[.ca] Let Me Entertain You: Carol Burnett Sings

From Amazon.com:
Fresh off her 1959 Broadway hit Once upon a Mattress, Carol Burnett recorded two solo albums, in 1960 and 1963, paired on this 64-minute CD. Carol Burnett Remembers How They Stopped the Show collects such standards as "Johnny One Note" and "The Trolley Song," while Let Me Entertain You features 12 songs by Jule Styne, ranging from the obvious "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Just in Time" to less familiar fare from 1953's Hazel Flagg. Also included is "All I Need Is the Boy" with gender-switched wording by original lyricist Stephen Sondheim. Burnett sounds great accompanied by full orchestras under the direction of Irwin Kostal and Harry Zimmerman, showing off the charm and big voice that helped her become a leading television personality in the late 1960s and 1970s. (Don't expect a Tarzan yell, though.) She returned to Broadway in the '90s with Moon Over Broadway (explored in a video documentary) and Sondheim's Putting It Together. --David Horiuchi

another side of the legendary comedienne:
Carol Burnett is a masterly comedienne yes, but she is also an accomplished and well-seasoned Broadway performer, as she proves on this excellent twofer from Decca Broadway. Burnett rose to fame starring in the long-running Broadway musical ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, belting out showstopper after showstopper such as "Shy" and "Happily Ever After". (Check out the cast album on the MCA Broadway-Gold label). On these two albums, Burnett sings some of the greatest Broadway numbers including a well-judged "Johnny One-Note" from BABES IN ARMS, "Adelaide's Lament" from GUYS AND DOLLS, "I Cain't Say No" from OKLAHOMA!, "Blow Gabriel Blow" from ANYTHING GOES, "Give a Little-Get a Little" from TWO ON THE AISLE, "Comes Once in a Lifetime" from SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING, "Just in Time" from BELLS ARE RINGING", "The World is Beautiful Today" from HAZEL FLAGG and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears out to Dry" from GLAD TO SEE YOU. She also performs several numbers from GYPSY; "All I Need is the Boy", "Let Me Entertain You" and "Everything's Coming up Roses". No doubt Carol Burnett is a musically-adept performer; she uses her comic know-how and considerable acting range to flesh out these songs to a higher degree, with musical direction from wunderkind Irwin Kostal as well as the fantastic Harry Zimmerman. A fantastic recording.

Let Me Entertain You - Does!:
Carol Burnett has long been a favorite entertainer. Few people realize that she also has a marvelous singing voice. This release showcases her wide vocal range and acting ability. This lady can really sell a song. As a singer myself and member of the Munzer-Patterson Vocal Duo, I can tell you that vocally, musically, and emotionally, the performances on this disc were truly entertaining.

Brassy Burnett Delivers:
If she hadn't become one of the most endearing and beloved comic performers of all time with her landmark TV show, she would have enjoyed a long and successful career doing musicals on stage. Much of my musical comedy sensibilities came from the brilliant medleys and musical numbers presented weekly on The Carol Burnett Show. We all knew she was funny, but she didn't devote a great deal of air time to her singing, inspite of posessing a solid,warm and capable belt. Her musical and comic gifts are very apparant in this wonderful two album compilation. No performer I can think of can ring every drop of comedy out of a musical or spoken line better than CB. She shows off her considerable prowess in the showstopper, "Everythings Coming Up Roses" and brings a smile to the listener when she rips into the comical ode, Adelaide's Lament. FYI: She still has it. I was one of the lucky ones who saw her do Steven Sondheim's "Putting It Together" in the theatre last year. Sadly for Burnett fans, TV seems to have given her and most musical variety performers like her, the go-by. Sigh.

An unexpected delight:
Few people remember that Carol Burnett got her start as a singer as much as a stand-up comedienne, but she was the original Winifred the Woebegone in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS and of course was the original choice to play Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL. She has a very big, very strident voice (it's the vocal equivalent of a trombone), and it's often used for terrific effect in very bright upbeat songs ("The Trolley Song" has always been one of her best). She often overplays her hand a bit when she goes for pathos, as in "Happiness is Just a thing Called Joe," but surprisingly she can be very effective in quieter numbers--the highlight of the CD might even be the catchy little "Give a Little--Get a Little" by Jule Styne.

A very talented lady destined for greater things:
Back about 40 years ago, two LPs emerged showcasing Carol Burnett and offering that new talent in Broadway songs. Now both of them have been put onto a single CD under the title on the spine and on the cover of this Decca set (012 159 402-2). So what we have are 24 songs (each of the original LPs had 12 each) of "show stoppers" from "Babes in Arms," "Oklahoma," "Anything Goes," "Gypsy," and even such little known works as "Pardon My English" and "Two on the Aisle." Under the leadership of Irwin Kostal for the first dozen and Harry Zimmerman for the second, few of these songs if any are rendered in the original tempo, orchestration, or key. Burnett's "Adelaide's Lament" is very close to Vivian Blaine's; but the ridiculous march tempo to which "Just in Time" is subjected is beyond belief ill considered. She is at her best in the brassy numbers, although her voice does not quite have that full heft they require; but she is perfectly acceptable in the ballads. Of course, these things are (as always) a matter of taste. It is interesting that the picture of the soloist on the CD cover is a comical one, while the one on the back of the booklet makes her quite attractive. Perhaps it is these two aspects that are being emphasized in the selections. So one will buy this album, not primarily for the selections, but for the personality of this very talented young woman (back in the 60s, of course), who incidentally turned out to be a very fine actress as well as singer and comedienne.

• Johnny One Note (Rodgers & Hart)
• Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe (Arlen & Harburg)
• Adelaide's Lament (Loesser)
• Sweet Georgia Brown (Bernie / Pinkard / Casey)
• April Showers (Silvers & DeSylva)
• The Trolley Song (Blane & Martin)
• I Cain't Say No (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
• Ten Cents a Dance (Rodgers & Hart)
• Blow Gabriel Blow (Porter)
• The Lorelei (Gershwin, G & I)
• Nobody (Rogers & Williams)
• Sing You Sinners (Coslow & Harling)
• Everything's Coming Up Roses (Styne & Sondheim)
• Give a Little, Get a Little (Styne / Comden / Green)
• I Don't Want to Walk Without You (Styne & Loesser)
• Comes Once in a Lifetime (Styne / Comden / Green)
• Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry (Styne & Cahn)
• All I Need Is the Boy (Styne & Sondheim)
• Let Me Entertain You (Styne & Sondheim)
• The World Is Beautiful Today (Styne & Hilliard)
• Just in Time (Styne / Comden / Green)
• Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week) (Styne & Cahn)
• Time After Time (Styne & Cahn)
• Everybody Loves to Take a Bow (Styne & Hilliard)