Editorial Reviews 
Product Description 
This CD contains four complete programs made for U.S. National Guard recruitment and features Billy Maxted's Manhattan Jazz Band, a swinging traditional band which was equally at home performing items such as Gin Mill Blues or Milneburg Joys as more laid back numbers such as Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's Satin Doll. The vocalist on these sessions was the superb Jill Corey, a singer who was more than the equal of most of her contemporaries, who handles a song in a fine and precise manner. Tracks include: Milenberg Joys, When I Fall In Love, The Song Of The Wanderer, Cock Eyed Optomist, Up A Lazy River, I've Got The World On A String, Satin Doll, The Trolley Song. 

And this review by Dan Singer in his column, Singer's Singers, in the July 2010 issue of In Tune International magazine published in the UK is equally glowing:

Hear is a rare opportunity to finally hear Jill before a live audience on some eight songs and some commercials for the National Guard.  These four complete fifteen-minute National Guard radio shows were called Let's Go to Town and featured upbeat, toe-tapping dixieland songs by the Billy Maxted Manhattan Jazz Band.  

When I Fall in Love (Young/Heyman) is dramatically sung with its rarely heard verse.  It's a treat to listen to this standard sung in full throttle with all of its meaning intact.  A Cockeyed Optimist (Rogers/Hammerstein) is swung uniquely.  She even adds a delightful single line on Oh, What a Beautiful Morning (Rogers/Hammerstein), proving quality, not quantity abounds.  Bye, Bye Blackbird (Henderson/Dixon) is given an unusually delightful take with a great change in beat midway that will surprise everyone.  There are even some especially written lyrics for the occasion.

I've Got the World on a String (Arlen/Koehler) is sung in a single chorus go-around containing a strong upbeat vocal.  Something's Coming (Bernstein/Sondheim) showcases her unbelievable dramatic style in this famous Broadway standard.  The Trolley Song (Blane/Martin) has a wide-awake zippy rendition.  Jill is brisk in a thundering take.  But Not for Me (Gershwins) is sung to the hilt.  She treats this song in a once-in-a-lifetime soft, moody dramatic reading.  You'll never forget it.  Big Daddy (Pockriss/Udell) is lots of fun.  It's a rocker - even with a twingling rock-and-roll piano.  It's great that these rare obscure shows, originally aired only once for a month on the radio, are finally available for us on CD.  As a bonus there's a wonderful photo of Jill on the cover.

It was the summer of 1958, fresh from high school graduation and preparing to enter college, when we purchased the original Columbia Records LP Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue.  At the time the typical price of a pop LP was a mere $3.98  In retrospect we must consider this minor expenditure at the time as the best investment in entertainment this writer has ever made.   Even after forty-five years we continued to enjoy this delightful album, albeit with the inevitable pops and crackles of  well-worn vinyl.  Almost as if it were yesterday, we can still recall the words of a local disc jockey who had played all six Sometimes I'm Happy selections from the LP in succession.  Never, he said, did anything in his experience elicit such immediate and enthusiastic response from his radio audience!  

Now we have a wonderful digitally remastered version of Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue on CD!  The liner notes of the new CD begin:  Jill Corey was an energetic, effervescent, happy-go-lucky young charmer, simply bursting with gleeful delight.  Nowhere is this more evident than in her treatment of six familiar songs with the distinct flavor of the Roaring Twenties - but with Miss Corey's unique imprint on each and every one.  The listener simply can't avoid hearing the smile in her voice as Jill romps through these delightful tunes that comprise Sometimes I'm Happy.  

But life does not always bring happiness.  There are the sad moments too, and in Sometimes I'm Blue Miss Corey proves she's well equipped  to comment on those as well - through the words of  Irving Berlin,  Lorenz Hart and others -  in her very own poignant, heart-rending mezzo.  Even here, at the tender age of twenty-three, there is ample evidence of her ability to excel in this genre, and it portends those comparisons to Garland and Piaf that came so often later in life in her caberet performances.  

The original twelve selections in the Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue LP have been augmented on the CD with six more - consistent with the original dual themes of the album.  Among these is our personal favorite, Exactly Like You, which was released as a single by Columbia in 1957.  There is also a perfectly beautiful rendition of  My Reverie sung to a gentle Latin beat.  

Obviously we must admit to a personal bias here, but we heartily recommend this new CD to anyone who appreciates those products of the legends of the Golden Age of popular music as interpreted by one delightful and gifted singer.  The CD may be ordered through your local Borders or Barnes and Noble book store or online at Amazon. com, or Oldies.com    To learn more of the story of the original 1958 LP and Jill's central role in its creation click here.   

AJK