The Puppini Sisters

THE PUPPINI SISTERS
"THE RISE & FALL OF RUBY WOO"
(Verve, 2007)


I've always had a passing interest in "close-harmony" vocal groups of the '40s like The Andrews Sisters, so when I saw the debut album by The Puppini Sisters as I was passing by the racks in a local store a few months ago, I made a mental note to check them out online when I got home. I was intrigued right away, but my want list was long enough that I put off buying either of their albums until I was on vacation last month ... and I came home with both their debut, "Betcha Bottom Dollar", and this, their sophomore release.

Their first album was made up entirely of cover tunes, some of them faithfully remade period classics by their progenitors like The Chordettes, The Ink Spots, and of course The Andrews Sisters, and some of them retro takes on more contemporary tunes such as Blondie's "Heart of Glass", Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive". But this time around they've thrown five self-penned songs into the mix, while at the same time taking more interesting liberties with the classic tracks. The Duke Ellington chestnut "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" starts out with its traditional arrangement, but halfway through it slows down into a slinky, seductive sway that draws the listener's interest right in. The country-bluesy "Jilted", the samba-like shuffler "Soho Nights" (with gorgeous vocal scattery), and the hauntingly beautiful waltz "And She Sang" show off the ladies' songwriting and arranging skills wonderfully, not to mention fitting in completely naturally with all the cover songs. Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love" and Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic" get the Puppini treatment so well that anyone who isn't the wiser would almost assume they were '40s tunes.

The only tune that (in my opinion) doesn't really work here is "Walk Like An Egyptian" -- perhaps the "oh-eh-oh" vocals being kept so close to their original arrangement are what break the deal for me; rearranging them into the close-harmony style like the rest of the vocals would have made the song more interesting. But that's a small complaint since the rest of this album, as well as their first one, are so darn enjoyable. Word has it that the trio of Marcella Puppini, Kate Mullins, and Stephanie O'Brien will be filling their next album with all-original tunes, and I for one am already eagerly looking forward to it.

Buy it digitally from iTunes
Buy it on CD from Amazon