Roses & Sunshine

by

Nana Mouskouri

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I was in New York in June 1980 when I got to hear this album from a friend's LP record collections, my first - and accidental! - introduction to this sweet-voiced singer from Greece. I was so captivated by the songs that I practically stole the LP record from its owner!

Nana Mouskouri's beautiful and soaring soprano is pure, soothing and crystal clear. It jumps right out of the speakers and makes listening an intensely personal and intimate experience.

Her handling of 'Sweet Surrender' is as good and infectious, if not better, than the original version of the late John Denver. Her ability to interprete fast-paced numbers like 'Nickels And Dimes', 'Love Is A Rose', and 'There's A Time' (a re-make of Elvis Presley's 'Wooden Heart') is equalled only by her tasteful ability to handle tender ballads like 'Autumn Leaves' and 'All Over The World'. She is adept in projecting vastly different moods and it shines through in this album.

After listening to many of her subsequent albums, I come to the conclusion that Nana Mouskouri is very much at home doing folk and country type pieces like Bob Dylan's 'Tomorrow Is A Long Time', the folk standard 'Roses Love Sunshine', and 'Down By The Greenwood Side', a sweet and simple tune, though monotonous by its length and repetitiveness. But my favorite cut has to be 'Even Now', a song about a woman recalling and reliving her happy past with her lover and wishing for him to come back into her life.

After all these years, Roses Love Sunshine is still one of my favorite albums ever. One must not miss this one.