Tv commercials occasionally offer wonderful surprises, and the Target commercial (late Summer 2002)featuring the track "Sweet Happy Life" has introduced a new generation of romance enthusiasts to Peggy Lee. The Latin feel of that song is worthy of comparison to the best of Astrud Gilberto's wonderful work ("The Girl from Ipanema"), and it will attract fans who love jazz, samba and unapologetically happy music. The other tracks showcase Peggy's ability to pour tender, intense emotion into different tempos and moods.

Peggy Lee doesn't get much better than this. She evokes every emotion, from the spurned lover who now wants her man gone, "A Empty Glass," to a winsome pollyanna, "Think Beautiful." Lee jumps and swings with some neat arrangements on "Call Me" "Nice n' Easy" and "Too Close for Comfort," but also purrs with a sensual mellowness in "Remind Me" and the title track "Pretty Eyes." Lee who has a penchant for taking risky arrangements with rock overtones does so here and quite nicely in "Mohair Sam." These two CDs showcase Peggy superb-lee.

The two albums which make up this twofer were recorded six years apart, so there is no obvious reason why they were paired together, but they are both excellent examples of Peggy's music and they fit well together.

The first, Pretty eyes, recorded in 1960, shows Peggy's sexy, seductive voice at it's most romantic, including lovely versions of I remember you and In other words (fly me to the moon), done very slowly. Most of the other songs are obscure gems from the Great American Songbook. Peggy knew which songs suited her style and didn't mind whether they were famous or not. Her song selection was always impeccable.

The second, Guitars ala Lee, is from 1966. It begins with Nice'n'easy which, despite it's title, is more upbeat than anything from Pretty eyes. Peggy soon slips back into romantic mood with a soft, reflective version of Strangers in the night. There is generally more variation in this second album, but even here, there are plenty of soft, romantic rongs just like those on Pretty eyes. The final track on this album is a swinging cover of Petula's Call me. Peggy was Petula's main influence back in the fifties, but Petula moved away from that sound in the sixties. Here, Peggy shows that she could also adapt to the sixties without sacrificing her integrity, and it's a great way to close this twofer.

I am a HUGE Peggy Lee fan and own dozens of her CD's (and LP's.)
For some reason, this EMI twofer was one I'd never heard in full.
Several of the songs appear on other compilations of hers, so
I wasn't in any hurry to plunk down $20. to hear this. But am
I glad I finally did! Both of these albums show Peggy in her
prime. I was completely unprepared for "Pretty Eyes", which has
got to be one of her best recordings, EVER. The arrangements by
Billy May are completely different than his work with Frank
Sinatra. Lush, beautiful strings that are sweet but never
overdone, gentle but driving rhythms, and on top of it all
Peggy sings as if she's trying to seduce the listener (and she
does). Gorgeous! "Guitars A La Lee" is a bit more eclectic,
using several top-notch guitarists of the era backing her up in
a variety of songs and moods, from standards to novelties that
were "hip" at the time. 90% of them are totally enjoyable, and
her version of "Call Me" is one of the best I've ever heard. This is a CD of great variety that shows Peg in great voice and sounding very inspired. GET IT!

AFTER HEARING SWEET HAPPY LIFE (ON GUITARS ALA LEE) IN THE TARGET COMMERCIAL, I JUST KNEW I HAD TO OWN IT. AND I AM NOW A DEVOUT PEGGY LEE FAN, TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY BY HER SEXY THROATY BLUESY VOICE. THE FIRST TIME MS LEE WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION WAS IS THAT ALL THERE IS AND WITH THIS CD I DISCOVERED CERTAINLY NOT. THE PRETTY EYES PORTION IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CD'S FROM CAPITOL'S LATE 50'S EARLY 60'S I'VE EVER HEARD. IT IS LUSH LIKE FINE SATIN. "AS YOU DESIRE ME", "PRETTY EYES" & "IN OTHER WORDS" WERE MY FAVORITE CUTS. AND "TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT" I DARE YOU NOT TO HUM THIS WONDERFUL DITTY. AND THE GUITARS PORTION OF THE CD IS SO SMOOTH. "SWEET HAPPY LIFE" IS WONDERFUL. HER COVER OF "STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT" RIVALS MR SINATRA. "MY GUITAR" CRIES FOR A GLASS OF WINE & FINALLY "AN EMPTY GLASS" IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS I HAVE HEARD IN A LONG TIME. BUY THIS CD AND I AM SURE YOU WILL HAVE TO HAVE MORE LIKE I DID.