I never had the good fortune to hear Mabel Mercer sing live, so I’ve had to rely on recordings to understand why she is such an inspiration to the cabaret singers who have followed in her footsteps. Mercer admitted to changing her way of singing late in her career. Her New York Times obituary from 1984 includes a quotation about how she compensated for her deepened and slightly “uncertain” voice when she was older. “It gave me a better chance to talk the story of the song,” she said.
This defense seems kind of dubious to me—who, exactly, was holding her back from “sprechgesang” (speak-singing) in her younger days, if that’s what she wanted to do? But “talking the story” is indeed what she did later on, as recordings attest. Mercer’s earlier records, in contrast, showcase a strong, nimble soprano voice—expansive, and adaptable to different kinds of songs, characters, and situations. Yes, those rolled “Rs” of hers may seem quaint and even pretentious to our ears, but—listening to selections from her recently—I noticed that she didn’t always employ them. “Early” Mabel Mercer” would certainly be at home in cabaret clubs in the 21st century. Admirers would definitely still be clamoring to hear her, and younger generations of singers would splurge to get a ticket and learn a thing or two.
In the new tribute album, You Fascinate Me So: Phillip Officer Salutes Mabel Mercer, cabaret stalwart Officer presents songs from the Mercer repertoire. He is clearly interested in demonstrating Mercer-like song-styling and story-telling skills, and several of the songs in this ambitious, 17-track lineup live up to prime-time-Mabel standards. His interpretation of Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman’s “(The) Ballad of the Sad Young Man” is starkly somber but sympathetic, and he sings it splendidly. Similarly effective is his stirring take on “Sail Away,” in which he seems fully committed to Noël Coward’s suggestion for combatting world-weariness: schedule a voyage and get out of Dodge-by-the-Sea for a while.
My favorite track on the album is a rendition of “So Many Stars” (Sérgio Mendez and Marilyn & Alan Bergman). In his version, Officer doesn’t just gaze on the Milky Way in awe, musing that each star represents a potential lover. No, his character is perplexed by that scenario, because there are so many prospects to choose from, and sorting them out will be a formidable chore. (By the way, did lyricists Alan and Marilyn ever consider the idea that some of those stellar lovers might not return the singer’s affections?) In any case, while Officer sings this song with wide-eyed wonderment, he also creates a sense of urgency—maybe even anxiousness— that is just right.
Elsewhere on the album he seems to have in mind those later Mercer years, when she would rely on speak-singing to help her spin her yarns. He does this in a fairly measured way throughout most of the album—sometimes just giving us a single spoken word here and there (as with “THIS” in the line “This is the end of romance” from Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz’s “By Myself”). Sometimes it’s a phrase or two. No big problem.
But then there’s the track featuring a mashup of two songs by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh: “I’ve Got Your Number” and “You Fascinate Me So.” Here, Officer not only speaks a good share of the lyrics—he also inserts some not-particularly-convincing chuckling, and twice he gives us the spoken interjection “Come on!” All this tends to distract rather than enhance. And those knowing chuckles recur throughout the collection. On the line “Methuselah is my patron saint” (from Lerner & Loewe’s “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore”), he end-punctuates with a sharp little “Ha!” Maybe wiser to just sing the line (or speak-sing it, if that seems better), expressing Alan Jay Lerner’s wit with conviction, and letting listeners be the ones who crack up.
Some of the elaborate arrangements on the collection also seem to run counter to a Mercer-like focus on the stories that songs can tell. (Most arrangements here are by co-producer Mark Hartman (who also plays piano), with others by Mark Hummel and the late Tex Arnold). Talented violinist Mollie Rose is featured prominently on a number of tracks, including “Sail Away.” She’s excellent, but sometimes her playing seems to get in the way of the vocal line. I think the old combination of piano, bass, and drums (with featured horns or strings perhaps heard during instrumental interludes) is often the best choice when you want to put the spotlight on lyrical content.
Phillip Officer was one of the first cabaret singers I became familiar with, in the mid-1990s, before I moved to New York. I learned about him from reading TheaterWeek, and I purchased his albums, which I loved. Having heard him perform live in recent years—and having listened to a song like “So Many Stars” from this collection—I know that his voice is still full of beauty and bountiful emotion. He needn’t resort to the Rex Harrison brand of singing to put a song across.
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Produced by Mark Hartman, Phillip Officer, and Robbie Rozelle for Center Stage Records. Note that at this time,You Fascinate Me Sois available only digitally; there is currently no CD or vinyl version.
Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing reviews for BistroAwards.com in 2011. More recently he has contributed "Cabaret Setlist" articles about cabaret repertoire. Other reviews and articles have appeared in theaterscene.net and clydefitchreport.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.
