| The Intimate Keely Smith | |
| Type: | album |
| Artist: | Keely Smith |
| Cover: | Intimate Keely Smith.jpeg |
| Released: | 1964 |
| Recorded: | 1964 |
| Genre: | Traditional pop, jazz |
| Length: | 40:35 |
| Label: | Reprise RS-6132 |
| Producer: | Jimmy Bowen |
| Chronology: | Keely Smith |
| Prev Title: | Little Girl Blue/Little Girl New |
| Prev Year: | 1963 |
| Next Title: | Keely Smith Sings the John Lennon—Paul McCartney Songbook |
| Next Year: | 1965 |
The Intimate Keely Smith is a 1964 album by Keely Smith.[1]
The initial Billboard magazine review from January 30, 1965 awarded the album their 'Pop Spotlight' pick for that week and commented that "Keely is warm all over...Backed by a combo, she keeps the mood intimate and thoroughly mellow from start to finish".[2]
In a 2016 review of a reissue of the album, Marc Myers wrote for All About Jazz that "the quality of the work is, frankly, astonishing. Smith's song choices are off-beat and perfectly tailored for her voice, and her delivery is confessional and pure saloon. What's more, we hear Smith's voice completely exposed, with little to mask her intonation or articulation. Both are heart-melting". Myers praised Smith's accompanists writing that "The group frames her sensitivity, and Smith's voice is so breathy and cozy, she seems snuggled on someone's shoulder while singing" and concluded that "This is a flawless album and a perfect way to get to know a Las Vegas singer who should have been as widely known as any of the great jazz vocalists".[3]