YMA SUMAC: "Legend Of The Sun Virgin"

Original released on LP Capitol L299

(US, 1952)

All hands on deck from Yma Sumac, those brave muchachos who support her towering multi-range octaves lucky not to get blown away to kingdom come. Differing between songs which concentrate on arousing body and mind, Sumac deals with each challenge making it a lasting pleasure, beautiful, twisting "Suray Surita", belly dancing cantina piece "Ccori Canastitay" typical of its rich lush genre, "Zana" making purists rattle their arthritic fists until Nurse Lopez comes around at 6pm with those nice multi-coloured pills. Sumac's vocals here are as more opera-inflected than on "Voice of the Xtbay," frequently sounding too over the top for the arrangements. While Sumac's voice fit perfectly over Les Baxter's tiki exotica, it feels a bit out of place over the music of Maises Vivatica with it's over-the-top Latin music feel. Slower tracks such as "Suray Surita" and "Lament" brings back some of the epic B-movie stylings of her last album, but most songs seem like they can't quite make of their mind what it is they're going for. It's never bad, but rarely captivating. Yma Sumac had a great voice with a wide range, and her command of it is impressive here. The songs by Moises Vivanco are sometimes light and fun, sometimes quite haunting. Admittedly, though, this album is an acquired taste. (in RateYourMusic)

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"An American In Paris" - Complete OST

Original released on LP MGM E 93

(US, 1951)

This two-CD set represents the ultimate musical resource for the MGM film. In the early '90s, Turner Entertainment undertook a major restoration of the movie and, in doing so, in addition to original film elements, unearthed a treasure trove of original audio masters and studio session recordings, including alternate takes, unused songs, and rehearsals. Some of these (which included many tracks by Georges Guetary) turned up on the 1992 vintage laser disc box, and now they're here, remastered yet again, along with elements of the film's underscore, which contained dozens of George Gershwin tunes that were never actually "featured" in the movie. The result is a two-hour celebration of Gershwin's music that may hold up better than any of the other MGM songbook musicals of this period, thoroughly annotated for the serious listener and pleasingly, entertainingly packaged for the casual purchaser, for whom the only drawback may be the relatively steep price of the double-disc set. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)