CURIOSITIES
Mrs. Miller - The Turned-On World Of Mrs. Miller [2000]
It helps to come to The Turned-On World Of Mrs. Miller without trying to decide too quickly what it is supposed to be. The recordings by Mrs. Miller have a reputation that tends to arrive ahead of the music yet hearing them gathered like this shifts the focus. Across the full sequence, something more consistent begins to take shape.
The set draws from the mid-1960s recordings she made for Capitol, presented here in a way that lets the material run without interruption. Familiar songs appear, often drawn from contemporary pop of the time, but the performances do not follow the expected phrasing or timing. Instead, they move with a kind of independence from the arrangements, the voice and the backing sometimes meeting, sometimes passing by each other.
What becomes noticeable after a few tracks is that the effect changes depending on how long you stay with it. Heard in isolation, a single performance might feel unusual or even disorienting. Heard in sequence, the patterns settle. The orchestral backings remain steady, carefully arranged, while the vocal delivery introduces a different sense of timing that does not quite align with the structure underneath.
Faster numbers, slower ballads, and well-known melodies all pass through the same approach. Over time, the repetition creates its own logic. The listener begins to hear the recordings less as novelty and more as a distinct style, even if it sits outside conventional expectations.
By the final stretch, the set feels less like a collection of curiosities and more like a consistent body of work presented without commentary. The arrangements remain polished, the voice remains unchanged, and the space between them becomes part of the listening experience.
This compilation leaves room for different reactions. It does not resolve its own contradictions, it simply presents them, track after track, and allows the listener to decide how to meet them. (B)
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Track list
01 Mrs. Miller - Renaissance of Smut 2:20
02 Mrs. Miller - Up, Up and Away 2:34
03 Mrs. Miller - Anything Goes 1:51
04 Mrs. Miller - Green Tambourine 2:21
05 Mrs. Miller - Tiptoe Through the Tulips With Me 2:22
06 Mrs. Miller - Green Thumb 2:03
07 Mrs. Miller - The Roach 2:15
08 Mrs. Miller - I Sleep Easier Now 2:38
09 Mrs. Miller - My Pet 2:06
10 Mrs. Miller - Mary Jane 2:01
11 Mrs. Miller - Granny Bopper 2:17
12 Mrs. Miller - Strangers in the Night 2:42
13 Mrs. Miller - Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home 2:12
14 Mrs. Miller - Melody 2:19
15 Mrs. Miller - Every Little Moment 2:38
16 Mrs. Miller - Moon River 2:26
17 Mrs. Miller - Sweet Pea 2:35
18 Mrs. Miller - Monday, Monday 2:26
19 Mrs. Miller - I've Got a Tiger by the Tail 1:50
20 Mrs. Miller - Memphis 2:15
21 Mrs. Miller - A Little Bitty Tear 2:12
22 Mrs. Miller - May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Noes 2:19
23 Mrs. Miller - Misty Blue 2:12
24 Mrs. Miller - Oh, Lonesome Me 2:24
25 Mrs. Miller - Shutters and Boards 2:45
26 Mrs. Miller - This Ole House 2:20
27 Mrs. Miller - Act Naturally 2:15
28 Mrs. Miller - Waitin' in Your Welfare Line 2:09
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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A glorious bit of nuttery, BB. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi vclortho,
DeleteIt really is a glorious bit of nuttery from start to finish. Mrs. Miller occupies her own little corner of the musical universe, and that’s exactly why she’s so much fun to revisit. Glad this one brought a smile.
Cheers.
Madness on every level!
ReplyDeleteHi EriktheK,
DeleteMadness on every level is exactly righ, the arrangements, the delivery, the sheer commitment to the bit… it all adds up to something wonderfully unhinged. You think you’re prepared, and then she still manages to surprise you.
Cheers.
Listening to this (twice, uninterupted) You MUST listen twice. The first time you are merely readjusting, rejecting, denial, and only after a second listen you get it. This is Stockholm Syndrome in Audio Optima Forma.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard,
DeleteThat’s the perfect description of the Mrs. Miller experience, the first pass is pure disbelief, the second is where your brain finally surrenders and starts to accept the new reality. It really does feel like a kind of musical Stockholm Syndrome, resistance, confusion, then sudden affection for something you absolutely shouldn’t be enjoying as much as you are.
Once you tune into her wavelength, the whole thing becomes strangely addictive...
Cheers.
FABULOUS!
DeleteNothing says "Dinner Party Music" like Mrs Miller. Bless you.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff,
DeleteNothing sets the mood for a refined evening quite like Mrs. Miller sailing gloriously off‑key into the cosmos. She turns every dinner party into an unforgettable event, whether guests are ready for it or not. 😳
Cheers.
Um, I lasted 5 minutes, lol.
ReplyDeleteHi D,
DeleteFive minutes is actually a respectable first‑round endurance time. The initial shock is real. Mrs. Miller has a way of testing the limits of even the bravest listeners before the charm (or delirium) kicks in. Dip back in only if you feel emotionally prepared.
Cheers.
It is a great pity that her versions of 'Downtown' and 'A Lover's Concert' - her first single - have not been included. For full effect, perhaps this album should have been posted on April 1st. Mind you, had she been around today, she would surely have won one of those dreaded X factor things.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been wonderfully excruciating to have heard her in concert together with Florence Foster Jenkins singing as a duo. On a technical point, if you play the file backwards it really does make perfecct sense as the ideal companion to a romantic evening with your lover.