commented back on 'You Don't Know' on how Shapiro was a fish out of water in 1961 with her undoubted talent squandered on inappropriate songs. And so it goes on 'Walkin' Back To Happiness' - the polar opposite of the drab balladry of the former song, 'Walking' is nonsense pop to the point of bubblegum and in singing it Shapiro sounds a good fathom out of her depth, but only in the way that if you've got Maradonna in your team, behind the goal is not necessarily the best position to play him in. In the whole of her interpretation, Shapiro never quite manages to let go and let the tune carry her with its exuberance. Inexperience in this medium sees her always trying to do the 'right thing' by the song but her attempt to impose order only serves to let the air out of a bouncy castle that's just there to be bounced on. And with no bounce, Shapiro's smoky phrasing renders the punctuating "woopah oh yeah yeah"'s more sarcastic than jubilant as they thud awkwardly against the shrill music backing and blinkered/naive optimism of the lyric like tennis balls served against a matress: "I shouldn't have gone away so I'm coming back today, walking back to happiness I threw away" - well just as long as her ex isn't of Eden Kane's mindset. None of this is Shaprio's fault; all she's doing is applying the tools she has to the job in hand, but in listening to this and 'You Don't Know' back to back, all I can hear is the sound of missed opportunity and wasted talent.
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