BEA WAIN - That's How I Love the Blues : The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 [2003]

On the second of three CDs that reissue the solo recordings that singer Bea Wain made after her successful period with Larry Clinton, she is heard on 25 selections that were formerly quite rare. Wain is generally backed by medium-size groups that are jazzy and arranged by Walter Gross. The music swings and is high-quality middle-of-the-road pop music of the era. What uplifts the performances above the average are the highly expressive yet subtle interpretations of Wain, who has been greatly underrated (and often overlooked) ever since the end of the swing era. While the vocalist is still best known for her hits (particularly "My Reverie") with Larry Clinton's band, she was still in her early twenties when most of these solo sides were cut and she was continuing to grow as a singer. In addition to 19 selections from 1939-1941, she is heard on a remake of "My Reverie" with Vaughn Monroe's orchestra in 1940, singing "You Made Me Love You" in 1947, and on four V-Discs (two formerly unissued) with the Ellis Larkins Trio. This valuable set fills in a major gap in reissue programs and should help Bea Wain to be recognized as one of the best singers of the period.  by Scott Yanow 
Tracklist
1 Go Fly a Kite 2:43
Johnny Burke / James V. Monaco
2 Glad to Be Unhappy 3:01
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
3 When Love Beckoned 3:27
Cole Porter
4 It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow 2:51
Irving Berlin
5 It's Somebody Else 3:01
Walter Gross / Bea Wain
6 Hello Ma! I Done It Again 2:09
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin
7 How Did It Get So Late So Early 2:27
Will Erwin / June Sillman
8 Kiss the Boys Goodbye 2:47
Frank Loesser / Victor Schertzinger
9 That's How I Got My Start 2:33
Frank Loesser / Victor Schertzinger
10 Peekaboo to You 2:09
Johnny Mercer / Joseph Meyer / Carl Sigman
11 You Started Something 2:52
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin
12 God Bless the Child 3:06
Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.
13 Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 2:46
Traditional
14 Birth of the Blues 2:56
Lew Brown / Buddy DeSylva / Ray Henderson
15 You'll Never Know 2:50
16 Baby Mine 3:02
Frank Churchill / Ned Washington
17 The Lady Who Walks Alone 2:54
Johnny Green / Jack Lawrence
18 That's How I Love the Blues 3:02
Ralph Blane / Hugh Martin
19 Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 3:08
Ralph Blane / Hugh Martin
20 My Reverie 2:21
Larry Clinton / Claude Debussy
21 You Made Me Love You 3:34
Joseph McCarthy / James V. Monaco
22 My Man Is a Handy Man 3:18
Andy Razaf
23 Trouble Is a Man 3:23
Alec Wilder
24 Fools Rush In/Everything I Have Is Yours 3:32
Harold Adamson / Rube Bloom / Burton Lane / Johnny Mercer
25 The Gentleman Is a Dope 3:13
Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers

BEA WAIN - That's How I Love the Blues: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 

[2003] Baldwin Street / CBR320 / scans

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BEA WAIN - You Can Depend on Me : The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 [2001]

Bea Wain is mostly remembered as Larry Clinton's girl singer, whose "My Reverie" was to become a classic from the big-band era. But she recorded a string of songs with Clinton that made the Top Ten hit list. Tired of the long road trips and the low salary, Wain left Clinton in 1938, signing up with RCA Victor. In the first of a projected multi-volume set, Baldwin Street Music released the entire output of the singer's studio recordings (from July 1939 to May 1941) backed by a studio orchestra with piano and arrangements by Walter Gross. There are also some cuts featuring Wain from the Your Hit Parade radio show. Wain's laid-back, almost casual approach to singing helps makes listening to her so enjoyable. As was the practice of the day, many of the tunes on the play list are from musicals and movies. Among the more notable are "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "Dancing in the Dark," "Our Love Affair," and "You Made Me Love You" with Johnny Long & His Orchestra. Her "Stormy Weather" came before Lena Horne's more famous recording. Wain was also a pioneer in inserting the verse in the middle of the song after the first chorus, which gave an added fillip to her delivery. With all her talent, one can only wonder what her place in the history of American Popular Song would have been if she had started her career with Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, or Benny Goodman. This fine album honors an exceptional singer from the big-band days and beyond. As always, the label has done a fine job in transferring the material to CD. by Dave Nathan  
Tracklist:
1     Stormy Weather    3:17
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
2     Oh, You Crazy Moon    2:54
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
3     Make With the Kisses    2:51
James Van Heusen / Johnny Mercer
4     I Didn't Know What Time It Was    3:20
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
5     Blue Rain    3:25
James Van Heusen / Johnny Mercer
6     Hello, My Lover, Goodbye    3:17
Johnny Green / Edward Heyman
7     Dancing in the Dark    3:23
Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz
8     I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You    3:10
Bing Crosby / Ned Washington / Victor Young
9     Buds Won't Bud    3:18
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
10     I'm Nobody's Baby    3:20
Milton Ager / Benny Davis / Lester Santly
11     I Could Make You Care    3:06
Sammy Cahn / Saul Chaplin
 12     I'm the Lonesomest Gal in Town    3:13
Lew Brown / Albert Von Tilzer
13     Our Love Affair    3:04
Roger Edens / Arthur Freed
14     I Don't Want to Cry Anymore    3:36
Victor Schertzinger
15     Let's Be Buddies    2:57
Cole Porter
16     Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please    2:43
Cole Porter
17     No Love Blues    3:04
Eddie DeLange / Arthur Gershwin
18     How Did He Look?    2:33
Gladys Shelley / Abner Silver
19     Do I Worry?    2:37
Stanley Cowan / Bobby Worth
20     You Can Depend on Me    2:38
Charles Carpenter / Louis Dunlap / Earl Hines
21     My Sister and I    3:15
Alex Kramer / Joan Whitney / Hy Zaret
22     Afraid to Say Hello    2:51
Harold Arlen / Tell Taylor
23     Do I Love You?    3:26
Cole Porter
24     You Made Me Love You  2:01
Joseph McCarthy / James V. Monaco
 Credits:
Walter Gross     Arranger, Piano
Bea Wain     Photography, Vocals   

