This is so wrong; it ends up being right somehow. On paper, this cover is a car wreck. Barbara takes on Bowie�s brilliant, epic ballad of camp surrealism � his homage to big, theatrical female belters like Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and�Streisand, herself � and the song escapes her utterly. Her delivery sound like she learned the lyrics phonetically. (She might as well be singing in Cantonese.) And Jon Peters� production/Tom Scott�s arrangements bring to mind the cool, �L.A.-sound� of Joni Mitchell�s �Court and Spark� LP � minus all the clever bits Joni brought to the table. Yet it spite of all of these faults � this version works. The song is just too good, and Babs� charisma is just too powerful. It�s a [Space] oddity you�ve got to hear to believe.
Mixing light bossa nova guitar, gentle strings, flutes, subdued piano and muted trumpet (or trombone, not sure) this is a very elegant, romantic sounding track by Piero Piccioni, evoking, as the title suggests, images of the blue sea glittering in the summer sun. Moodwise it's quite reminiscent of Jobim's "Tide" and "Triste".
from Travolti Da Un Insolito Destino Nell'Azzurro Mare D'Agosto (CBS) available on CD - Swept Away (King)