Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As in the other albums in Acrobat Records' lovingly packaged collections of singles, this is a fascinating glimpse into music history. Della Reese has to have one of the longest and most diverse careers in showbiz and if you are only familiar with the veteran actress who starred in Touched By An Angel TV series or are a gospel connoisseur cherishing Della's recordings with the Meditation Singers, you will be stunned by the sheer musical diversity found in the singles Delloreese Patricia Early recorded for Jubilee and RCA between 1955 and 1962. For instance, the opener on this two CD set "Kiss My Love Goodbye" is the kind of brassy, bluesy track Ruth Brown was hitting the rhythm and blues charts with at the time (1955); "Headin' Home" is a quasi-gospel song (I say "quasi" as it was written by the Platters' Jewish manager Buck Ram); and Arlen and Mercer's "One For My Baby" is a fine reading from the Great American Songbook. It wasn't until 1956 that Della enjoyed her first hit "And That Reminds Me", a vocal version of an instrumental hit "Autumn Concerto". According to the sleevenotes it sold one million for Della but with its heavenly choir accompaniment from The Honey Dreamers today sounds like the kind of OTT sentimentality that gives easy listening music a bad name. The next few years Della's output was firmly pitched at white middle America and though her Sarah Vaughan-style phrasing could occasionally bring a spark of interest, the material and arrangements Della was saddled with was often decidedly corny. The second CD in the package kicks off with "Time Was", adapted from an Italian song "Duerme" followed by a version of "Once Upon A Dream" from the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty and with a melody borrowed from Tchaikovsky. In 1959 Della signed with RCA Records who put her with producers Hugo & Luigi though Della's output was a long, long way from the H&L produced million seller for the Isley Brothers "Shout". Instead Della was given another attempt to popularise the classics - this time Puccini's "Musetta Waltz". Again it was rather cloying MOR and again it was a major pop hit - Della's biggest - making number two in the US pop charts. More classical adaptions followed with "You Mean All The World To Me" using a Schumann melody, and "A Far Far Better Thing", a melodramatic adaption of a theme by Riccardo Drigo. The absolute highlight of the set comes with Della's surprise return to gospel roots where, with the Meditation Singers, she offered a convincing version of Dorothy Love Coates' "Ninety-Nine And A Half Will Do". The last single on the compilation is 1962's blowsy rendition of "As Long As He Needs Me" and a version of Floyd Tillman's country song "It Makes No Difference Now" demonstrating once more that Della was a singer who could turn her hand to every kind of song. Such versatility has to be applauded even if it's unlikely that many listeners will enjoy all the head-spinning variety on this intriguing dip into the archives.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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