Radio DJ Reviews
Everybody here in Boston loves listening to Mews Small’s Pearl Street Garage #1. Her collection of old standards is a nostalgic journey down memory lane. Her interpretation is captivating. Mews’s voice is ideal and resonates with a sound that is perfect for the songs of this era. Wow! What a talent!
—Ron Della Chiesa, DJ at WGBH Radio in Boston and WPLM in Plymouth, MA
Most popular album I’ve ever played! More people called in about Pearl Street Garage #1 than any other album. Most eclectic collection of songs I’ve ever heard.
—Don Wright, DJ of ‘Anything Goes’ show, KMUN Oregon
The range of her voice and the depth of her performance is impressive. She reminds me of Judy Garland. Her repertoire includes an unusually wide variety of material. She has her own inimitable style and is a joy to listen to.
—Patricia Phillips, DJ at KMUN Oregon
1340mag.com: The Free Internet Music Magazine
Mews Small began her singing career as a teenager in New York. One of her first roles was singing and acting in a play directed by the then unknown Dustin Hoffman. After some time in the New York night club circuit and roles in East Coast theatres, including the original Broadway cast of Grease, Small moved to California. She has appeared in 18 feature films and numerous TV shows. She even ran for US Congress.
On this CD Small sings songs from the 1920s and 1940s and some older American traditionals. She is backed up by The Small Band, an acoustic ensemble of piano, violin, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar, etc. It’s easy to close your eyes and image these songs being played and sung on a theatrical stage 80 years ago.
I remember hearing some of these songs as a kid, which was a long time after they were written. But, they are old standards orsound like they should have been. They are art music now and Small and her band do a good job of giving them a breath of life once more.
—Keith Quillen, 1340mag.com
CD: Pearl Street Garage #1
Audiences frequently call her an American Piaf
Review by Paula Edelstein
Theatrical / film / television actress Mews Small makes the leap to band leader with the release of Pearl Street Garage #1. This collection of Broadway theatrical tunes and jazz standards, spotlights Small‘s ability to interpret the story behind the song—a talent that is widely recognized due to her role as “Frenchy” opposite John Travolta in the Broadway version of Grease. Her vocal style ranges from country and western to ragtime and should appeal to enthusiasts of off-Broadway, Broadway and dinner theatre music.
Reviews of Live Shows from the Past
Irving Haber, whose club has projected many an entertainer into the international spotlight, has another winner in Mews Small, a vivacious and youthful singer with a lovely voice and a special, almost indefinable way of putting a song across. Whether it is a sentimental ballad like ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’ or a haunting one like ‘Children of Darkness’ or a rhythm number by the Beatles, Miss Small handles it with Poise and with pleasure. There are plenty of ‘canaries’ striving to make it in show business, but it takes the something extra to make a star and I feel that Miss Small has this quality.
—Park East, La Dolce Vita column
The American Rag Magazine
Mews Small has a unique voice that compels listening, with a let-loose emotion and a Broadway power. Creative arrangements, with touches of whimsy at times, draw you into the musical messages of these veteran songs with reverence and delight. It was so compelling, I forgot about my valued morning coffee until the CD had almost finished its tunes, and my needed hot beverage was cold!
A ten tune play list consisted of mostly 1920s beauties by Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson, Billy Rose, and Con Conrad, in addition to earlier traditional songs. The latest song was the 1943 ‘Comin’ In On A Wing And A Prayer’, performed with appropriate emotion and spirituality to honor determination and bravery of the perilous trials of World War II. It was a significant song of a difficult time. Effective slowing of tempo on ‘Yes Sir, That's My Baby’ and ‘I'm Always Chasing
Rainbows’ brought out a restrained energy that nailed listener interest. ‘Hand Me Down My Walking Cane’ had such spirit to it that it perhaps could have been suitable for a slightly swinging church service. Good use of rests (pauses) focused attention and anticipation during ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ and the ‘My Buddy’ ending. ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’, done so well by so many vocalists, now has another very memorable and wonderful version. Other tunes were ‘You’ve Got To See Mama Every Night’, ‘I'm Always Chasing Rainbows’, ‘Hello Central, Give Me Heaven’, ‘Dark Eyes’, and ‘Abide With Me’.
Mews Small‘s cleverly named band, ‘The Small Band’, featured excellent musicians: Phil Small, piano and backup vocals; Curtis Robertson Jr., upright bass; Raymond Pitts, clarinet anddrums; Jim Coffman, trombone, mandolin, violin, and guitar; Laura Kass, violin; Mitta Wise, backup vocals; and Steve Goodie, guitar. Each instrumentalist was featured along the way on this CD, with particularly attractive accents of clarinet and violin. Coffman deserves the one-man band award for hisparticipation with numerous instruments. Although not mentioned on the CD enclosure, you've probably seen the multi-talented Mews Small in feature roles in numerous films and TV shows, most notably that of Candy, opposite Jack Nicholson, in ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’.
—Harvey Barkan, Barkan’s CD Selection of the Month
Maria Von Trapp personally praised Mews for her portrayal of
herself in ‘The Sound of Music’:
...And some of the sweetest sounds came from the vibrant throat of Mews Small who proved to be a take-charge girl like Mama Trapp herself. It wasn’t easy, with Mrs. Trapp and her musical brood in the front row, but it was successful. The ovation at the end was broken only when Mrs. Trapp joined the radian cast for a bow, and a brief homily and the kind of praise that often makes careers. Wrapping Miss Small in a motherly embrace, Mrs. Trapp told the audience “I have seen many productions of ‘The Sound of Music’ on Broadway, in big cities, road companies, in the movies. There have been some very good Marias, but I knew they were playing. But tonight, I would see this girl. (another hug) and I said, “It was I.”
—Burlington, Vermont Press
The mesmerizing voice and evocative ballads of Mews Small have enchanted audiences for many years. Her performances are moving and delightful. Mews originated the role of “Frenchy” in the hit Broadway Show “Grease”. She has worked with such greats as Henry Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Woody Allen, Morgan Freeman, Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Elizabeth Taylor, and played JackbNicholson's girl friend in the Academy Award Winning film, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Mews makes me remember the quote ‘even the deaf hear me, if they but listen to the voices of their own souls.’ (Allan C. Inman) I bring her here as much as I can. I tell her to play everywhere, and I love her band too!
—Bill Coffman, Co-Director The Old Town Music Hall
From thehereandthere.net
Mews Small—Pearl Street Garage #1
(Highland Light Productions)
Aug 9, 2004
When reading Mews’s bio,it mentioned that she was in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” as the crowning achievement in her career. Well I disagree, I loved this CD! Pearl Street is a wonderful collection of Ragtime and Roaring 20s songs and Mews has the perfect voice to sing these old forgotten standards. Songs by the great Billy Rose, Gus Kahn and Isham Jones are all covered faithfully by a excellent backing band featuring Mews’s [nephew] Phil, Curtis Robertson
Jr., Raymond Pitts, Jim Coffman, Laura Kass, Mitta Wise and Steve Goode.
Every song is a keeper and this is a excellent traveling CD...Highly recommended!