An album conceived with specific dance rhythms in mind, the
Marcella Puppini
-produced
Dance Dance Dance
sees her harmony vocal trio,
the Puppini Sisters
, joined by the
Pasadena Roof Orchestra
. The group's sixth long-player overall, it returns founding member
Kate Mullins
and
The High Life
's
Emma Smith
as co-singers. With the exception of one scat-embracing original song, it consists of covers of wide-ranging tunes spanning a century (the oldest,
Jacob Gade
's tango "Jealousy," was composed in 1925, and "Shallow" is from the 2018 film
A Star Is Born
). A spirited Dixieland version of
Dolly Parton
's "9 to 5" opens the track list and sets the tone for an album of changeable if all impeccably performed selections. "9 to 5" is one of two Charleston dances here, with the other being the original song "Dance, Dance, Dance." A highlight, "Dance, Dance, Dance" is a bright, bubbly entry with walking bass line, punctuating brass, and rapid-fire vocals among its staccato arrangement. The song cuts back the tempo in sections reminiscent of
Adler
Ross
' "Steam Heat" -- hissing vocals and all -- before launching back into faster segments of scatting and nimble rhymes like whoa, slow, flow, go, all suited to the style. Allowing for some double takes (a cha cha cha version of
ABBA
's "Dancing Queen"), the album is a fun one, with rare picks like "Ba Ba Baciami Piccina" (Balboa), a song from the '40s popularized by
Rosemary Clooney
in 1952, and a version of
Deee-Lite
's funk-infused 1990 hit "Groove Is in the Heart" (boogie woogie) mixed in with oft-covered classics like "Puttin' on the Ritz." ~ Marcy Donelson