AMG Review of Best of Peggy Lee: The Blues & Jazz Sessions

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Best of Peggy Lee: The Blues & Jazz Sessions is an 18-track collection that culls the highlights from Lee's 30-year tenure at Capitol Records. Since the compilation covers such a large time period, it's not surprising that the music doesn't all hold together -- it's clear when one song was recorded in the '50s and the other in the '70s. Nevertheless, the quality of the music is very strong, demonstrating that Lee was much more than a mere pop singer -- she was a talented blues and jazz vocalist, as well. The album contains such standards as "Why Don't You Do Right?," 'Fever," "Hallelujah, I Love Him So," "Goin' to Chicago," "The Thrill Is Gone," "Seventh Son" and "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'."