Chanteuse Julie Wilson's fall 1999 revue of Cy Coleman tunes heard at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room was captured on a CD to be released Jan. 25 by DRG as "The Cy Coleman Songbook." Wilson celebrated the work of Broadway composer Coleman (Little Me, Sweet Charity, The Life) Oct. 5-21, 1999, in a show called Hey, Look Me Over. The live recording, with singer-pianist William Roy at the keyboard, features a heavy dollop of Carolyn Leigh, the late lyricist who collaborated with Coleman to write pop songs ("Witchcraft," "You Fascinate Me So," "When in Rome") and the musicals Little Me and Wildcat.
The disc includes "Use What You Got/Big Spender," "Real Live Girl/You Fascinate Me So," "It Amazes Me," "Bigger Isn't Better," "Love Makes Such Fools of Us All/On Second Thought/Come Summer," "I've Got Your Number/Witchcraft," "The Colors of My Life," "Tin Pan Alley/Firefly," "Would You Believe/Moment of Madness," "When in Rome," "Here I Go Again," "Sweet Talk/I Want to Be Yours," "Let Me Down Easy/I Can't Let You Go," "Do Be a Darling," "Nobody Does It Like Me/Why Try to Change Me Now?," "Here's to Us/Little Me," "Hey, Look Me Over," "Don't Ask a Lady."
The disc was recorded Oct. 9, 1999.
-- By Kenneth Jones