She Did It!: The Songs of Jackie DeShannon, Vol. 2

Liner Note Authors: Peter Lerner; Tony Rounce; Mick Patrick.
Ace's second volume of the Jackie DeShannon songbook favors, like the first (or any other entry in their superb songwriter series, for that matter), interesting deep cuts over familiar hits, but this gap is even more pronounced on She Did It! because 2008's Break-A-Way collected so many hits DeShannon had written for other artists. The exception here is "Bette Davis Eyes," a song Kim Carnes turned into an international smash in 1981 thanks in large part to Val Garay's ominous Euro-new wave arrangement. The gangly Laura Nyro tribute of DeShannon's original, which is by no means well known, would've fit in better with the rest of She Did It!, as it dates from the same late-'60s/early-'70s heyday of soulful singer/songwriters as the rest of the material here. All the featured artists on She Did It! fall somewhere along the spectrum of soul act to studio singer: Jeannie Seely, Brenda Lee, Kiki Dee, Marianne Faithfull, P.J. Proby, Olivia Newton-John, Rita Coolidge, the Carpenters, and Delaney Bramlett, every one of them a pro who can recognize a pro like DeShannon. And although there aren't a lot of familiar songs here -- there's Dorothy Morrison's 1969 version of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," along with "Bette Davis Eyes" -- what impresses is the level of craft in DeShannon's songs, along with the studio musicians who provided these singers with sympathetic support. It's a nice way to preserve not only DeShannon's songbook but the feel of her glory days. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine