Charming, outrageous, lyrical, extraordinary, pithy, rarified, tuneful, earnest, ravishing – put them all together and what do they spell? Cole Porter, a master of melody and lyric invention the likes of which are rarified indeed. To that we can add witty, urbane, naughty, heartfelt, impish, and sophisticated. “Night and Day,” “Love for Sale,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Anything Goes,” “All Through the Night,” “You’re the Top,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” “Being the Beguine,” “Just One of Those Things,” “It’s DeLovely,” “Ridin’ High,” “You’d Be So Easy to Love,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “In the Still of the Night” are just the tip of the Porter iceberg, along with such shows as Fifty Million Frenchmen, The New Yorkers, Gay Divorce, Nymph Errant, Anything Goes, Jubilee, Red, Hot, and Blue, Kiss Me Kate, Out of This World, Can-Can, Silk Stockings, and films like High Society, Les Girls, Born to Dance, and more.

There were five volumes of Cole Porter Revisited on LP and then CD. This, the first of them, is filled with great Porter numbers – not the all-time classics, but, as always with Ben, the lesser-known songs, and what a delight they are, one gem after another. The arrangements and orchestrations of Norman Paris are wonderful, and what a cast he assembled for this one: Kaye Ballard, Bobby Short, Bibi Osterwald, and David Allen. As we’ve done for all these releases, we’ve considerably spruced up the sound for this new release. And the cover art is, of course, by the great Harvey Schmidt. -KRITZERLAND

1. Come On In - Ronny Graham, Kaye Ballard, Bibi Osterwald
2. A Little Skipper from Heaven Above - Ronny Graham
3. You’re a Bad Influence on Me - David Allen
4. I’ve Still Got My Health - Kaye Ballard
5. But in the Morning, No - Ronny Graham, Kaye Ballard
6. Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye - David Allen
7. By the Mississiniwah - Kaye Ballard, Bibi Osterwald
8. I’m Throwing a Ball Tonight - Bobby Short
9. Far Far Away - David Allen, Kaye Ballard
10. Solomon - Bibi Osterwald
11. It Ain’t Ettiquette - Ronny Graham
12. Tale of the Oyster - Kaye Ballard
13. I Worship You - David Allen
14. Red, Hot and Blue - Kaye Ballard, Bobby Short, Bibi Osterwald
15. Coffee - Ann Hampton Callaway
16. I’m Getting Myself Ready for You - Arthur Siegel, Sandy Stewart
17. I’m Back in Circulation - Ann Hampton Callaway
18. Just Another Page in Your Diary - Arthur Siegel
19. I’m So in Love with You - Sandy Stewart, Arthur Siegel
20. I’ve a Strange New Rhythm in My Heart - Ann Hampton Callaway
21. Through Thick and Thin - Sandy Stewart, Arthur Siegel

Musical Direction and Arrangements by Norman Paris