Nancy Wilson - R.S.V.P. - (Rare Songs, Very Personal) (2004)

Nancy Wilson's R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) is her duets album, but unlike other recent releases by singers in this format, which feature two vocalists (and often oddly matched ones, at that), most of the pairings here are with instrumentalists like George Shearing, Toots Thielemans, Phil Woods, and Gary Burton, which means this remains very much Wilson's baby, dominated by her hushed and elegant vocals. Only two tracks feature other vocalists, one of which, a saccharine cover of Marvin Gaye's "Why Did I Choose You" sung with Kenny Lattimore, is worth a plea to the gods to let Gaye return to this veil of tears and give Wilson a worthy singing partner. Less pop than her recent outings, R.S.V.P. is mostly made up of ballads, highlighted by a wonderful version of Gordon Jenkins' "Goodbye" and the elegant, late-night regret of "Blame It on My Youth" which closes out the set, although Wilson steps up and swings on at least one track, the vibrant "Day In, Day Out." This might not be the greatest album of her half-century-long career, but it isn't an embarrassment, either (which can't always be said about some of the other duet projects major vocalists have released in recent years), and it shows that Wilson can still wring every last emotion on earth out of a ballad then return to sing the second verse.

Tracklist:

01. Ah Older Man Is Like an Elegant Wine - (featuring Toots Thielemans/Phil Woods)
02. Day in, Day Out - (featuring Big Band All-Stars)
03. Why Did I Choose You - (featuring Kenny Lattimore)
04. I Wish I'd Met You - (featuring Joe Negri)
05. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart - (featuring Phil Woods/Big Band All-Stars)
06. Goodbye
07. How About Me - (featuring Paquito d'Rivera)
08. Minds of Their Own (Dois Corregos) - (featuring Ivan Lins)
09. Little Green Apples
10. You'll See - (featuring Bill Watrous)
11. That's All - (featuring Gary Burton)
12. Blame It on My Youth - (featuring George Shearing)