Commonly listed under her name because she gets first billing, Living Era's
When I'm Calling You is a collection of nine songs sung by soprano
Jeanette MacDonald (1903-1965), eight by baritone
Nelson Eddy (1901-1967), and five duets (tracks one, two, six, sixteen and seventeen) which is perhaps less than those who take the album title literally would expect. Stars of stage and screen, both singers were operatically inclined, although
MacDonald worked primarily as a movie actress before seeking and receiving classical voice training in an apparent effort to emulate
Lily Pons. Macdonald's greatest authentic successes in opera mainly involved works by
Charles Gounod (see track fifteen, the "Waltz Aria" from Romeo et Julliette); other composers and songwriters with whom she tangled include (as represented here)
Franz Lehár,
Sigmund Romberg,
Oscar Hammerstein,
Richard Rodgers,
Lorenz Hart,
Nacio Herb Brown,
Harry Von Tilzer and
Richard Whiting.
Eddy tackled some of these himself along with
Giacomo Puccini and
Georges Bizet; together the singers hogtied
Rudolf Friml,
Victor Herbert, and
Gus Kahn. Accompaniments were committed by the usual suspects: orchestras operating under the direction of
Nathaniel Shilkret,
Ray Noble,
Leonard Joy, and
Robert Armbruster.
Nelson Eddy was capable of kicking up quite a fuss (see "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" and his marvelous handling of the "Toreador's Song" from Carmen). Punchiest of all is "The Mounties," a recording that almost certainly led to the creation of the cartoon character Dudley Do-Right and bears a stern resemblance to
Eddy's over-the-top delivery on "Stouthearted Men." This is charmingly nostalgic stuff, much of it sentimental and precious beyond belief.