Very Warm for May

A thoroughly enjoyable listen. This was Kern's last work for the stage, and even though it was considered a flop at the time, it really has a wonderful score. The most famous song from the show is All The Things You Are, which will be ingrained in the listeners mind since it's played on 5 out of the 20 tracks. Of particular interest is the song All In Fun that is a duet where a man is coaching a girl on how to sing a song. I was completely fascinated with the language he used to describe singing a song. Almost word for word what someone would say today in a coaching. Make the lyrics convey their meaning by making them personal to you...sort of thing. I guess I didn't know that the marriage of acting while singing was taking place. I suppose a few composers at the time were really trying to do this, but I'm pleasantly surprised to hear a song actually about this. Also, the harmonica and guitar song of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is pretty awesome. I wish that I could hear more of Bennett's orchestrations. This album isn't technically a cast album since it was a recording made of a radio, but it's close enough for my purposes. This is truly a charming complete cast recording. Grade B+