| The Magic Is You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1979 (US) April 1979 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | MOR | |||
| Length | 38:23 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Producer | Nick DeCaro | |||
| Shirley Bassey chronology | ||||
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The Magic Is You is a 1979 album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey. Her final album for United Artists Records, the album notably featured a disco version of her signature 1968 song "This Is My Life".
Following the UK top three success of her 25th Anniversary Album in late 1978, Bassey followed this up with an album of newly recorded tracks. The lead single (and opening track) from the album was a disco version of one of her signature songs, "This Is My Life (La Vita)". While this was a divergence from her normal output, the rest of the album continued in her more usual MOR style. The album was produced by American producer Nick DeCaro and arranged by DeCaro with Tom Saviano. [1] Cover versions featured on the album included "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "The Greatest Love of All" – the latter of which had been released by George Benson two years earlier but became a much bigger hit when covered by Whitney Houston some seven years later.
The album was released in the US in January 1979 and garnered a favourable review from Billboard Magazine stating: "In an era of female singers with whispery little-girl voices, it's a treat to hear a lady who can belt out a tune with conviction and dynamics. The songs here allow her to use this power." [2] The album also gained a 3-star review from Allmusic. [3] In the UK, the album was delayed by a further three months possibly to avoid close collision with her previous album, and charted at No.40 in the UK Albums Chart in May 1979. [4] The single "This Is My life (La Vita)" was released on 27 April 1979, but failed to chart. Following this, Bassey recorded and released her third James Bond theme for the film Moonraker , which marked the end of her 1970s output and led to a three-year break from recording.
The Magic Is You was her final album for United Artists Records for which she had recorded throughout the decade. The album was remastered and re-released on CD in 2011 packaged with a 1976 compilation Thoughts of Love . [1] This version contained a bonus track – an extended 12" version of "This Is My Life".
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Side Two
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, the only artist to perform more than one, Bassey is one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.
"It's Magic" is a popular song written by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn, published in 1947. They wrote the song for Doris Day in her Warner Brothers film debut, Romance on the High Seas. In the autumn of 1948 Vic Damone, Tony Martin, Dick Haymes, Gordon MacRae and Sarah Vaughan all charted on Billboard magazine charts with versions of the song, but none as successfully as Day's recording. "It's Magic" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but in March 1949 lost to "Buttons and Bows" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.
"Softly, as I Leave You" is a popular Italian song, originally titled Piano, composed by Tony De Vita with Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese, and English lyrics by Hal Shaper.
Living Without Your Love is the eleventh studio album recorded by singer Dusty Springfield, and tenth released. The album was recorded in summer 1978 and released in early 1979.
Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light".
Something is a 1970 album by Shirley Bassey. With her career having been in decline since the latter part of the mid 1960s, Something proved to be Shirley Bassey's comeback when it was released in August 1970. The title track single became her biggest UK hit for many years, reaching No.4 and spending 22 weeks on the chart. This was actually the second single featured on the album, "The Sea and Sand" having already been released earlier. The album was similarly her biggest hit for many years in the album charts, reaching No.5 and spending 28 weeks in the top 50.
Get the Party Started is a 2007 album by Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey.
"I (Who Have Nothing)" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is an English language cover of the Italian song "Uno dei Tanti" (English: "One of Many"), with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. The initial version, "Uno dei Tanti", was performed by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The song first recorded in English by Ben E. King in 1963 with new lyrics by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
Something Else is a 1971 album by Shirley Bassey.
I Capricorn is a 1972 album by Shirley Bassey.
The Fabulous Shirley Bassey is the third studio album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, and her first for Columbia Records. It was recorded with Geoff Love and his orchestra, and peaked at #12 in the UK album chart in early 1961. Released in 1959, this was the first studio album from Shirley Bassey with completely new material. Her two previous albums issued on the Philips label were collections of new recordings and previously released material, recorded between 1956 and 1958.
Bassey – The EMI/UA Years 1959–1979 is a 5-CD boxset compilation from Shirley Bassey issued in 1994, this set features 94 studio recordings on four CDs, recorded for EMI/United Artists between 1959 and 1979. Disc five features a previously unreleased live recording from Carnegie Hall. The boxset was reissued by EMI in 2010 in a standard jewel case set.
