"Rainbow Round My Shoulder"

I could repeat and rehash all of the superlative salvos that have been showered down upon the immortal Barbara Cook. Her professionalism, musicality, her warmth, her breadth of emotion and her uncanny ability to inhabit a lyric. It's all been said before and will be said again: Barbara Cook is a living legend, who at 81 shows no signs of slowing down and continues to grow as an artist. And that is why it is imperative you pick up her latest solo album from DRG, "Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder." Cook essays a diverse branch of composers including regulars Gershwin, Bernstein, Bucchino (a devastating "If I Ever Say I'm Over You") and Sondheim (of course), but also giving us Walter Wolcott (a scintillating "Sooner or Later" from the controversial Song of the South), Kurt Weill (the sublime "Lost in the Stars," here paired with Sondheim's "No More" in a haunting medley), and even Ray Charles ("Hallelujah, I Love Him So"). Every track is a gem. It's definitely one of the most notable solo album releases of 2008. I would have to put it on my list of gift recommendations for anyone reading who is in need of a gift for a Broadway/cabaret fan. You can never go wrong with Barbara Cook.