Just Pet/Petula '71

Traditional wisdom is that Petula Clark's late-'60s and early-'70s albums are yucky adult contemporary glop. While there is no question that they are aimed at a much more mature audience than swinging pop tunes like "I Know a Place," albums like 1969's Just Pet and 1971's Petula 71 are actually quite good examples of the best of adult contemporary pop of their era. Just Pet is heavier on the pop covers, both effective ("The Fool on the Hill" is probably the definitive cover, and "Happy Together" has a knowing, sly wit to it) and not (Petula Clark is many things, but soulful is not one of them, so "Hey Jude" and "Tears of a Clown" weren't terribly good ideas). The more sparsely orchestrated, almost jazzy Petula 71 (which was Clark's first album in seven years not to gain a U.S. release) sticks more to the non-rock MOR pop songbook, but it keeps from treacle, thanks to Johnny Harris' understated arrangements and Clark's sublime, rich vocals. Her languorous performance of the standard "For All We Know" is simply divine. This reissue adds a disappointing 1972 single of Andrew Lloyd Webber's wretched "I Don't Know How to Love Him," a belting performance that unfortunately doesn't rise above the weak material. ~ Stewart Mason|