Charming, outrageous, lyrical, extraordinary, pithy, rarified, tuneful, earnest, ravishing – put them all together and what do they spell? Cole Porter, that master of melody and lyric invention. To that we can add witty, urbane, naughty, heartfelt, impish, and sophisticated. A simple list of his song titles embody all those qualities, from “Let’s Misbehave” and “Let’s Do It” to “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,” “Begin 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,” and many, many more.

Cole Porter Revisited Volume IV is another incredible volume in this five-volume series, and it includes many incredible rarities. For this album, Bagley gathered together a rather incredible group of ladies, including the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Dolores Gray, Helen Gallagher, Kaye Ballard, Patrice Munsel, Blossom Dearie, Ann Hampton Callaway, Sandy Stewart, and representing the male animal, the ubiquitous Arthur Siegel. Songs from Seven Lively Arts, Red, Hot, and Blue, Les Girls, Out of This World, Fifty Million Frenchman, You Never Know, Let’s Face It, Gay Divorce, Can-Can and more, including songs from unproduced shows and songs cut from various shows. The arrangements and orchestrations of Dennis Deal, as always, really shine. 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. Big Town - Chorus
2. Thank You So Much, Mrs. Lowsborough-Goodby - Katharine Hepburn
3. Ours - Blossom Dearie and Arthur Siegel
4. Why Do You Want to Hurt Me So? - Helen Gallagher
5. High Flying Wings on My Shoes - Arthur Siegel and The Men
6. Pick Me Up and Lay Me Down - Dolores Gray
7. The Queen of Terre Haute - Katharine Hepburn
8. Yours - Patrice Munsel and Chorus
9. Wild Wedding Blues - Dolores Gray and Chorus
10. Internationale Medley:
Quelque-Chose - Patrice Munsel and The Men
Alpine Rose - Patrice Munsel and The Women
Olga - Arthur Siegel and The Men
The Boyfriend Back Home - Patrice Munsel and The Women
11. I’m Unlucky at Gambling- Dolores Gray and The Men
12. Bandit Band - The Men
13. Buddy Beware - Helen Gallagher
14. Let’s Talk About Love - Dolores Gray
15. The Extra Man - Arthur Siegel
16. Who Said Gay Paree? - Dolores Gray
17. A Woman’s Career - Katharine Hepburn
18. Is It the Girl (Or Is It the Gown?) - Dolores Gray and Chorus
19. Gay Divorce Medley:
A Weekend Affair - Kaye Ballard, Arthur Siegel, and Sandy Stewart
I Love Only You - Arthur Siegel
Fate - Kaye Ballard
Salt Air - Sandy Stewart
20. My Most Intimate Friend - Kaye Ballard
21. My Loulou - Arthur Siegel
22. I Still Love the Red, White, and Blue - Ann Hampton Callaway

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Musical Direction and Arrangements: Dennis Deal
Chorus: Laura Kenyon, Nancy Grennan, Christine Ranck, Jamie Rocco, John Sloman, Ken Parks, Richard Casper, Peter Marinos