his CD comprises two albums from the early 1960s, featuring Sarah Vaughan in the days when she was packaged not as a jazz singer, but as a pop balladeer. Whatever genre she was placed in, however, one thing is clear: she has a voice that transcends both categorisation and her musical surroundings.
The two albums, "Snowbound" and "The Lonely Hours", feature two distinct styles of arranging. Don Costa's charts are graceful and atmospheric, with a steady predominance of smooth-sounding strings; the Vaughan vocals are just as velvety as the violins on great songs such as "Glad To Be Unhappy". The splendid arranging talents of Benny Carter on the second album are swinging, and Vaughan is vocally more adventurous here, as evidenced on "I'll Never Be the Same". Sarah Vaughan's voice for all seasons and styles is featured to superior effect over the course of this collection.|
Rovi