Bette Midler: Broken Blossom (1977)

I have many happy memories of the albums of Bette Midler, from "Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits" which I heard the same day as "Bathhouse Betty" in 1998, followed up by "The Divine Miss M", "The Rose" and "Beaches", and everything else I've been able to hear since, but "Broken Blossom" was not one of these albums until relatively recently.

The fourth studio album from Bette, released 17 November 1977 on Atlantic Records the same year as her double release "Live at Last", was something I barely knew in any form at all. I just knew it had a version of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Disney's "Cinderella", oh and of course "Paradise" from Bette's 1980 live album "Divine Madness".

I'd just managed to secure myself a copy, and would be listening to this for the first time, right on the verge of a friend of mine going into hospital for an operation. I switched out all the lights, lay down and listened to the album in the dark from cover to cover. It almost felt like 1998 all over again, when I was treated to what I still think is one of Bette’s coolest albums: "Bathhouse Betty".

In context: "Broken Blossom", which is also the name of an American silent film directed by D.W. Griffith, follows on from Bette's already significant achievements, establishing her place as one of America and the world's finest entertainers, "Divine Miss M", "Bette Midler", "Songs for the New Depression" and "Live at Last".

This time Bette is working with producer Brooks Arthur, who according to his website has also worked with talents as diverse as Adam Sandler, Blood Sweat and Tears, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Janis Ian, Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Sir Richard Attenborough, Van Morrison and more. For the complete list, check out his website. It's really quite impressive. The majority of the album was recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles with Additional Recording at Studio 55 in L.A. For more credits, check out the album liner notes, or if they're not available there, go to Wiki.

The selections from this album include a plethora of writers, ranging from Bob Merrill, Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker, Billy Joel, Tom Waits (following Bette's beautiful work on "Shiver Me Timbers"), David Pomeranz and Spencer Proffer, John Carter and Sammy Hagar, J.C. Johnston, Mack David, Perry Botkin, Jr. with Gil Garfield and Harry Nilsson, Craig Doerge and Judy Henske, and Mack David again with Louiguy and Edith Piaf on Bette’s version of "La Vie en Rose".

Release wise, Wiki tells me there were two singles: "Storybook Children (Daybreak)" and "Paradise", which I almost find baffling, since I would have released a lot more from this album, including "You Don't Know Me" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood". That really is rotten luck.

Looking at the charts here, "Broken Blossom" reaches Number #51 on the US Billboard 200, 46 in the Canada Top Albums/CDs and one number lower in Australia (come on, Aussies, come on.) Going over that information here, I can't help but feel that based on my listening experience Bette deserved better. If we could only cast our eye a couple years into the future though, she's going to be just fine with "The Rose" and ultimately "Beaches" giving us two of arguably her biggest songs.

In terms of availability, I found my copy in a five album set of all of Bette's 70s albums except for "Live at Last" and "Thighs and Whispers" (a real shame with the last one because I can find "The Rose" a lot easier than "Thighs" which was a total Nightmare on Music Street.)

Let's have a look at the album itself!

"Make Yourself Comfortable"---we begin with this mellow, heartwarming little track as I indeed made myself comfortable to listen to this album for the first time. I can see this one working as a single.

"You Don't Know Me"---there have been a raft of performers who have recorded this over the years, including Roy Orbison and Elvis themselves, and I notice Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Michael Bolton and Anne Murray on that list too, but the first one I remember hearing was Bette's, and I want to reiterate here that this should have been a single. She did awesome.

"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"---I love the music of Billy Joel. I love all of his albums, more or less. I love "Turnstiles" which this song came from, just before "The Stranger" which sealed his career. Bette does a mean version, which could have helped highlight Billy's pre-"Stranger" material if it had been released as a single too. If it wasn't for Billy, this version would actually be it for me.

"I Never Talk to Strangers (Duet with Tom Waits)"---as I mentioned before, Bette had already done a beautiful version of Tom's "Shiver Me Timbers" on both "Songs for the New Depression" and "Live at Last", and now Tom not only lends his writing talents but his vocals too. This is a cool little track that is worthy of more attention. I wish it had made it to one of the compilations.

"Storybook Children (Daybreak)"---this feels like it could have come from a 1970s musical, a movie I almost half-remember but which doesn't exist. I am glad this got a single.

"Red"---the mood shifts dramatically with "Red". It's like I've gone from a relaxing sunset to driving through a city on Saturday night. Bette's vocal rocks here and the band!

"Empty Bed Blues"---this one sticks in my mind because of the lyrics. You'll see why when you listen to it, if you haven't heard this one.

"A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"---Bette does a version of one of the iconic Disney classics, this one taken from "Cinderella", almost ten years before she played Georgette in Disney's "Oliver & Company", not to mention "Beaches". She certainly does it justice.

"Paradise"---yes, this was pretty much the one I actually knew as a Bette song prior to this album. "Divine Madness" goes nuts with it, whereas this is mellower and more like a Phil Spector production to my ears. I dig both.

"Yellow Beach Umbrella"---it would have felt perfectly at home as well on "Songs for the New Depression" or even "The Divine Miss M". I can also picturing it turning up years later on "Bathhouse Betty". This feels like another musical or film.

"La Vie en Rose"---we come to an end with Bette's version of this classic from French singer Edith Piaf. When I first saw the track list for this album, I thought it might have been another Edith song "Non, je ne regrette rien", because I didn't know the title. So I find myself wondering what a Bette version of that would have been like!

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.