At 85, 'Voice Of An Angel' Still Captivates

"After you die," the critic Rex Reed once said "you'll know you're in heaven if the angels sound like Barbara Cook."
Such is the lightness, the loveliness and the lyric-loving quality of Barbara Cook's voice.
And even at 85, this Broadway and cabaret legend still delivers a song with the sort of care, feeling and understanding that one rarely hears today. She is the living embodiment of the richness and enduing allure of the Great American Songbook.
The best way to see Barbara Cook is the way we saw her the other night -- in a small, cabaret setting at Morgan's in the Black Box upstairs at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Surrounded by friends such as David and Sayde Ladov and Phoebe Resnick we were able to enjoy this great songstress with an appreciative audience that knows a premiere song-stylist when they see and hear one.
Barbara Cook explained that she doesn't sing a song until she understands it. "I have to know what it's all about," she said. "I have to know what the songwriter meant. I have to know the story behind the song."
For her four evenings at Morgan's, Cook decided to put aside old standbys from Sondheim and Hammerstein and Hart and go with about a dozen songs touching on the theme of love, including songs  penned by little-known lyricists. But she also threw in standards by writers such as Hoagy Charmichael and Cole Porter and gave them her own distinct interpretation. Among the songs: Bye, Bye Blackbird. Makin Whoopee, If I Love Again, Let's Fall In Love and Georgia On My Mind.
As singers' voices age they are sometimes forced into a kind of parlando performance in which they talk the song through as much as they sing it. The best are able to carry this off with the audience barely noticing it. Sinatra and the great Mabel Mercer were masters of the form.
But Cook "talks through" lyrics only sparingly. Her voice is still strong and she's still able to hold a note beautifully. It's an amazing feat.
Yes, we do wish she had chattered with the audience less and sung more. But she did tell some amusing stories and she was remarkably candid with us. When she recounted some of the weirdest country music song titles ever written, she had us all laughing. And who knew that Barbara Cook was an ardent fan of You Tube (it's where she often decides which songs to sing) or that she could drop the F bomb so casually? She aptly described herself as a "sit down comic."
All in all a delightful (and sometimes suprising) evening!