LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Conqueroo Music) - International vocal superstar
Petula Clark - best known for hits like 'Downtown,' 'I Know A Place,' 'Color My World,' 'Don't Sleep in the Subway' and 'My Song' - will soon have both a CD and DVD on Collectors' Choice Music.
The CD, titled Petula Clark: Open Your Mind - The Love Song Collection and due out February 3, contains 21 love songs, many of them previously unreleased and spanning the period between 1972 to present. The DVD, Portrait of Petula Clark, dropping March 10, is taken from a 1969 multi-city shoot originally seen as a British TV special.
Petula Clark: Open Your Mind - The Love Song Collection ships just ahead of Valentine's Day and contains originals by Clark, songs written by longtime producer Tony Hatch and several covers, all culled from a variety of labels, among them MGM, Universal and Scotti Brothers. Included are Hatch compositions 'Walking on Air,' 'Open Your Heart' and 'Serenade of Love,' plus Clark's 'Super Loving Lady,' an alternate take of 'It's OK (I Believe in You)' from Then & Now: The Very Best of Petula Clark and the newly recorded, never-before-released 'In the City.' Cover highlights include Leon Russell's 'Song for You,' Queen's 'These Are the Days of Our Lives,' Paul Stookey's 'The Wedding Song' and Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio's 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You.'
In her foreword for the package, Clark writes: 'Love songs - where would we be without them? Breezy love songs, nice 'n' easy love songs, sad love songs, even silly love songs. Now and then, one comes along and seems to change the meaning of it all. Singers love to sing them. I've recorded quite a few - even written some of my own at different stages of my life. So, I hope that here you will find a love song for your own special keeping.'
Portrait of Petula Clark, the DVD, is taken from a 1969 TV special filmed in Paris, London, Geneva and Los Angeles. It's immediately evident from the color-drenched sets and the joie de vivre expressed in every note that this could have only come from that time and place. Clark offers charming interpretations of 'This Girl's in Love With You,' 'My Funny Valentine,' 'When I was a Child,' 'Mademoiselle de Paris' and the ballad 'You & I' from her motion picture Goodbye Mr. Chips. Crooner Andy Williams duets with Petula on 'Visions of Sugar Plums' and the playful 'You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd' (written by Roger Miller). Williams also sings 'Happy Heart,' a hit for both himself and Clark. And in keeping with the international flavor, French vocalist Sacha Fistel performs 'Love Is Blue' and joins Clark and Williams for 'The Poor People of Paris.' Then it's back to London for an appearance by British actor Ron Moody and his character Fagin from the film Oliver.
Special bonus material on the DVD includes Petula singing 'Walk Through the World with Me' and 'Without a Song,' plus new interviews with Petula and Andy Williams. Called 'enchanting' by the Hollywood Reporter, the DVD contains 65 minutes and features 16 songs.
