Morgana King - Sings The Blues (1958)

Well likely most of us know Morgana from her role as Mama Corleone in the Godfather, but after hearing this album it seems she should be more known for her singing. Morgana's voice is positively stunning and effortless, when she sings softly she practically tickles the ear. There is so much more to her voice than the soft and sultry, she has a really nice depth and richness on lower notes as well. Truly I believe this woman could sing most anything and it would sound lovely. The music is very laid back and smooth and it shuffles around gracefully in the background never overpowering her voice. It's rather minimal really, we have a vibraphone (played by the rather skilled Terry Gibbs), bass (from Ernie Furtado), drums (from Ralph Pollack), guitar (from Barry Galbraith) and lastly pianist Harvey Leonard performs on this album too. I really think they work well together, the only thing is that the album is so incredibly slow and almost lullaby like that some may find this a bit dull. The songs chosen here certainly all sound relatively alike, none really ever come near breaking a sweat. What's nice is that although some of the songs on here are standards and covers and whatnot, they are still relatively unique. So many of the songs get passed around and passed around and at least none of these am I tired of hearing as of yet. This is the only album I've heard from Morgana so far, but from what I understand that some of her later works are more respected than this album. I definitely like her voice enough to listen to more from Morgana, I just think with this album a little does go a long way because it is so samey and almost too sedate. Still if you want to lull yourself to sleep with something really pretty this could work wonderfully for you.

Tracklist:

1. More Than You Know
2. Frankie and Johnnie
3. Mean to Me
4. When Your Lover Has Gone
5. Something to Remember You By
6. I See Two Lovers
7. Body and Soul
8. Mad About the Boy
9. It's Only a Paper Moon
10. Bill
11. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
12. Why Was I Born?