I bought this disc awhile ago, and in fact it arrived on the same day as an instructional package by the steel guitar instructor Jeff Newman (who tragically was killed in an ultralight crash about a month later.)The Newman DVD/CD/Book set was entitled "Just Play The Melody" , after a quote by Jackie Gleason (whose moniker he misspelt as 'Jacky'...we'll forgive the transgression!).

How ironic, because if Jeff Newman (no jazzer!) had played on this record it would have improved it substantially. Jazz musicians left to their own devices are there, most of them, to show off their chops and take the music 'out there', and while Susannah's fans delight in calling her a 'jazz singer', the key to her success is that she isn't a jazz singer in the modern sense, any more than Frank Sinatra or even Merle Haggard.

If you want to hear someone who can sing pretty well herd cats with an out there band, there are examples out there-the Jazz Passengers come to mind-but Susannah wasn't pretty good, she was about the best in the business at that point, and just as Sinatra would have smacked someone or walked off if someone went Miles Davis on him, SMCC should have as well.

Perhaps she was just stretching herself for fun, and if so, I hope she had a good time...but as a record of good songs to listen to, this one may not be it.I recommend it only to obsessives and completists or the hard-boiled bop jazz fans.

What a pleasant surpise we have here. Susannah has a great voice(that's no surpise)! Susannah sure does sing beautifully on this cd(too bad she died so tragicly).

The real reason I love this cd is beacause of the instrumentation. Whoever the musical director was for this project should be made President of the United States. This is a jazz cd, full of imrovisations forget about the boring melody. On most the songs there was no true melody PRAISE THE LORD!!! Susannah sounds delightful with this band. Susannah has so much talent and it fits perfectly with projects like this.

I currently own all of the S.M. catalog and would like to say that there are other cds by Susannah that are along the same lines as this cd, they are all worth picking up.

Recommendation: I can TRULY recommend this cd(even tough jazz critic Scott Yanow gave it a great review on allmusic guide).

This is the third cd recorded by Susannah McCorkle for the Concord label......one of her best, since the tunes are standards recognizable by almost everyone.

Not only is the music enjoyable, but its familiarity allows one to appreciate not only her fine voice but also her excellent interpretive style (Dig her pensive rendering of "Spring Is Here") and the emotional intensity she brings with her delivery.

A bonus is the fine contribution of the accompanying musicians...the flute and sax work of Frank Wess, the piano of Allen Farnham and guitar of Howard Alden. I really dig the unusually slow tempo bass entry accompanying her on "Get Out Of Town".

If you like romantic music by a fine vocalist with a light jazz accompanyment, then you will like this! A really good set....as are most of her cds.

Susannah was one of the finest interpreters of the Great American Songbook, recording many classic albums from the late seventies to the end of the millenium. The songs on this album were written by a variety of composers, the only common link being romance. Susannah didn't record many really obscure songs this time, so most of these songs will be familiar to fans of the Great American Songbook. Lover man and Zing went the strings of my heart may be the best known to the wider public.

As with so many of Susannah's albums, most of the songs are very old, but there is one new song - Where do you start? which was a new song written especially for her. In the liner notes, Susannah said it was a difficult song to sing, because it made her cry, although she clearly managed to do a take of the song for this album without crying. It is, nevertheless, clear from this track and others that Susannah knew all about heartbreak when she recorded this album.

This is unquestionably one of Susannah's finest albums. The only weak point is the boring cover picture. Inside, there is a black and white picture of a smiling Susannah looking slim and very beautiful - this should have been the cover picture. Still, it's the music that counts and this is just one of her many brilliant albums that I thoroughly enjoy listening to from beginning to end.

Track 2 "My Foolish Heart" and # 13 "Where do you Start" are so great, it is hard to find any other songs anywhere to compete. You have got to hear them. The musicality of Susannah and her group are outstanding; in tune, all notes in the accompinment and jazz licks making complete sense. Her voice is like, think Astrid Gilberto with a vibrato and at times that breathy Julie London/Marylyn Monroe. After listening to Where do you Start, you feel lousy about her death. You want to get to know her.