As Of Today

Performer: Barbara Cook (pop vcl)
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: On her third studio album (which followed her second by 18 years), 49-year-old Broadway and nightclub veteran Barbara Cook turned to what annotator Rex Reed called "the new music," contemporary songs by young songwriters like Marsha Malamet, Jim Ricketts, and the team of Gayle Barnhill and Jo Anne Thain, in some cases combining these often plaintive songs in medleys with Irving Berlin standards like "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" and "What'll I Do," a practice that did the second-rate new material no favors. The only current songwriter who really held up to the test was Janis Ian, as Cook made a mini-play out of the marathon song "Stars" and closed As of Today with "Candlelight." Cook was in typically wonderful voice, making the most of the emotional qualities of the songs, and, when the album was released, her decision to sing new songs seemed brave and forward-looking. In retrospect, one might have wished for more of Irving Berlin and less of the also-rans.~ William Ruhlmann

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.3

Shipping Options and Policies