All by Myself is a 1982 album by Shirley Bassey. Having ended her contract with United Artists around 1980, Bassey took a break from recording, and then began releasing albums on various labels. All by Myself was the first of these, issued on the Applause label. 1982 was the dawn of the CD era, and this was her first-ever album to be issued on CD. The album was also issued on LP and cassette. In the UK and some other countries, the album was titled Love Songs, with identical cover art, and under that name it charted for five weeks on the UK albums chart, on the K-tel label, peaking at #48. The original CD has since become scarce, though the songs have appeared on many compilations.
Keep the Music Playing is a 1991 album by Shirley Bassey. The album was recorded in the UK at the Westgreen Studios and in the Netherlands at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum. The album is a mixture of contemporary pop ballads, such as "I Want to Know What Love Is" from Foreigner, the Jennifer Rush power ballad "The Power of Love", and the more gentle "Still" from Lionel Richie, combined with standards from the field of jazz and pop, such as "He Was Beautiful", the sweet jazz ballad from Cleo Laine. Several of the song arrangements reflect an operatic pop style influence, which may have roots in her 1984 album I Am What I Am, which she recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the fact that in the latter mid-1980s she started working with a vocal coach, a former opera singer. Bassey returned to the Beatles with "Yesterday", as she had previously covered "Something" and "Fool on the Hill" successfully in the 1970s, and had performed "Hey Jude" frequently live. Another previously successful formula was used for the closing track "Dio, Come Ti Amo " an Italian original in the tradition of "This is My Life" and "Natalie"..
Nobody Does It Like Me is a 1974 album by Shirley Bassey. Bassey's recordings had been selling well since 1970, scoring three top ten singles and three ten top albums. Nobody Does It Like Me was recorded with a new producer, George Butler, and brought a partial return to the traditional pop sound of Bassey's pre-1970s career. Here, the title track "Nobody Does It Like Me" and "When You Smile" harken back to the big band era. Bassey's soaring vocals on Paul Anka's "I'm Not Anyone" and the slightly funky "Morning in Your Eyes" contrast with a delicately rendered "Davy". The duet "Davy", recorded with the song's composer Benard Ighner, is one of the rare occasions that Bassey would share the credits with another vocalist; it was also issued as a single and hit #44 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. The album closes with Bassey's reading of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". This album failed to chart in the UK, and peaked at #142 in the US. Her next two studio albums would be top 15 albums in the UK.
This Is My Life is a 1968 album by Shirley Bassey. The mid to late sixties was a period of declining popularity for traditional pop. How much the changing tastes in popular music directly affected Bassey's record sales is difficult to quantify; but her record sales had been faltering since the latter part of the mid 1960s, and the album failed to chart.
Does Anybody Miss Me is a 1969 album by Shirley Bassey. In 1969 Bassey moved her home to Lugano, Switzerland, with her second husband Sergio Novak, whom she had married in Las Vegas in August 1968. Remaining as a tax exile prevented her from performing and recording in the UK. In this period she continued to perform and record in Italy and the US. This album was recorded in the US and produced by the American producer Dave Pell, with arrangements by Artie Butler. The tracks on this album are a selection of standards and show tunes. The title track Does Anybody Miss Me was issued as a single in the UK, backed with the non album track Fa Fa Fa, but this failed to make any impression on the chart. Does Anybody Miss Me has remained part of her live show and was recorded as the opening track of the album Live At Talk Of The Town in 1970. This album saw Bassey re-record her 1958 UK #1 hit single As I Love You which she had previously released on the Philips label.
"Don't Cry Out Loud" is a song written in 1976 by Peter Allen with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager that is best known as a hit single for Melissa Manchester in the US and for Elkie Brooks in the UK.
The Shirley Bassey Collection is a double compilation album released in 1971 by British singer Shirley Bassey. The album charted at #37 in the UK charts in January 1972.
I Owe It All to You is an album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, released on 6 November 2020 by Decca Records. It contains a mix of new songs and cover versions "handpicked to reflect her incredible life and career". Bassey said of the album, "My new album is a celebration of 70 years in showbiz. 70 years of support from my fans and 70 years of music! I've trodden the boards of many stages and kicked up many a diamante heel! The songs I have chosen all feel very personal and connected to my life. I hope they will do the same for my fans."
