Say Wonderful Things was
Patti Page's first album for Columbia following a long association with Mercury Records. In the early '60s, Mercury had
Page record wacky albums of male rock & roll hits and country music, but Columbia set her up with adult fare and lush backing akin to
Julie London's albums from the same period. Whether such a move was wise is debatable, since
Page went from making minor but consistent hits to a two-year hiatus from the pop charts. The title track from
Say Wonderful Things was her last hit before the drought, and it is a waltz-time ballad more in keeping with her Mercury output than the rest of the album. The other tracks include a vaguely Brazilian-sounding rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" and loads of easy listening ballads ("Days of Wine and Roses," "Moon River").
Page even makes
Skeeter Davis' "The End of the World" sound like a
Dinah Shore chestnut.
Say Wonderful Things was probably in line with the kind of serious vocal music
Page wanted to make, but the results are unfortunately bland.