Rosemary's "friends" on "Ring Around Rosie" are none other than the Hi-Lo's! (She is accompanied by Harry James on "Hollywood's Best.") The dozen songs on "Ring Around Rosie," though not a cappella, are some of the loveliest in the canon of American popular song. Clooney's straightforward and unmannered style is immediate and engaging, in contrast to the Hi-lo's more modern jazz phrasing; together, they offer the best of both. For example, the Hi-lo's trade verses with Rosie on "How About You," and outline chords behind her with brilliantly hued swipes; when they harmonize, as they do, fittingly, on "Together," one can feel the appreciation flowing. Her "Everything Happens To Me" conveys the song's gloomy irony by virtue of the plainness of its delivery. The Hi-Lo's are sans Rosie on "I Could Write A Book," "Coquette" and "Solitude"; the latter two are presently unavailable on any other recording. "Hollywood's Best" features big band arrangements of movie themes, and Clooney's first million-selling record, "Come On-A My House." |