it is not really a detour, though – we stay with something like the american songbook, sung by a girl from greece. by one of the best selling artists, recording uncounted (well, someone surly counted them) records in many languages, hailing from greece: nana mouskouri.
she came to my mind by the little sidenote in previous posts about good collaborations: ms mouskouri collaborated with…quincy jones. yes. it was a surprise for me, too. i remember when i bought the record, my record dealer actually said that one wonders what would have become of nana mouskouri if she would rather have chosen the path shown on this record. and i know what he means. he was right, but it also felt somewhat unfair. so for this post i have been thinking about cheesy music – and came to absolutely no conclusion. and then it is also a somewhat futile discussion…
back to the record: it is a very nice record – it’s actually a cd-reissue (i do not have everything on vinyl, mind you) which is done beautifully – definitly recommended. and this record is a nice contrast to hildegard knef’s interpretation of cole porter – while ms knef goes the way of appropriating the songs, ms mouskouri works somewhat different. well, have a listen for yourself. and dont’ you just like this picture where she shows us some nice attitude? yeah!
and while we’re with nana mouskouri and collaborations: i just recently realized that she and harry belafonte did collaborate, too – touring together. and recording together. and since it is getting dark very early these days, what better then to propose to you an evening with mr belafonte and ms mouskouri, singing both in greece. and harry belafonte sounds really good in greek. hmmm… and yes, another interesting cover (she does not wear her glasses!). so – enjoy!
not sweating yet 