Track Listing

1. You'll Never Know
2. This Ole House
3. On a Slow Boat to China
4. Hey There
5. Tenderly
6. Come On-A My House
7. Mambo Italiano
8. Sisters
9. Memories of You
10. In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening
11. White Christmas

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11497 in Music
• Released on: 2003-09-30
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

From Amazon.com
It's nice to see Bette Midler putting her spin on an American classic after less-than-convincing detours through adult-contemporary cheese. This tribute focuses on Rosemary Clooney in the early to mid-1950s--so we don't get any of the fabulous Nelson Riddle material--but it's a fairly strong offering. It was produced and arranged by Midler's old musical director, Barry Manilow--who actually dueted with Clooney on a couple of songs in the 1990s and here replaces Bing Crosby on the duet "On a Slow Boat to China." Mostly, the CD is about hits: "Hey There" and "White Christmas" are done in straightforward manner, while Linda Ronstadt fills in for Rosemary's actual sister Betty on a slinky version of "Sisters." Happily, Midler plays "Come On-A My House" down instead of up (the old Bette would have milked its comic aspect) but the singer lets loose on "Mambo Italiano." That's pretty much the only time the Divine Miss M peeks out from behind Clooney's elegant persona, and it's a delight. --Elisabeth Vincentelli