Title:

Patty Duke Sings Songs From Valley of the Dolls and Other Selections

Year:

1967

Record Company:

United Artists Records

Track Listing:

It's Impossible

Come Live with Me

Give A Little More

I'll Plant My Own Tree

Theme From Valley of the Dolls

My Own Little Place

Half-Hearted Kisses

Roses Are Red (My Love)

A Million Things To Do

Forever Yours

Learn To Live With Your Heartbreak

I Want Your Love (Unreleased)

Liner Notes:

What you will hear in this superb collection has been hailed as 'the excited voice of Patty Duke,' which is

not, as it sounds, a misnomer, but which is a deliberate way of suggesting that Patty Duke's lustrous,

range-rich and expressive voice displays the very essence of excitement itself. Of course, Patty is an

exciting singer, but precisely because her voice is excited and emotional and full of action.

The songs themselves are diversified, in keeping with Patty Duke's own wide and considerable talents.

The numbers demonstrate the subtle nuances of character, of mood and of motivation, of deep human

understanding of the troubled soul who sings them. This is the personality of 'Neely O'Hara' in

"Valley Of The Dolls", the destroying and self destructive, self-centered and eruptive singer which

Patty Duke portrays with such power and verisimilitude.

The combination of singer and actress is a rarity in show business, as the long history of the musical stage

has so often attested. Patty Duke combines both talents in a stirring and striking blend of rare

accomplishment. Her achievements as a stage and motion picture actress, crowned with a coveted and

much deserved Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Oscar Award for her unforgettable performance

as young Helen Keller in 'The Miracle Worker' are well known. If it were at all possible, Patty Duke

surpasses herself as Neely O'Hara in "Dolls", and one detects the magic of her talents in the warm

modulations of her voice, in the heart-touching airs, the nostalgic themes, and above all, the deeply moving

arias which come through.

What impresses above all is the diversity and range of Patty Duke's performance. Here gathered together

are different songs which express the gamut of emotions which charge through vibrant and dynamic

Neely O'Hara. And different they are, for they exhibit the changing moods of a woman alternately in

ecstasy and anguish, self-pity and romance, bitter cynicism and bright hope, yielding softness and brassy

harshness. There are few performers who can offer this gamut of human emotions with such clarity and

with such controlled power. Patty Duke has added to her laurels, and added to your entertainment pleasure.

-Gene Kelly

Fan Reviews:

Out of all of Anna's released albums, this is by far one of the best.  Not only does the album best

showcase Anna's vocal abilities, but it also has a very diverse track listing ranging from jazz to pop. 

The first side of the album contains all of the songs from the motion picture "Valley of the Dolls."  Not

only does this side of the album have the songs Neely sang, but also all of the other songs from the film. 

Most casual fans of Anna do not know this, but she really was not singing in "Valley of the Dolls."  Anna had

a voice double (sounds almost identical to her real singing voice doesn't it?).  This therefore gives us fans

the chance to hear Anna's renditions of the songs that Neely O'Hara belted out in the movie.

The second side of the album is more or less a collection of pop songs to take up space on the album, but

Anna does not treat the songs as if they were merely fillers for the album!  The have the intensity, if not

more so, of the first five songs and have that late 60's feel to them.  To be honest some of my favorites from

Anna's repertoire come from this portion of the album.  This is the exciting voice of Patty Duke...

-Craig Emery

As with the film "Valley of the Dolls," this album was meant to display Anna as an adult.
The album could have been much better, and the blame goes to the arrangers and engineers.
The problem with the VOD songs are the songs themselves; no masterpieces here, with the exception of the title song.
The songs worked in the movie due to some very good and very energetic orchestrations.  The arrangements on this recording are horrible, and give Anna very little support.
One does get the impression that Anna did have a bigger voice than was shown on the previous albums.
Her tone is brassy, and with some better orchestrations, this could have been a very good recording.
"Come live with me" has a good lush orchestration, and as such, is one of the better songs on the album.
NO singer could have put across the arrangement of the theme song on this LP.  Much too slow, and heavy handed.
"My own little place" and "A million things to do" could have been very good, but the engineering is bad, and Anna's voice is lost many times.
It would have been interesting if Anna could have worked with Nancy Sinatra's producer and arranger.  I think the overall production quality would have been better and I think he may have had a better feel for Anna's capabilities.
I think the light, but tough, sound that Nancy Sinatra's songs and recordings had, were what the production team had in mind, but it didn't quite gel.
I don't think Anna's vocal abilities were ever fully realized, but her albums hint at a voice that was capable of much more, and certainly deserving of better production values.

-Mark Carpenter