A Classic !!!!

At long last available on CD, one of Dame Shirley Bassey's finest albums from the 1970's: "I Capricorn". Bassey has an unbelievable voice and a unique artistry that defies description. Imagine taking the collective vocal power of Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Holliday, Judy Garland and Lena Horne (. . . and multiplying that by ten!), adding a dash of Eartha Kitt and a pinch of Sarah Vaughan - and several of Diana Ross' sequins - and you might just begin to understand why she is the greatest singer of all time (...or close to it). This CD is a great introduction to The Bassey Experience, with lush arrangements and top-notch production it is both contemporary and timeless at the same time. The CD is remastered and the sound quality is great!

The CD kicks off with the haunting title song, which features the Voice in all its glory. And moves into her unique take on the Bacharach/David gem "The Look Of Love". Ordinarily rendered as a sultry ballad (ala Dionne and Dusty), Bassey cranks up the brass and the bass, and gives it the James Bond Theme treatment. She is wistful on the lilting "Where Is Love" from OLIVER. Neither the Bronx nor Washington Square could provide an escape from the enormity of her hyper-emotional reading of "Where Am I Going" from SWEET CHARITY. Other standouts are "I've Never Been A Woman Before" and "One Less Bell To Answer".

The CD would be worth it on the strength of all of the aforementioned songs but the most colossal find here is her staggering rendition of "The Greatest Performance Of My Life". This song is Classic Bassey -- equal parts melancholy and hysteria -- all delivered in a grand yet ferocious, full-throated wail that would grey Celine Dion's hair and send Mariah toppling off her 6-inch stilettoes. The song is about throwing a fabulous party just to fool all of your friends into thinking you're okay with the fact that your beau left you for someone else, but really you are not (or there wouldn't be anything to sing about). And goodness does Bassey sing! She is so dramatic you don't know whether she is going to faint or start breaking the good china.

If due to illness, insanity or destitution, you find that you are only able to purchase one (1) Shirley Bassey CD in your lifetime, make it "I Capricorn".

BASSEY'S STUNNING CLASSIC~BRAVO SHIRLEY!!!

"I, Capricorn" opens this stunning collection with all of the haunting brillance that is typical of a great Bassey performance in an absolutely magical musical surrounding! This classic collection was released in 1972 which was the same year that Miss Bassey graced us with her regal presence in a sold-out tour-de-force concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles which found her in incredibly great form as she is featured here in this awesome set!! A winning sensual reading of "The Look Of Love" and a hauntingly beautiful "The Way A Woman Loves" find Shirley in peak form weaving vocal magic in glorious settings created by the talented arranger Johnny Harris who is Miss Bassey's greatest collaborator. John Lennon"s "Love" is soft and warm while the classic Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields "Where Am I Going" becomes a powerful athem showing that this is a versatile singer whose musical scope is as wide open as her great voice!!! Beautiful and passionate is "I've Never Been A Woman Before" and a big hit came out of the theme song from "Lovers And Other Strangers" called "For All We Know" with this being the definitive version of this standard. Two powerful 70's Diva performances came from the moving "The Greatest Performance Of My Life" with one being from the great Nancy Wilson and the other of course from Shirley!! This magnificent ballad has always been a highlight in the concerts of Miss Wilson and Miss Bassey with both giving the performance of a lifetime each time with this epic ballad. Stellar performances from two Broadway Classics "Where Is Love?" and "Losing My Mind" make one long for a Bassey Broadway Album as it certainly would be a masterpiece. A beautiful "One Less Bell To Answer" is followed by the stormy and magnificent "Lost And Lonely" which is Shirley Bassey at her devastating best!!! Grab this one while it is available as an Import if you love the Art Of Great Singing at its best!! BRAVO SHIRLEY! You are incredible!!!

EXCELLENT, BUT WHERE IS THE ALBUM "NEVER NEVER NEVER"?

I thoroughly enjoyed this album as it gives a feeling of things to come in the NEVER NEVER NEVER album, one of Bassey's greatest albums, but still, surpricingly, not available on CD.
I can not understand for the life of me why this album has not been made available in CD, but until then, this album, I CAPRICORN, remains one of her best, musically and in the quality and clearity of her voice.