Pretty Eyes

Pretty Eyes was cut during what has become known to her devotees and discographers as Peggy Lee's second Capitol Records period which ran from 1957-1972. The hiatus between the first and second periods was filled by Lee's association with Decca. Like many of her albums during this time with Capitol, Lee was hooked up with orchestras with large, lush string sections conducted by the likes of Nelson Riddle and even Frank Sinatra. On this 1960 release, it's Billy May with the baton in a rather unusual situation for him. There's no brass in the orchestra, just flutes, woodwinds, and strings. The result is that the arrangements are tame compared to charts May turned out when he had trumpets and trombones to work with. On some tracks, one gets the impression that Lee got bored with some of the complacent arrangements and shows her indifference by having a bit of fun using overly broad vowel pronunciations on such tunes as "Pretty Eyes." But on the better stuff, such as the swinging "It Could Happen to You," "Too Close for Comfort," and "Fly Me to the Moon" done as a slow ballad, she holds nothing back. Although her bountiful vocal gifts are occasionally held somewhat in check, there's still enough here to satisfy Lee and vocal fans alike. This LP has been released on CD coupled with Guitars a la Lee.