Connie Francis
Where the Boys Are – Connie Francis in Hollywood (Turner Classic Movies/Rhino 72774)

Enjoyment of this CD will entirely depend on your affinity for early 60s movie musicals and/or how straight you are. Some of it is achingly genuine ("Where the Boys Are," "Follow the Boys"), some is excessively campy ("Let's Have a Party," a fake rock 'n' roller which promises to "rip it up" with a party involving soda, lemonade, and charades), and some is middle-of-the-road (middling covers of standards like "Embraceable You," "But Not For Me," and "Be My Love").

If the disc were as solid as its first three tracks, it'd be a torchy classic, but some of the weaker moments from the more "musical" films drag the disc down to the sort of thing that makes the most sense if you hear it playing at one of those magazine stores that only sell things from the 50s and 60s.

High points are the longing Neil Sedaka classic "Where the Boys Are" and its virtual rewrite "Follow the Boys," which may even be a better song. There's plenty of cuteness in tracks like the duet with Danny Thomas ("I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me") and the fake jazz of "Looking For Love," but a lot of the brassier material will appeal more to lip-synching female impersonators looking for slightly more obscure material to mine: "When the Boys Meet the Girls," "Mail Call," "When the Clock Strikes Midnight." I've used "Mail Call" a number of times in my own act (I perform as The Glamorous Glynda), flanked on either side by beefcake "mailmen" ingeniously trying to deliver me a "package." Brings the house down.

The disc features several previously unreleased demos of Connie accompanied only by piano, basically just demo-ing the movie songs, so you end up getting two versions of "Let's Have a Party." Actually, I like these tracks the most because they are the least self-consciously aiming for the standing ovation.

Connie Francis throughout demonstrates amazing talent, and the disc makes a great argument for her being a largely neglected icon outside of the world of film buffs. Certainly her musicality eclipses, say, Doris Day's, but then I suppose that's like pitting Mary Tyler Moore against Valerie Harper … they're both good, after all.

Perfect music for getting over that special someone, or simply getting pumped up for the community theater production of "Beach Blanket Bingo" you're directing. Appeals to the girly part of us that just wants to cuddle. When you want to get fucked passionately, though, go for the rapturous sensuality of, say, a Tina Louise or a Patti Page. 🤷

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Review by Jane Penne-Pasta