BETTE MIDLER
Bette Midler Sings the Songs of Rosemary Clooney (Columbia Records)
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Gene Stout
The late Rosemary Clooney — yep, George Clooney’s aunt — was among the top female vocalists of the 1950s. Bette Midler pays tribute to the warm and sometimes swinging songstress in an album that reunites Midler with her original piano accompanist and musical director, Barry Manilow. Together, M&M offer a sentimental look at the Clooney era with well-orchestrated versions “This Ole House,” “Hey There” and “Mambo Italiano,” as well as pop classics “Tenderly,” “Come on-a My House,” “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” and, of course, “White Christmas” — just in time for the pre-Christmas buying season. (Gene Stout)
GRADE: B+
