The Nancy LaMott Collector’s Series Volume 1: Nancy LaMott Sings David Zippel

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The Nancy LaMott Collector’s Series Volume I

Nancy LaMott Sings David Zippel

February 23, 2016

(MIDDER Music Records/LML Music)

Reviewed by Alix Cohen for Cabaret Scenes

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To those of you unaware of Nancy LaMott, I can only say rectify this, you’ve missed someone worth hearing. Those of you who are fans, rejoice. Songwriter David Friedman, with whom the vocalist had a both a fertile professional relationship and deep friendship, has produced the first in a projected Collector’s Series featuring her work. Volume I, a compilation of material recorded over several years at many different venues, spotlights writing of lyricist David Zippel. For the curious and potential singers of these songs, all are well documented in CD materials. Occasionally LaMott introduces a tune with her signature warmth.

Six months before City of Angels (Cy Coleman, music) went into rehearsal, LaMott made demos of many of its songs. “You Can Always Count on Me” sounds like an uptown girl being sassy and not quite pulling it off. The artist has a smile in her voice. Only the last word in each lyric line exhibits vibrato. Unlike most singers, LaMott seems to have been able to vary its use depending on intention.

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She could also make a note sound like it was laying on its side. “Lost and Found” is a velvet come-on. LaMott shifts octaves with as much nuance as volume. The song’s last line dissolves like a smoke ring. “With Every Breath I Take” is sheer noir. Mike Migliore’s superb sax rises beneath LaMott’s evocative cry in the night (no wailing) from the bottom of a whiskey glass. A wonderful track. Also listen to this on LaMott’s CD Beautiful Baby.

Another selection from Beautiful Baby, and used in the 1983 revue It’s Better with a Band in which LaMott starred, is Why Don’t We Run Away? (Bryon Sommers, music), which finds the vocalist tenderly pulling our heartstrings. The song is a plea that arrives by way of kite, dipping in the wind, soaring, striving to cut loose. Other selections used in the revue and included on this disc are “Life’s Ambition (I Was Born to Be a Slide Trombone)” (Wally Harper, music) and “Loud Is Good” (Jonathan Sheffer, music).

“Ambition” is a tongue-in-cheek number incorporating both minuet and jive, the versatile performer swinging between.
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“Oh God, it really takes my breath away…” she sings and we hear it do just that.
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LaMott never took lyrics for granted. Tightly rippled alto gives way to vocal horn sounds. “Loud” is a story song performed in multiple accents: “…with your stamina/you could jam in a concert hall,” she sings as the child’s teacher, once again playing a part. Cute and clever lyric. (Also used in the revue and included here is “I’ll Be There for Him,” music also by Sheffer.)

From a musical, Just So,  based on Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories (Doug Katsaros, music) we hear “Camel’s Blues” and “Lullaby.” In the first, the beast sings “I’m totally chic/I’ve a gorgeous physique/ from my ankles to my eyebrows…” It’s wry and hip. One can imagine the funny looking animal doing a sideways soft-shoe. There’s that smile in her voice again. And something else, something of a character. The second is a brief, shimmering gem.

Zippel’s songs with Marvin Hamlisch include two versions of the yearning “In Someone Else’s Arms” cut from The Goodbye Girl and the universal, interior monologue, How Can I Win?” (“if I’m not on my side”), which landed in that show and which LaMott makes eminently touching. Two renditions of “Let Go” (one live, the other the original demo) written as the theme song for the film Frankie and Johnny, are also featured. (The song was replaced by “Until You Let Go,” written by someone else, though falsely co-credited to Zippel/Hamlisch.) This one is simply lovely on all counts.

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One can only assume dual inclusion was intended for historical illumination.

Nancy LaMott could swell from shadowy vocal to belt with not a single harsh tone or raw edge. She could stop you in your tracks with a ballad, soar with a lightness that defied effort, or just be sunny. Every song was thoughtfully phrased and deftly enunciated.

No wonder she was asked to do so many demos.
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Partnership with the talented, mercurial lyricist David Zippel, like Friedman, a dear friend, shows them both off to fine advantage.

Alix Cohen

Alix Cohen’s writing began with poetry, segued into lyrics then took a commercial detour. She now authors pieces about culture/the arts, including reviews and features. A diehard proponent of cabaret, she’s also a theater aficionado, a voting member of Drama Desk, The Drama League and of The NY Press Club in addition to MAC. Currently, Alix writes for Cabaret Scenes, Theater Pizzazz and Woman Around Town. Additional pieces have been published by The New York Post, The National Observer’s Playground Magazine, Pasadena Magazine and Times Square Chronicles. Alix is the recipient of six New York Press Club Awards.