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DVD Rosemary Clooney - Singing at Her Best
She's probably best known these days as actor George Clooney's aunt, but way back in the day, Rosemary Clooney (who died in 2002) was hot stuff, a pop singer with mild jazz leanings and more than a few hits. Rosemary Clooney: Singing at Her Best showcases her rich, lovely voice, and with some 17 songs (including one medley) crammed into just 40 minutes, there's plenty to choose from here, even if it's almost totally bereft of those hits. What we get in these various vintage clips (all in black & white, many apparently from Clooney's own '50s TV show) is a singer who was very much of her time: smiling, perky, perfectly coiffed, wearing an array of bows, lacy collars, and chaste gowns--i.e., appealing, wholesome as all get out, and strictly squaresville. Song-wise, there are some great writers represented here--like Duke Ellington (whose "I'm Checking Out," written with Billy Strayhorn and probably the most swinging tune of the bunch, lasts all of one minute!), Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and Rodgers and Hammerstein--but for the most part these are not their best works. And while a Western-themed medley ("Don't Fence Me In," "San Antonio Rose," and such) with Bing Crosby is corny but cute, Clooney's partnerships with the likes of Boris Karloff and Tab Hunter are not the stuff of which dreams are made. Rosie, as she was known, was a fine artist, but calling this collection "at her best" is a stretch. --Sam Graham
Review(s): DVD Rosemary Clooney - Singing at Her Best
I had hoped for more...and better !
I was a fan of Rosemary Clooney right from the start of her career and have remained one for all these years. I had hoped that this DVD would satisfy my desire to have a definitive DVD of her early work. Unfortunately, this DVD is very disappointing. First of all, it is scandalously short...it is only 40 minutes long! Second, as an earlier review pointed out, there are really none of Rosemary's better known songs here. It appears to me that what is here was mainly taken from just a couple of early TV programs. The audio & video quality have not been improved by re-mastering and some of the guests who appear with Rosie are not of wide interest. Most notably, the appearance of Boris Karloff with Rosie as she sings "I Can't Escape From You" and they sing "You'd Be Surprised" was a low point of the entire DVD.
The lack of *any* extras further diminishes this DVD. One would think that some sort of interview with Rosie or a tribute from someone would be appropriate. At the end of the DVD is an instrumental number called "Rosie's Theme" (by the Hollywood String Orchestra) but that hardly counts as an extra.
For those of us who are fans of Rosemary Clooney, this DVD is a huge disappointment. Let's hope something much better and more suitable comes along.
Where are the Hit Songs?
I enjoy Rosemary Clooney's singing and I have a CD of her hit songs which I identify with her. Songs NOT on this DVD are Come On-A My House, Hey There, In The Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening, Mambo Italiano, Count Your Blessings, Botch-A-Me, Young At Heart, Be My Life's Companion, It Might As Well Be Spring, and This Ole House. These are the songs I associate with Rosemary Clooney, and none of them are included in the DVD. The DVD is in glorious black and white, and her singing is fine, but her hit songs are conspicious by their absence.
That's Real MTV
Get this DVD and play it on your TV and you've got real, melodic, Music TeleVision. Before she was seen as Mary Cavanaugh, meandering the hallways of her nephew's ER, Rosemary Clooney had her own musical/variety TV show. It was the 1950's - and it's Black and White, yet the glamorous, glitzy gowns still shine through.
The title of this DVD means what it says. It's Rosemary (and invited friends) *singing* on the show - we don't get see "the rest of the story" or skit. And she is "singing *at* her best." But that doesn't mean she's singing her best songs or greatest hits. It is clips from the TV show - only this and nothing more. And there was so much more to Rosie!
There's a fun "Country and Western" duet with Bing Crosby - including a sparkling San Antonio Rosie and a cute novelty number while being held captive by Karloff. Boris actually sings, too. "You'd Be Surprised." Indeed.
Disappointingly, there are no "extras" on this DVD. The closest it comes is the final, instrumental, "Rosie's Theme" over which an announcer gives the briefest of biographical blurp. I would have liked more info: when each number originally aired, "Behind the Scenes," etc It's fun, but not the Greatest Show on Earth. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
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