Something Cool [2001 Reissue]

1	Something Cool Mono Original Version 4:18
2	It Could Happen to You Mono Original Version 1:57
3	Lonely House Mono Original Version 3:58
4	This Time the Dream's on Me Mono Original Version 1:32
5	The Night We Called It a Day Mono Original Version 4:50
6	Midnight Sun Mono Original Version 3:16
7	I'll Take Romance Mono Original Version 2:20
8	A Stranger Called the Blues Mono Original Version 3:58
9	I Should Care Mono Original Version 2:11
10	Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise Mono Original Version 2:14
11	I'm Thrilled Mono Original Version 2:42
12	Something Cool Stereo Version 4:58
13	It Could Happen to You Stereo Version 2:02
14	Lonely House Stereo Version 4:05
15	This Time the Dream's on Me Stereo Version 1:38
16	The Night We Called It a Day Stereo Version 4:55
17	Midnight Sun Stereo Version 3:33
18	I'll Take Romance Stereo Version 2:21
19	A Stranger Called the Blues Stereo Version 4:22
20	I Should Care Stereo Version 2:13
21	Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise Stereo Version 2:16
22	I'm Thrilled Stereo Version 2:47

Barnes & Noble

More than almost any other singer in the jazz and big band universe -- with the exceptions of Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra -- June Christy's art was not about swinging (which she usually did) or scatting (which she rarely did) but about storytelling. Her whole focus was in conveying a narrative and making you believe it from start to finish, and she spent most of her tenure at Capitol Records in pursuit of ever more intriguing stories to tell and fresh contexts (usually supplied by her fellow former Kentonite, arranger Pete Rugolo) to tell them in. Billy Barnes's "Something Cool," which is to most pop songs what a Homerian epic is to a limerick, afforded her the widest and most expansive canvas. Not that she always took herself so seriously. SOMETHING COOL, her best-remembered album also includes any number of purely-fun uptempo numbers, like "This Time the Dream's on Me." The CD edition also includes a mess of bonus tracks from hitherto unreissued singles. Will Friedwald

All Music Guide

June Christy's classic Something Cool has been expanded from 11 songs to 24 on this essential CD with two unreleased cuts and six songs only previously out as singles. Christy's attractive "cool" tone was a trademark of jazz in the 1950s, her version of "Something Cool" remains a classic, and many of the other numbers are nearly as memorable. Accompanied by Pete Rugolo's Orchestra, Christy is heard at her best on such numbers as "Whee Baby," "You're Making Me Crazy," "Midnight Sun," "A Stranger Called the Blues," "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," "This Time the Dream's on Me," and "The Night We Called It a Day." [Capitol Jazz's 2001 reissue boasted true 24-bit remastering and included both the full stereo and mono versions of the album, as well as extensive liner notes.] Scott Yanow