Nancy Wilson
Guess Who I Saw Today: Nancy Wilson Sings Songs of Lost Love
Save Your Love For Me: Nancy Wilson Sings The Great Blues Ballads
Nancy Wilson - The Great American Songbook
Capitol Jazz

Capitol has taken to surveying Nancy Wilson's span of recordings from 1959 to 1969 and breaking up the highlights into two neat little anthologies and one sprawling one. Her sharp yet smooth, pointed yet subtle delivery of her classic signature "Guess Who I Saw Today" highlights its titular compilation, which also includes the likes of "When Sunny Gets Blue" and "You Can Have Him" among its 14 selections. Save Your Love For Me is one selection longer, and is a perfect platter for when the lights are down low. "All Night Long" is particularly haunting, and the lyrical revision on "Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You" is amusing. Either of these two single-disc collections would probably be enough to satisfy the casual Nancy Wilson fan.

For those who can't get enough, The Great American Songbook still might prove a challenge. The material is all top-notch, and Rod Stewart won't be topping these interpretations any time soon, but at 44 songs spread across 2 jam-packed compact discs, the set is a bit long. Best to break it up and listen in chunks.

That the decade of time during which these songs were recorded saw numerous changes in the personnel backing Ms. Wilson enhances rather than mars the listening experience is a testament to the excellence of the players, producers, and engineers involved. And of course, to Nancy herself, and her unique style. These discs represent a very enjoyable re-examination of her Capitol catalog, a re-examination which hopefully many others will enjoy as well.-- Michael Fortes