Blue Dream Street

Patti Page's penultimate Mercury release, Blue Dream Street towers among her finest efforts for the label, boasting an emotional depth often absent from her biggest pop hits. (It had actually been recorded almost a decade earlier.) Conductor Jack Rael's treatments strip away any suggestions of over-production to focus squarely on Page's vocals. At the same time, he replaces the de rigueur country music elements with hints of traditional jazz and blues, bolstering the nocturnal melancholy the album's evocative title promises. Left largely to her own devices, Page delivers some of the most impassioned and poignant vocals of her career, clearly relishing the opportunity to tackle perennials like "Route 66," "Dream a Little Dream of Me," and "Am I Blue." ~ Jason Ankeny