Come a Little Closer

Audiophile Records, to its everlasting credit, has become a home for pop singers who were once dominant in their field but as they (and their fans) got a bit older had a harder time finding recording contracts, even though their talent had diminished hardly a whit, if at all. More often than not their singing has matured, became more sophisticated, and the phrasing more subtle and meaningful. Such is the case with Margaret Whiting. Once one of the top jazz/pop songstresses of the 1940s and 1950s, mostly with the Capitol and Dot labels, she went several years without a new release until this one. Whiting, as much as of any of her contemporaries, had a way of humanizing the material she sang. This ability, added to a maturing, straight-down-the-middle style and clear-as-crystal voice, makes one wonder why she was prematurely put out to pasture. This lady could and did sing with anybody in her heyday and nothing has changed. Joined by a septet of Audiophile in-house musicians, including the priceless pianist Loonis McGlohon, Whiting prances through a play list of mostly up-tempo standards and traditional pop material. One of the album's prime tracks, however, is a ballad and on the title song, "Come a Little Closer," the singer gets significant help from Sam Wilhoit on tenor. This album is no blast from the past by any means; rather it is the continuation of the career of one of America's all-time fine jazz/pop singers. Recommended.