What A Girl Needs
What A Girl needs to be a compilation of 25 tracks that “Every woman must own,†and this is a statement which we can debate all day.
The album itself is cram packed full of classic tracks such as Della Reese’s The Lady Is A Tramp and Julie London’s Cry Me A River as well as a couple of hits from the men too, with the lead track being Andy Williams’ Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.
The album oozes a 1950’s vibe, and the incredible voices of the singers on this record is breathtaking; what I wouldn’t give to be able to belt out a tune like some of these women!
Dinah Washington’s Mad About The Boy is a fine addition to the record and you cant help but want to slap on the red lipstick, quaffed hair and a cute pair of heels and head out to your local drinking joint and pick up an eligible bachelor… go easy on the pints though yeah?
It’s a good album for swanning about the house in your most elaborate make-up and figure hugging dress whilst wafting a feather duster and dancing about with the Hoover, but beware; if you want something to get you into the mood for a night out on the tiles then I would stick to Girls Aloud’s Greatest Hits.
I think the title ‘What A Girl Needs’ falls a bit short when we check out the array of songs, as I would generally class a ‘girl’ as someone under 20 and unless their parents are stuck in a time warp, I think this collection would be wiped straight off their iPod.
It’s a shame really, because ‘the youth of today’ has missed out on spectacular songs such asTony Bennett’s The Good Life as well as the enigmatic Windmills Of Your Mind from the hit film, The Thomas Crown Affair who the kids probably think was a film with Pierce Brosnan, not Steve McQueen…and on that note, they probably assume that José Feliciano’s Light My Fire was ‘the winners song’ from that first ever Pop Idol winner, Will Young!
From a personal perspective, as a woman who has spent many a night huddled around my grandma’s record player singing along to old Richard Clayderman collections; it’s a relief to hear beautifully crafted songs once again and I always wonder why we don’t have any Frank Sinatra or Nina Simone singers anymore as they have the most incredible voices.
Overall, the record is something you could listen to whilst doing the housework, or wanting to recreated those glorious days when women were naturally beautiful and glamorous and men opened doors for you and assumed dinner was just dinner.
Not exactly the theme for a wild night out, but if you feel down and need something to make you feel full of life again and just generally embrace life for what it is, this is definitely something you need on your shelf.
Rating: 3.5 / 5 - A good collection of hits, but I think the claim ’What A Girl Needs’ is very optimistic.
Skip To: Nina Simone - Ain’t Got No (I Got Life)
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison
Full Track Listing:
Andy Williams - Can't take My Eyes off Of You
Astrud Gilberto & Walter Wanderley Trio - Call Me
Doris Day - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
Nina Simone - Ain't Got No (I Got Life)
Dave Brubeck - Take 5
José Feliciano – Light My Fire
Frank Sinatra - I Get A Kick Out Of You
Della Reese - The Lady Is A Tramp
Aretha Franklin – Misty
Ramsey Lewis - Wade In The Water
Rosemary Clooney – In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening
Billie Holiday – The Very Thought Of You
Tony Bennett - The Good Life
Eartha Kitt - Let's Do it
Booker T & The MGs - Green Onions
Noel Harrison - Windmills of Your Mind
Julie London - Cry Me A River
Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy
Dionne Warwick - (Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls
Esther Phillips - And I Love Him
Marilyn Monroe - A Fine Romance
Dusty Springfield – Spooky
Petula Clark - Don't Sleep In The Subway
Georgie Fame – Yeh Yeh
Sarah Vaughan - Black Coffee