Bobby Short (CD) by Bobby Short

0617742023725. New condition. CD. Mono. Bobby Short's second recording for Atlantic offered a range of great material, accompanied on the up-tempo numbers by a small, dynamic quartet and, for the ballads, just his own piano (as on the highlight "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"). Short drew on his two decades in vaudeville, pulling out all the stops for bravura versions of "I've Got the World on a String," "Down With Love," and "At the Moving Picture Ball." "Carioca" becomes a piece of exotica in his hands, and he growls and over-sings hilariously on "Hottentot Potentate." Yes, there are subtleties to Short's vocal attack, but there's also a dynamism that is often better served on a Broadway stage than in a recording studio. Bobby Short entertained with song better than anyone else, and his interpretations of the standards are striking and very enjoyable. [The 2001 reissue by Collectors' Choice is a solid mastering of the original; not a crystal-clear digital remaster, but solid enough for the material.] ~ John Bush, Rovi