL
Universal Classics and Jazz
POSTED...
Thu 27 Jul 2006 at 7:51pm
