Mabel Mercer
9
Audio CD
10 offers from $15.99
Mabel Mercer
23
Audio CD
8 offers from $6.09
Barbra Streisand
4,849
Hardcover
90 offers from $18.92

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1	I'm Throwing a Ball Tonight - Bobby Short
2	That Black and White Baby of Mine - Bobby Short
3	Looking at You - Bobby Short
4	I Love You, Samantha - Bobby Short
5	When in Rome - Bobby Short
6	I've Got Your Number - Bobby Short
7	Bojangles of Harlem - Bobby Short
8	Something to Live for - Bobby Short
9	Sand in My Shoes - Bobby Short
10	And Her Mother Came Too - Bobby Short
11	Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer - Bobby Short
12	On the Amazon - Bobby Short
13	All of You - Mabel Mercer
14	Staying Young - Mabel Mercer
15	Children in the Carousel - Mabel Mercer
16	Season's Greetings - Mabel Mercer
17	Isn't He Adorable? - Mabel Mercer
18	Bad Is for Other People - Mabel Mercer
19	You Should See for Yourself - Mabel Mercer
20	Sweet Talk - Mabel Mercer
21	Why Did I Choose You - Mabel Mercer
22	Jenny Rebecca - Mabel Mercer
23	Lazy Afternoon - Mabel Mercer
24	Confession - Mabel Mercer
25	59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Mabel Mercer
26	Here's to Us - Mabel Mercer, Bobby Short

Disc: 2

1	My Personal Property - Bobby Short
2	Isn't It a Pity? - Bobby Short
3	I've a Shooting Box in Scotland - Bobby Short
4	Chicago, Illinois - Bobby Short
5	Before I Kiss the World Goodbye - Bobby Short
6	Summer Is a -Comin' in - Bobby Short
7	Round About - Bobby Short
8	Sweet Bye and Bye - Bobby Short
9	Medley: What Is There to Say?/This Is Romance/Now - Bobby Short
10	Not a Care in the World - Bobby Short
11	In My Old Virginia Home, on the River Nile - Bobby Short
12	I Can't Get Started - Bobby Short
13	I Like the Likes of You - Bobby Short
14	Not a Moment Too Soon - Mabel Mercer
15	Boys and Girls Together - Mabel Mercer
16	Both Sides Now - Mabel Mercer
17	Love Is Blue - Mabel Mercer
18	Mama's Little Girl - Mabel Mercer
19	Wait Till We're Sixty-Five - Mabel Mercer
20	I See It Now - Mabel Mercer
21	Down in the Depths - Mabel Mercer
22	Best Is Yet to Come - Mabel Mercer
23	World Today - Mabel Mercer
24	These Foolish Things - Mabel Mercer
25	Days Gone By - Mabel Mercer
26	I'm Not Giving Up - Mabel Mercer
27	Good Night - Mabel Mercer, Bobby Short

Editorial Reviews

2 CDs (priced like one!) packed full of sensational live performances-53 tracks in all including All of You; Isn't He Adorable; Sweet Talk; Here's to Us; Isn't It a Pity; Sweet Bye and Bye; Medley: What Is There to Say?/This Is Romance/Now; I Can't Get Started; I Like the Likes of You; Not a Moment Too Soon; Lazy Afternoon; Both Sides Now; Confession; These Foolish Things; Goodnight, and more!

Product details

Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 0.4 x 4.9 inches; 4 ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Collectables
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2304239
Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2001
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ November 3, 2006
Label ‏ : ‎ Collectables
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005MKCJ
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #257,392 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #392 in Cabaret Vocalists
- #2,739 in Musical Soundtracks & Scores
- #3,478 in Vocal Jazz (CDs & Vinyl)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 10 ratings

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4.2 out of 5

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Joe Lang

A Perfect Match

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2012

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For those who love sophisticated New York cabaret, this is a pairing of two giants of the genre. THey are both somewhat of an acquired taste, but once you acquire it, it never ceases to please.

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Stephanie De Pue Murphy

Two Legendary Live Concert Recordings for Price of One, But

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2008

Verified Purchase

"Mabel Mercer & Bobby Short at Town Hall/Second Town Hall Concert" is another highly useful, highly economical double album, in two disks, from Collectables. In this case, it evidently combines two near-legendary concerts of the esteemed mid 20th-century pair, presented at New York's Town Hall by the notable jazz impresario George Wein; one from 1968, and one from 1969, both originally released on Atlantic. Each performer was considered a cabaret icon. The English-born Mercer -- from whom many well-known vocalists learned all they knew -- was virtually a cabaret goddess. Short was an extremely popular performer himself.

On Disk 1, we have Short in a consistently upbeat, jaunty mood that unfortunately, translates to this listener's ears as a bit much of a muchness. We've got quite a lot of lesser-known Cole Porter works, a cute "I've Got Your Number," by the talented Broadway duo of Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, "Something to Live For," by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, and an old Bessie Smith blues, "Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer." I rather liked "Bojangles of Harlem," by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, as well as "And Her Mother Came Too," by the English songsmith Ivor Novello. The crowd seemed to enjoy "On the Amazon," a novelty, nonsense ditty. But Short in performance frequently just skirted being a bit too mannered, and here, I feel he tripped over the line.

