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She's Got Rhythm: Linda Lavin Returns with New Studio Album

March 30, 2020 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

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Every week between August 31, 1976 and March 19, 1985, Linda Lavin could be seen on CBS in the title role of the sitcom Alice. Lavin also sang the show's memorable theme song, composed by David Shire with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and occasionally performed in character as Alice Hyatt. But Lavin's inherent musicality was no surprise to those who followed her illustrious career on and off Broadway where she appeared in musicals including A Family Affair, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, and The Mad Show. Now, after recent appearances on stage, television, and film, Lavin has returned to the recording studio for a delicious new release.

Love Notes, on Club 44 Records, features intimate arrangements of an eclectic array of songs by composers ranging from Cole Porter and George Gershwin to Steely Dan and The Eagles - all rendered in Lavin's smoky style. Producer Billy Stritch also fronts a six-person band on piano, and Stritch has split arrangement duties with violinist/mandolinist Aaron Weinstein. Wayne Haun has co-produced. Tasteful orchestrations subtly adorn a number of the tracks, as well.

Lavin's voice is filled with character.  She deftly blends Cole Porter's "I've Got My Eyes on You" with "You Do Something to Me" in a sweet mix with just the right amount of insouciance; Porter's words and music recur on a medley of two of his lesser-known works, the brassy "Ace in the Hole" and "Rap Tap on Wood," featuring Billy Stritch on duet vocals. Her affinity for Duke Ellington is evinced on his playful 1941 tune "Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me"), and the light, happy atmosphere continues with the Duke's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" as combined with the Gershwins' perennial "I Got Rhythm."

The singer's delight is palpable on such breezy tunes as Vernon Duke and John LaTouche's "Not a Care in the World" (in a medley with the Gershwins' "Shall We Dance") and Rodgers and Hart's wicked swinger "I Wish I Were in Love Again." Lavin is understated on "Chega de Saudade," the Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes song often considered to be the first recorded example of bossa nova. Billy Stritch vocalizes with Lavin on the upbeat yet sensual number; no stranger to bossa nova, he recorded an entire album of the genre with 1997's Waters of March.

Among the most intriguing selections is the pairing of The Eagles' hit "I Can't Tell You Why" with Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh's "I Walk a Little Faster," pivoting on the former's lyric "Every time I try to walk away/Something makes me turn around and stay..." Stritch's slow, spare arrangement reinvents the Eagles tune as a complementary narrative to lyricist Leigh's declaration that "even though I meet 'round each and every corner with nothing but disaster/I set my chin a little higher, I hope a little longer/Build a little stronger castle in the air/And thinking you'll be there, I walk a little faster." Equally terrific (and terrifically surprising) is the rendition of Steely Dan's "Black Cow." While Stritch's arrangement largely adheres to the original in tempo and feel, Lavin's intuition as an actor brings the lyrics and story to the forefront. "Black Cow" isn't jazz, it's not pop, it's not rock, it's not musical theatre, but it's a potent combination of all of those styles.

Of a more recent vintage is Wayne Haun and Joel Lindsey's haunting ballad "Stars Will Fall." It's of a piece with Michel Legrand, Jacques Demy, and the Bergmans' tender yet imploring "You Must Believe in Spring" from the 1967 film The Young Girls of Rochefort. While Lavin can still belt with the best of them, she's equally comfortable with the album's quieter moments.

These Love Notes add up to an evening out from a consummate entertainer and an escapist tonic for these strange times in which we're living. Alice Hyatt was proudly a "New Girl in Town." Linda Lavin is just as proudly a seasoned veteran with plenty to offer. Fans of classic pop, cabaret, musical theatre, and jazz won't want to miss this appealing set.

Love Notes is available now from Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada!

Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Popular Standards/Vocal Tags: Linda Lavin

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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