With You in Mind

Three years on from her debut album (but seven years into her career), Alma Cogan's dominance of the British chart was already a distant memory, and "the girl with the laugh in her voice" was suddenly sounding horribly old-fashioned in the face of the new tide of rock & rollers. It was with that in mind that Cogan started looking away from the light-hearted bounce that had fired her past records, seeking instead the more serious material that would allow her to consolidate a more lasting musical career. Working with producer Norman Newell, and a string section that positively yearned (whereas once it would have giggled and frolicked), Cogan opens with an almost heartbreaking "With You in Mind," follows through with a brooding "I Dream of You More Than You Dream I Do," a stirring "Let's Fall in Love," a smoky "All I Do Is Dream of You" — in fact, the only false step is when she tackles "Fly Me to the Moon," truly one of the most unnecessarily over-done songs of the era. The result was one of the first truly classic albums of the new decade, and a set whose success sent Cogan and Newell straight back into the studio, to begin scheming its follow-up.