Mercer gives us several nice Coleman ditties, including "Isn't He Adorable," a favorite of hers. The audience appeared to like "Lazy Afternoon." But on this disk, and I can't tell, at this point, where the problem was, heavily-experienced singer that she was, Mercer's soprano was frequently overwhelmed by the piano. Furthermore, for their curtain closer, Short and Mercer collaborated on Paul Simon's "59th Street Bridge Song." What were they thinking? So, frankly, I wasn't crazy about this disk.

Disk 2 pleased me much more. Short's program was more varied, and more melodic, and more feeling seemed to come through. "Isn't It a Pity," by the Gershwin brothers, was lovely. "Chicago,Illinois,"and "Before I Kiss the World Goodbye," carried some resonance, and he did well with a jaunty take of Cole Porter's "I've A Shooting Box in Scotland." Short also offered several songs in homage to Vernon Duke, a Russian émigré who adapted well to American music: Short seemed to be enjoying the composer's wit, and so did the audience.

The sound also seems more balanced on Mercer's half of the program. Her voice was surely not what it was, however, she too offers us some Coleman-Leigh, a nice take on Joni Mitchell's chestnut "Both Sides Now," a heart-felt "Wait Til We're 65," and a powerful "These Foolish Things."

Strikes me that many listeners could do without the first disk entirely. As it happens, at any rate, I once was smart enough/lucky enough to catch this pair in concert myself, sometime in the 1970's, in New York's Carnegie Hall, memory insists. I found Short too mannered, but Mercer blew me away: she hadn't much voice left, but the emotion she could pack into a line of a song, and she was no youngster at the time, was stunning. I remember having sat next to a woman from Texas, who'd flown in for the night. She said she'd thought there wouldn't be many more like it, and she was right.

12 people found this helpful

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B.A.

Very Glad to have it.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

Liked the CD very much, but was disappointed Mabel didn't have more songs on it.
I used it to play on my CD player and listen to it. Dumb question.

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

two wonderful discs for jazz lovers, excellent renditions of jazz greats, highly recommended. There are two discs, one of the earlier concert and one of the later.

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Grahwell80

Essential live performances from two cabaret greats

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2010

This 2 disc set appears to have prompted some mixed reactions from other reviewers, and it is certainly not without its flaws; however, as a record of two definitive cabaret performers in a live setting, it is indispensable. Mabel Mercer and Bobby Short were probably the two most iconic cabaret artists of the 20th Century (I would propose Blossom Dearie and Julie Wilson must join that pantheon), and as cabaret is such a special "live" experience, it is simply wonderful to have a record of their work in front of an audience. There are two other great performers on these discs, as well, in the form of Mercer's brilliant pianists Jimmy Lyon (CD 1) and Buddy Barnes (CD 2).

The second concert is by far the better recorded of the two, particularly Mercer's portion, which was poorly balanced on the first performance. Short's performances on the first concert are certainly very ebullient, perhaps overwhelmingly at times, but he gets off splendid readings of "Bojangles of Harlem", "Looking At You" and "Sand in my Shoes". If you can ignore the poorly recorded sound, then Mercer's section also has much to enjoy. Her interpretations of "You Should See Yourself" and "All of You" are full of her old mischief, and she also breaks my heart with "Lazy Afternoon" and "Jenny Rebecca".
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The two greats reunited the following year at the same venue, and this time Mercer came equipped with a bad head cold, which gives her habitually frayed vocal tones an even more pinched quality. But once again, she interprets the material with such majesty that you can put these problems aside. Her version of "Both Sides Now" is dramatic, expressive and wise (Joni Mitchell was a big fan of her performance) and she also stretches her wings as the doyenne of romantic wisdom with "Boys and Girls Together" and "I See it Now". More humour too, in the form of the outrageous "Wait Til We're Sixty Five" and "Mama's Little Girl", both of which display Mercer in her favoured naughty-Granny mode. Short, too, gives a fine performance on this disc: he devotes much of his set to the work of his friend and supporter Vernon Duke, which is a great thing as Duke's work is among the very best of any songwriter - his "I Can't Get Started" was virtually an anthem for Short. Other great songs include the Gershwin chestnut "Isn't it a Pity" and an early, funny Cole Porter number called "I've a Shootign Box in Scotland".

Of special note: on the second concert both performers sing one song by the wonderful and talented cabaret master William Roy. Both songs are very obscure: Short sings "Chicago", a heartfelt love song, and Mercer gives her all to a rueful song of social unease called "The World Today", which resolves beautifully into a song of love.

5 people found this helpful

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G. Dowling

Mabel, Concert II -- Beware

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2008

The second disc of this set, appropriately, contains the second concert with Bobby Short. Mabel fans beware -- her voice is in shreds by this time, which is not to say she still isn't one of the ultimate diseuses. But it is a bit sad to hear this great singer reach for notes long out of her reach and waver with short breath on many that still are. This would be a terrible and unflattering introduction for those unfamiliar with her work. She's much better on the first concert. But to hear her in her glory, try "The Art of Mabel Mercer" on which she sounds truly like the great singer she was.

3 people found this helpful

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d t higgins jr

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2016

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This arrived promptly and was exactly as advertised. Thank you.

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