Barbara Cook

At Carnegie Hall

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At Carnegie Hall Review

by William Ruhlmann

Barbara Cook's third solo album, At Carnegie Hall, which followed her second, Sings From the Heart by 16 years, marked a crucial turning point in her career. From the early 1950s to the early 1970s, Cook had been a Broadway star, her most notable appearances being in The Music Man (1957) and She Loves Me (1963). But as she reached her mid-40s, the stage offers began to dry up, and she attempted a transition to nightclub and concert work. A stint at the New York club Brothers and Sisters attracted concert promoters and led to an offer to appear in concert at Carnegie Hall on January 26, 1975. Columbia Records recorded the show, and the exposure this album brought allowed Cook to embark on the second phase of her career, one that carried her through several subsequent decades. It's easy to understand why when you listen. Cook is given strong musical support by Bill Brohn's arrangements and Wally Harper's conducting, and she puts together an excellent mixture of material that comments on her past (a trio of numbers from She Loves Me, "He Was Too Good to Me," the song sung most impressively on her first album); borrows strong but little-known material from other shows, such as "Who Are You Now?" from Funny Girl; acknowledges contemporary pop in Judy Collins' "My Father" and Leon Russell's "A Song For You"; and introduces specially written numbers by Harper. One might have hoped for more in terms of audience interaction on a live recording (perhaps her stage remarks have been edited out), but anyone listening to this album would wish to have been at the show, and would anticipate Cook's visiting in a concert hall nearby soon.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Introduction	Barbara Cook	00:51	Amazon
2	Sing a Song With Me Wally Harper / Paul Zakzewski	Barbara Cook	02:50	Amazon
3	Who Are You Now? Bob Merrill / Jule Styne	Barbara Cook	03:35	Amazon
4	Wait Till You See Him Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers	Barbara Cook	03:15	Amazon
5	Dear Friend Robin Boult / Derek William Dick / Linda McCartney / Paul McCartney / Mickey Simmonds	Barbara Cook	02:40	Amazon
6	Will He Like Me? Jerry Bock / Sheldon Harnick	Barbara Cook	03:23	Amazon
7	Ice Cream Jerry Bock / Sheldon Harnick	Barbara Cook	03:31	Amazon
8	Glad Rag Doll Milton Ager / Dan Dougherty / Jack Yellen	Barbara Cook	04:05	Amazon
9	My White Knight Meredith Willson	Barbara Cook	04:12	Amazon
10	It Takes Nothing Away From Me Wally Harper / Paul Zakzewski	Barbara Cook	02:22	Amazon
11	Dancing in the Dark Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz	Barbara Cook	03:08	Amazon
12	Carolina in the Morning Walter Donaldson / Gus Kahn	Barbara Cook	03:43	Amazon
13	He Was Too Good to Me Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers	Barbara Cook	02:02	Amazon
14	Time Heals Everything Jerry Herman	Barbara Cook	02:20	Amazon
15	When I Marry Mr. Snow Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers	Barbara Cook	03:33	Amazon
16	Magic Moment Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz	Barbara Cook	03:34	Amazon
17	My Father Judy Collins	Barbara Cook	03:54	Amazon
18	A House Is Not a Home Burt Bacharach / Hal David	Barbara Cook	02:50	Amazon
19	A Song for You Leon Russell	Barbara Cook	03:50	Amazon
20	Sing a Song With Me (Reprise) Wally Harper / Paul Zakzewski	Barbara Cook	01:55	Amazon