  BEA WAIN - You Can Depend on Me: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 

[2001] Baldwin Street / CBR320 / scans

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BEA WAIN - My Reverie [2000]

Bea Wain's gorgeous voice is marvelously reproduced and celebrated on Jasmine's My Reverie, a fabulous compendium of classic big band recordings dating from 1937-1941. Backed by the orchestras of Larry Clinton, Artie Shaw and Leonard Joy, this charming woman demonstrates her ability to handle each and every song with uncontrived style and finesse. Her version of Harold Arlen's "Stormy Weather" is an immaculately rendered rite of passage. Even Hoagy Carmichael's long-suffering "Heart and Soul" becomes a delectable treat when sung by Wain. Songs of a romantic nature undergo a magical transformation; "Deep Purple" and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" become arrestingly beautiful, while "Dancing in the Dark" might well cause susceptible listeners to abandon all worldly attachments and responsibilities in order to worship the voice of Wain by playing this one song -- "Dancing in the Dark," words by Howard Dietz, music by Arthur Schwartz -- over and over again for the rest of time. by arwulf arwulf
Tracklist
1 My Reverie 3:25
Claude Debussy
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
2 Heart and Soul 3:09
Hoagy Carmichael / Frank Loesser
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
3 Old Folks 3:18
Dedette Lee Hill / Willard Robison
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
4 Deep Purple 3:41
Peter DeRose / Mitchell Parish
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
5 The Masquerade Is Over 2:46
Herbert Magidson / Allie Wrubel
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
6 My Heart Belongs to Daddy 2:34
Cole Porter
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
7 I Get Along Without You Very Well 3:20
Hoagy Carmichael
Bea Wain feat: Larry Clinton & His Orchestra
8 If It's the Last Thing I Do 3:01
Sammy Cahn / Saul Chaplin
Bea Wain feat: Artie Shaw & His Orchestra
9 Dancing in the Dark 3:22
Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz
Bea Wain feat: Leonard Joy & His Orchestra
10 I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You 3:08
Bing Crosby / Ned Washington / Victor Young
 11 Oh, You Crazy Moon 2:53
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
 12 Stormy Weather 3:16
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
 13 I Didn't Know What Time It Was 3:19
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
 14 I Could Make You Care 3:05
Sammy Cahn / Saul Chaplin
 15 Kiss the Boys Goodbye 2:46
Frank Loesser / Victor Schertzinger
 16 That's How I Got My Start 2:33
Frank Loesser / Victor Schertzinger
 17 Peekaboo to You 2:08
Johnny Mercer / Joseph Meyer / Carl Sigman
 18 You Started Something 2:50
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin
 19 I Don't Want to Cry Anymore 3:36
Victor Schertzinger
 20 Our Love Affair 3:02
Roger Edens / Arthur Freed
 21 Do I Worry? 2:36
Stanley Cowan / Bobby Worth
 22 I'm the Lonesomest Gal in Town 3:11
Lew Brown
23 My Sister and I 3:15
Alex Kramer / Joan Whitney / Hy Zaret
 24 You Can Depend on Me 2:37
Charles Carpenter / Louis Dunlap / Earl Hines

BEA WAIN - My Reverie

[2000] Jazmine / CBR320 / scan

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