As cheerfully upbeat and unflaggingly optimistic as only an album with the title
Fine and Dandy can be, this
Jerry Fielding-arranged date perfectly captures the essential effervescence of
Debbie Reynolds. Sweet but never saccharine, the songs offer a pitch-perfect combination of sincerity and playfulness.
Fielding's selection of material is excellent, favoring songs that underscore
Reynolds' girl-next-door appeal: her performances of "Ain't We Got Fun," "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," and "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" are positively radiant, buoyed by energetic and colorful arrangements that skirt the boundaries of camp but never quite go over the rails. ~ Jason Ankeny