The Cosmopolitan Marlene Dietrich

Performer: Marlene Dietrich
Artist: Rosemary Clooney
Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment

Notes: Compilation producer: Michael Brooks. Recorded in New York between 1951 and 1954. Digitally remastered by Larry Keyes (Sony Music Studios, New York). This is part of Legacy's Art Deco series. THE COSMOPOLITAN MARLENE DIETRICH contains 18 recordings, 9 of which are sung in her native German language, and 6 previously unreleased tracks. Also includes 15-page booklet with classic black and white photographs, a discography, and liner notes by Will Friedwald. This excellent compilation draws from both halves of Marlene Dietrich's career. In her early days as an actress/singer from Germany in the '20s and '30s, Marlene Dietrich made much of her European exoticness, and sang most of her material-even the American pop songs-in her native language. For a language often thought of as harsh and forbidding, Dietrich's German vocals are possibly more relaxed and melodic than her famously stiff, world-weary English phrasing. Along with the original German version of her signature song "Lili Marlene," highlights here include German translations of "Miss Otis Regrets" and "Surrey with the Fringe on Top." The second half of the collection features Dietrich's English-language singing from the '40s and '50s, including a terrific duet with the young Rosemary Clooney. While Dietrich was a more mannered singer in English, she was still an exceptional talent.

Marlene Dietrich's worldly, half-spoken vocal style made her the ultimate femme fatale vocalist for nearly a half-century. Her first major film role was in DER BLAUE ENGEL (THE BLUE ANGEL), in which she introduced what was to become her signature song, "Falling In Love Again." The international success of that film led to a long career in Hollywood. Dietrich didn't entirely neglect her music career, however, and in 1950 recorded the all-German LILI MARLENE LP for Columbia Records. During the '50s, Dietrich also began a new career as one of the world's most highly paid cabaret artists, eventually employing the young Burt Bacharach as her musical director. She came out of retirement in 1979 for her final film role with David Bowie in JUST A GIGOLO.

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