By Steven Suskin
REBECCA LUKER: Greenwich Time [PS Classics PS-985]
Take a song like Maury Yeston's "Unusual Way," from Nine. This one's a natural for Ms. Luker, and she does as good a job with it as you might suspect. But then take "Killing Time," an almost unknown gem by the unlikely team of Jule Styne and Carolyn Leigh. This is what might be described as a late-night drinking song, along the lines of Arlen and Mercer's "One for My Baby" with the pathos of Larry Hart at his most unrequited. Leigh's words, in one of her final songs, are almost scathingly unhappy, bordering on bitter. ("Chilling drinks, spilling tears, killing time.") The supremely talented lyricist had a reputation for being difficult and destructive; I don't know that "Killing Time" was a stream-of-conscious self-portrait, but it would sure explain a lot. And the actress buried beneath Ms. Luker's bright and friendly facade rescues this all-but-forgotten song. Styne and Leigh wrote it in 1981 or so; Frank Sinatra — who had introduced so many Styne songs in the old days — was looking for material for the album released as "She Shot Me Down." Sinatra passed, and the song went on the shelf. "Killing Time" has been sung occasionally and recorded at least twice, but has never received the exposure it deserves.
Yeston, Styne and Leigh are on one side of the songwriter spectrum; most of the other songs come from the so-called younger generation. And some are equally worthy. "Ohio, 1904" (Paul Loesel-Scott Burkell) has an unusual point of departure — it seems to be about Orville and Wilbur, two brothers from another century altogether, but it is really a song of emancipation. ("If those boys can touch the sky, maybe one day so will I," the girl sings.) "Lovely Lies" (Jeff Blumenkrantz-Beth Blatt) is something else altogether, a Southern-themed examination of the mother/daughter bond. But it is full of truths, and packs something of an emotional wallop. Also highly emotional — and utterly gripping — is "What the Living Do" (Ricky Ian Gordon-Marie Howe).
08 Nov 2009
Rebecca Luker, in the liner note for her new CD, tells us that over the years she has slowly collected a group of songs "like gems from the ocean." The opportunity finally arose to record them, which she has done under the title "Greenwich Time," and yes — this CD is quite a gem. The songs range from very good to much better; a handful of the 14 tracks we can call exceptional, which is a good ratio.
Luker and Thalken save the best for last, and it is a true beauty: a new song by an old hand. "Summer with You" is the title, John Kander is the composer/lyricist; a song of remembrance and love (and loss), a lilting, bittersweet, deceptively simple waltz that warms the heart. Kander's mood is somewhat reminiscent of his best ballads in The Happy Time; his impressive lyric is filled with wonderful images. "I know that the seasons pass, I’ve looked into my looking glass, the leaves may fade and the years go by, but I’m content with one July." That's the bridge, and a stunningly musical one it is.
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The Essential BARBARA COOK Collection [DRG-CD-92500]
"The Essential Barbara Cook Collection," a new box set from DRG, is something of a misnomer; the essential Ms. Cook is not a collection of six discs but the living legend who can be occasionally spotted around town. Essential and indispensable is our Barbara, and still entertaining any and all audience members lucky enough to get a ticket.
What this Essential Collection does bring us is four complete CD: "Close As Pages in a Book," a newly remixed version of the 1993 salute to lyricist Dorothy Fields (with guest Tommy Tune); "Live from London," from 1994; "All I Ask of You," from 1998, which includes a medley from She Loves Me; and "Barbara Cook at the Met," the 2006 concert that included guests Audra McDonald and Josh Groban. Also included is a DVD of Cook's 2001 concert, "Mostly Sondheim." These are essential, with a small "e"; Cook fans should certainly have these discs (but might well already own them). The collection comes in a simple cardboard box, the discs in individual cardboard slipcases. The enclosed 24-page booklet includes credits from each album.
Most special for those of us who already have Barbara on the shelf is the sixth disc, a four-track sampler of her forthcoming "Give Me the Simple Life," scheduled for a February 2010 release. These include Harold Arlen & Leo Robin's "It Was Written in the Stars," Cole Porter's "I've Got You under My Skin," and Fred Fisher and Billy Rose's "I'd Rather Be Blue." The real find here is Rube Bloom and Harry Ruby's "Give Me the Simple Life," one of those songs that you might vaguely recognize. Once Barbara sings it, though, you're not going to forget it.
(Steven Suskin is author of "The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations" (Oxford) as well as "Second Act Trouble," "Show Tunes" and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com)
