Betty Boy (Music Review: Ah, Men! The Boys Of Broadway, Betty Buckley)

Betty Buckley is sick and tired of men getting the best songs in musicals (that's debatable, but...) so she set out to record "Ah, Men! The Boys Of Broadway," which is a collection of songs originally done by men. This concept isn't really that original - a lot of women have recorded similarly themed albums - but I bet no one has injected more character in their songs as Miss Buckley. Here she becomes the song in each selection - and each character is as varied and interesting as the other. Take for example the opening track, "I Can See It, " from the Fantasticks. She gives it just enough urgency and energy that you soar with her through the whole ride. And she is heartbreaking in "Venice," from William Finn's "Elegies." If you look at the Amazon reviews for this album, you will see a lot of people complain that she cannot sing anymore. I will be honest and say, she may not have the range she used to have (at her age, she still have a great deal of it) but listen to her as she sings one of my favorite songs of all time, "Song On The Sand," from "La Cage Aux Folles," and you can see she that her emotional involvement in a song is peerless: no one can else make you feel years of love in a song.  There are songs that didn't quite work for me, like "Maria, " from West Side Story (I thought that was stretching it a bit) but this collection is not the kind that grabs you right away anyway. Listen to it over and over and with each spin you will discover a new layer.