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:: A Jolly Theatrical Season ::

Robert Morse and Charles Nelson Reilly were creatures of Broadway whose paths crossed during the stage production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Apparently the two hit it off well enough to want to make this album together, and I was lucky enough to find a copy some 35 years after it first appeared on the shelves.

Their enthusiasm for the material comes through loud and clear, and listening to it now on the 1 year anniversary of Charlie Reilly's death, one is reminded what a great talent he was, and how much he is missed.

Not much else can be said about it. If you're not prone to show tunes (as I'm not), I suggest you have a listen anyway, and I'd be surprised if you didn't like it. Bawdy and broad, this one note joke doesn't get old during almost the entirety of it's nearly 5 minute duration.

If you're wondering who Ira Cook is (he scrawled his name in magic marker on the cover), he was a DJ in LA at KMPC-AM during the 60s. I remember him spinning Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Vicki Carr as I rode with mom to the mall. Ira passed just about a year ago too, and lucky for me, one of my favorite record stores picked up his collection. I bought a ton of his mostly mono demo discs, all in great shape except for his huge autograph which adorns most of the covers. Although I accept the fact dead people were the original owners of a good percentage of my records, I'm glad most of them didn't leave their mark on them quite so prominently.


Mike

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 5:48 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.