April Ames - Strike A Match (1957/2021) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Big-band and and Vegas singer April Ames went solo in 1957 for what was apparently her only LP, "Strike a Match." The album, which was remixed for a 1959 stereo re-release, is part of the GNP Crescendo catalog that now is available through amazon as an on-demand CD-R. Jazz and lounge singers of the 1950s and early '60s, particularly women, comprise a big portion of my music collection, yet despite that, I was not familiar with Ames. Never heard of her! That was a huge oversight, because the singer displays a girlish voice, with a pleasing tremelo, that effortlessly conveys warmth and emotional sincerity. In the manner of the day, "Strike a Match" is a contrived theme album with, in addition to the title track, songs the likes of "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire," "Romance in the Dark," "Smoke Rings," "Two Cigarettes in the Dark," "My Old Flame," and so forth. Tracks range from upbeat to reflective, even somber; Ames seems most at home with the latter sort, and with "small-room" arrangements. The seductively slow title track, for example, is a marvel of intelligent, unexpected phrasing: Ames could have interpreted the song in any number of conventional ways, but she elected to slip into a celebration of languor, with drawn-out syllables that maintain the song's rhythm while simultaneously defying it.

TRACKLIST

1. April Ames - Strike A Match (Remastered)
2. April Ames - Kiss In The Dark (Remastered)
3. April Ames - I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire (Remastered)
4. April Ames - Under A Blanket Of Blue (Remastered)
5. April Ames - Romance In The Dark (Remastered)
6. April Ames - Where There's Smoke There's Fire (Remastered)
7. April Ames - Smoke Rings (Remastered)
8. April Ames - My Old Flame (Remastered)
9. April Ames - Whispers In The Dark (Remastered)
10. April Ames - Moonlight Love (Remastered)
11. April Ames - Two Cigarettes In The Dark (Remastered)
12. April Ames - I'm Beginning to See the Light (Remastered)
13. April Ames - 'Til I Waltz Again With You (Remastered)



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