Bette Midler's 2014 effort,
It's the Girls!, finds the legendary vocalist paying homage to female girl groups from the '40s, '50s, and '60s. Never one to be underestimated, however,
Midler also brings the homage full circle with a reworking of
TLC's 1995 R&B hit "Waterfalls."
Midler's 14th studio album and 25th album overall,
It's the Girls! follows up her successful compilation Memories of You. Though it represents an all-new effort in the studio,
It's the Girls! nonetheless feels like a retrospective, a return to the cabaret and theatrical style of her early career. Working with veteran producers
Marc Shaiman and
Scott Riesett (both of whom previously helmed albums by
Harry Connick, Jr.,
Mariah Carey, and others),
Midler frames her resonant vocal chops with lush arrangements that, while reverential to the original recordings, certainly allow her to express her own personality on each song. Here, we get
Midler's take on such classics of '60s girl group pop as
the Ronettes' "Be My Baby,"
the Chiffons' "One Fine Day," and
the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love." Elsewhere, she turns her attention to more golden-age vocal group standards like
the Andrews Sisters' "Bei Mir Bist du Schön" and
the Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman." These are brightly produced songs perfectly suited to
Midler's vocal style, stage bravado, and cheeky sense of humor. ~ Matt Collar