Debbie Reynolds - Fine And Dandy (1960/2020)

As cheerfully upbeat and unflaggingly optimistic as only an album with the title Fine and Dandy can be, this Jerry Fielding-arranged date perfectly captures the essential effervescence of Debbie Reynolds. Sweet but never saccharine, the songs offer a pitch-perfect combination of sincerity and playfulness. Fielding's selection of material is excellent, favoring songs that underscore Reynolds' girl-next-door appeal: her performances of "Ain't We Got Fun," "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," and "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" are positively radiant, buoyed by energetic and colorful arrangements that skirt the boundaries of camp but never quite go over the rails.