Shirley Bassey - Bassey Spectacular (Philips 1960) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

Bassey Spectacular is a compilation double album issued by Philips, circa 1960, after she had left the label. It contains all her 50s hits, along with some b-sides and tracks from her two Philips LPs, ‘Born to Sing the Blues’ (1957) and ‘The Bewitching Miss Bassey’ (1959).

Shirley Bassey was born the last child of Eliza Jane (née Start) and Henry Bassey in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, of paternal Nigerian and maternal English descent. She grew up in the nearby working-class dockside district of Splott. After leaving Splott Secondary Modern School at the age of fourteen, Bassey first found employment packing at a local factory while singing in local public houses and clubs in the evenings and weekends. In 1953, she signed her first professional contract, to sing in a touring variety show Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson. She next took up a professional engagement in Hot from Harlem, which ran until 1954. By this time Bassey had become disenchanted with show business, and had become pregnant at 16 with her daughter Sharon, so she went back to waitressing in Cardiff. However, in 1955, a chance recommendation of her to Michael Sullivan, a booking agent, put her firmly on course for her destined career. He saw talent in Bassey, and decided he would make her a star. She toured various theatres until she got an offer of the show that put her firmly on the road to stardom, Al Read's Such Is Life at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. While she starred in this show, Philips A&R and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, was impressed, and offered her a recording deal. Bassey recorded her first single, entitled "Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)", and Philips released it in February 1956, when Bassey was just nineteen. Owing to the suggestive lyrics, the BBC banned it, but it sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of "Stormy Weather". Further singles followed, and in February 1957, Bassey had her first hit with "Banana Boat Song", which reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart. During that year, she also recorded under the direction of American producer Mitch Miller in New York for the Columbia label, producing the single "If I Had a Needle and Thread" b/w "Tonight My Heart She Is Crying". She then travelled to Las Vegas to make her American stage debut at the El Rancho, Vegas. In mid-1958, she recorded two singles that would become classics in the Bassey catalogue. "As I Love You" was released as the B-side of another ballad, "Hands Across the Sea"; it did not sell well at first, but after a chance appearance at the London Palladium things began to pick up. In January 1959, it reached number one and stayed there for four weeks. It thus became the first number one single by a Welsh artist. Bassey also recorded "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" at this point, and while "As I Love You" raced up the charts, so too did this record, with both songs being in the top three at the same time. A few months later, Bassey signed to EMI's Columbia label, and the second phase of her recording career began. Wikipedia

Note: I initially ripped this LP for personal use only, but it turned out so well that I decided to post it! It’s pretty clean for a 50+ year old record. If, like me, you grew up in Britain during the 1950s, this record should certainly stir some memories. Enjoy the nostalgia!

Track listing:

A1. From This Moment On
A2. Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me
A3. You, You Romeo
A4. My Funny Valentine
A5. How About You?
A6. As I Love You

B1. Hands Across The Sea
B2. Tonight My Heart She Is Crying
B3. The Wayward Wind
B4. If You Don’t Love Me
B5. Take My Love, Take My Love
B6. Puh-Leeze! Mister Brown

C1. Born To Sing The Blues
C2. Basin Street Blues
C3. Careless Love Blues
C4. Blues In The Night
C5. Wabash Blues
C6. Birth of The Blues

D1. Burn My Candle
D2. Night and Day
D3. Crazy Rhythm
D4. The Banana Boat Song
D5. The Gypsy In My Soul
D6. Love For Sale

With Wally Stott and his Orchestra and Chorus
Produced by John Franz
Recorded at Philips Studios, London
Except B2 produced in New York by Mitch Miller