Bette Midler: The Divine Miss M (1972)

I was searching for more Bette albums on vinyl, hoping to come across this one by chance, when all of a sudden there it was in all of its colourful vibrant shining glory: the classic debut album from the Divine Miss M, "The Divine Miss M" released on Atlantic Records on 7 November 1972. It was the beginning of a long and illustrious recording career which has lasted five decades, producing such evergreens as "Chapel of Love", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Friends", "The Rose", "Under the Boardwalk", "Wind Beneath my Wings", "From a Distance", and so much more!

When Bette recorded this album, she had been performing many of these songs in her act with her accompanist Barry Manilow (I wonder what happened to that guy because from what I understand he's very good) at the Continental Baths, the Gay Bathhouses at the Ansonia Hotel in New York. Her following had grown so increasingly that Atlantic Records signed her and the rest as they say (me frequently in these reviews) is history.

Bette and Barry Manilow went into the studio to make this album and from the very first time I heard it, it was a joy from beginning to end. Bette has the ability to transport you when you listen to one of her songs, which she truly makes her own in the process, leaving you with the feeling that you wish you could hear another one of her albums. Well, that's what all good, great entertainers should do and Bette and "The Divine Miss M" is no exception.

Let's have a look then from the beginning, and I'll try to include some trivia about each of the songs as we go along.

"Do You Want to Dance?" --- Bette offers us her version of the 1958 Bobby Freeman single of the same name. I've only ever heard that version once, but to me this stands with that because again Bette makes it belong to her and it really soars. Cissy Houston, the late great Whitney Houston's mother, is singing on the backup vocals for this song. I only just found this out about an hour ago thanks to Uncle Wiki and was stunned.

"Chapel of Love" --- next we get Bette's take on the classic 60s song from Darlene Love and the Dixie Cups written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector and this is just great fun from start to finish. This album manages to capture some of Bette's humour too, which studio wise is at its height on future albums like "Live at Last" and "Mud Will Be Flung Tonight", with the little bit at the end where she and her back-up ladies start laughing among themselves: "That is the pit's end for a really terrific song."

"Superstar" --- what follows is one of my favourite moments from Bette's singing career ever. This is Bette's version of the Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell classic popularized by the Carpenters the previous year, and... words defy me. It is such a moving experience and listening to it not that long ago made me a fan of Bette's all over again. I would also like to mention another version here which is worth you checking out, sung by Australian TV presenter and actress Kerri-Anne Kennerley on her 1988 album self-titled. They are both equally as brilliant to me.

"Daytime Hustler" --- after the emotional experience of "Superstar", the tone shifts with this one "Daytime Hustler". It's just the shift in tone the album needs after that point. I'm not really sure who might or might not have recorded this before, but it's always a nice bouncy one for the headphones. According to Uncle Wiki, apparently this was placed on the B side of the album instead in an early promo. I think it was right that they changed it.

"Am I Blue?" --- the album shifts again to this version of the classic 1929 song by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke, which I have only ever heard in Bette's version, which is probably lax of me. Then again, Bette's version lands so successfully on the ears I almost wonder if this is at least one of the definitive recordings of this out there.

"Friends" --- so many of us know this song from "The Divine Miss M" written by Mark "Moogy" Klingman and Buzzy Linhart, but this is not the version you always hear on the greatest hits albums. It's an earlier somewhat more spontaneous session on the A side. I love the less polished version. Moments like this and the end of "Chapel of Love" give us the feeling that we're getting a glimpse into the recording sessions as well.

"Hello in There" --- the album shifts once again into this moving, heartbreaking moment, "Hello in There" written by the late great John Prine. From the first time I heard a Bette Midler album, this is one of the songs that always stuck with me. It's truly one of the highlights of not only this album but her entire musical career.

"Leader of the Pack" --- ah yes! It's time for Bette to take on that rock classic from the Shangri-Las, brought to us by George Morton, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Bette honours what I feel is a great theatrical piece of music, which could be happening in a musical or a film. I'd heard the song vaguely before this, but it was Bette who really familiarized me with it and I guess made me a fan.

"Delta Dawn" --- if you know the late great Australian singer and actress Helen Reddy, you will remember her iconic take on this song. It is one of her most classic songs. When I hear Bette sing it, she stands equal with Helen and I believe that this is one of Bette’s most classic songs too. If it had been released as a worldwide single, it probably would have given Bette another hit.

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" --- firstly, you have to hear the version on "Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits" for the stereo mix which just makes this song sound even cooler than it was before. Bette takes on the Andrews Sisters classic from the 1940s and from what I understand it's all Bette singing all of the different vocal tracks on the song. She becomes in a sense all of the Andrews Sisters in one person. Well, she is the divine miss M, I suppose.

"Friends" --- the album comes to an upbeat end with the more polished refined version of "Friends", one of Bette's biggest songs. The Divine Miss M has taken us on a rollercoaster ride and now the journey is coming to an end, and we're all ready for the big finisher. But wait, there's more, on the next album, “Bette Midler” which I would like to refer to as "The Divine Miss M 2".

In 2016, fans were very lucky to get a deluxe edition of the album containing early recordings, demos and outtakes. I've still never heard it, but what's more important is that it's put the album out there again, hopefully for the next generation to discover it more easily. Now if only that would happen with the other 70s albums and I didn't have to hunt around endlessly for a CD copy of "Thighs and Whispers".

Also, I wanted to mention the cover art from Richard Amsel, the artist who worked on famous movie posters like "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark", "The Sting", "Flash Gordon", "The Dark Crystal", "The Muppet Movie" and so many others. He completes the whole package with what I will again describe as something colourful, vibrant and shining, that classic portrait of Bette the entertainer. The Divine Miss M!

Thank you for reading.

Ryan.