''The Magic Is You'' is a 1979 album by Welsh singer

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

. Her final album for

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

, the album notably featured a disco version of her signature 1968 song "This Is My Life".

Overview

Following the UK top three success of her ''25th Anniversary Album'' in late 1978, Bassey followed this up with an album of newly recorded tracks. The lead single (and opening track) from the album was a disco version of one of her signature songs, "This Is My Life (La Vita)". While this was a divergence from her normal output, the rest of the album continued in her more usual MOR style. The album was produced by American producer Nick DeCaro and arranged by DeCaro with Tom Saviano.Shirley Bassey Wordpress – CD release
/ref> Cover versions featured on the album included "

Don't Cry for Me Argentina "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song recorded by Julie Covington for the 1976 concept album ''Evita'', later included in the 1978 musical of the same name. The song was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were ...

", " Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "

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" – the latter of which had been released by

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

two years earlier but became a much bigger hit when covered by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

some seven years later. The album was released in the US in January 1979 and garnered a favourable review from ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' stating: "In an era of female singers with whispery little-girl voices, it's a treat to hear a lady who can belt out a tune with conviction and dynamics. The songs here allow her to use this power." The album also gained a 3-star review from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. In the UK, the album was delayed by a further three months possibly to avoid close collision with her previous album, and charted at No.40 in the UK Albums Chart in May 1979. The single "This Is My life (La Vita)" was released on 27 April 1979, but failed to chart.45cat – "This Is My Life (La Vita)" single
/ref> Following this, Bassey recorded and released her third

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

theme for the film '' Moonraker'', which marked the end of her 1970s output and led to a three-year break from recording. ''The Magic Is You'' was her final album for

for which she had recorded throughout the decade. The album was remastered and re-released on CD in 2011 packaged with a 1976 compilation '' Thoughts of Love''. This version contained one bonus track – an extended 12" version of "This Is My Life".

Track listing

Side One # "This Is My Life (La Vita)" (

Norman Newell Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the songwriter, co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians su ...

Bruno Canfora Bruno Canfora (; 6 November 1924 – 4 August 2017) was an Italian composer, conductor, and music arranger. Life and career Born in Milan, Canfora studied piano at an early age, then studied oboe at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. Du ...

Antonio Amurri Antonio Amurri (28 June 1925 – 18 December 1992) was an Italian author, radio and television writer and lyricist. Born in Ancona, Amurri was author of some of the most popular RAI variety shows, such as ''Canzonissima'', ''Gran Varietà'', '' ...

) # "Better Off Alone" ( Bruce Roberts,

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

) # "You Never Done It Like That" (

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Howard Greenfield Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including o ...

) # "

" (

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

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) # "As We Fall in Love Once More" (Richard Germinaro,

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, Ben Weisman) Side Two # "Night Moves" ( Michael Franks,

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) # " Anyone Who Had a Heart" (

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

) # "The Magic Is You" (

Stélios Vlavianós Stylianós Vlavianós ( el, Στυλιανός Βλαβιανός), often called Stélios Vlavianós, (born 7 July 1947) is a Greek composer, musical arranger, a member of the Sacem and the SACD, among others. Biography Vlavianós was born ...

, Robert Rupen) # "How Insensitive" (

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

Vinícius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...

Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist of popular songs, television and movie themes. He wrote the lyrics for songs including "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (both with ...

) # "

" (

Michael Masser Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music. Early life Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 19 ...

)

Personnel

* Shirley Bassey – vocals * Nick DeCaro - Producer, string and vocal arranger * John Mills – engineer * Tom Saviano – assistant arranger *

Hank Cicalo Hank Cicalo (born June 25, 1932) is an American recording engineer whose career has spanned over fifty years. Among the artists recorded by Cicalo are The Monkees, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and George Harrison. Early career In 1957, Cical ...

– remixing * Frank DeCaro - Music Contractor and Album Supervisor * Linda Gerrity – production coordinator * Bill Burks – art direction *

Francesco Scavullo Francesco Scavullo (January 16, 1921 – January 6, 2004) was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of ''Cosmopolitan'' and his celebrity portraits. Biography Scavullo was born January 16, 1921, on Staten Island, ...

– photography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Is You, The 1979 albums Shirley Bassey albums United Artists Records albums