Billie Anthony The Magic Of Billie Anthony (CD)

(EMI Records) 33 tracks

Billie Anthony, the "Atomic Blonde Bombshell" from Scotland, was an aggressive, upbeat pop singer similar to the American artists she covered, notably Georgia Gibbs, Teresa Brewer and Betty Johnson. Her only hit was a version of "This Ole House" with which she gave strong competition to Rosemary Clooney in the United Kingdom, but her recording career spanned more than a decade and led to the release of 22 singles on the English label Columbia. The Magic of Billie Anthony collects 33 of those recordings, from her first session (1953's "I'd Rather Take My Time") to her last ("A Handful of Gold" from 1960). In between are a number of pop songs, most of which are cover versions of uptempo American hits. Her style was firmly rooted in the earlier pop era even after the rock and roll explosion, and her few "rock" recordings are hybrids. Their few "rock" recordings are hybrids. They have the "big beat" associated with rock, but the instrumentation and tightly composed arrangements come from traditional pop and big band music. There is, however, a fine line between sweet novelty and cloying fluffiness, and some of their songs cross it - a pitfall that the aforementioned American pop singers have also struggled with from time to time. By and large, this is the kind of fun and funny music Mitch Miller is known for (or criticized for), and it fits Anthony's bubbly personality perfectly.