Marie McDonald The Body Sings

As an actress Marie McDonald wasn't much. Marie came across as usually stiff but in her defense the majority of the time she was nothing more than a set decoration. Her nickname as the album illustrates was called "The Body." However, she also was a singer, a fact that is usually neglected. She started out singing for Tommy Dorsey in the 40's. (I'd love to hear these recordings by the way.) Then she made this sole lp in the 50's, an excellent a la Julie London effort. Marie understands the lyrics and wraps herself around them. She manages to breathe new life in overdone standards like Embraceable You. The best songs have to be Paradise and He took me by a storm. It's not perfect though. The background singers tend to bring things down sometimes.