Posted 2008-11-21 07:34:40: Amazon.com: Varèse Sarabande continues its valuable Spotlight series, allowing Broadway veterans to record solo albums covering the catalogs of musical theater's best songwriters. The oeuvre of Kander and Ebb is given to Brent Barrett, and it's a good match considering his role as Billy Flynn in Broadway's Chicago. (His résumé also includes studio recordings and the Maltby and Shire revue Closer Than Ever.) You won't find "New York, New York" or "Wilkommen" here, but you will get a tasty blend of songs ranging from brassy swing to gorgeous ballads to crooners, all rendered in Barrett's versatile tenor--which at its sweetest brings to mind a less affected Mandy Patinkin. Chicago is represented by one song Barrett sings every night, "All I Care About," and one he doesn't, "All That Jazz." Ally McBeal's Jane Krakowski is on hand for "Wet" from Steel Pier, while Chicago costar Ruthie Henshall joins Barrett for "Why Should I Wake Up," a lovely duet cut from the Broadway revivals of Cabaret. John Kander himself accompanies on piano for "A Quiet Thing," from Flora, the Red Menace. A very nice album, from beginning to end. --David Horiuchi
