Tracks: 1. Once Upon A Time
2. Crooked Smile
3. I'll Get Up Tomorrow Morning
4. The Babysitter's Here
5. Hamlet
6. Southbound Train
7. Shopping Cart Of Love
8. Dear Danny
9. Painting My Kitchen
10. Superstar/Anyone Who Had A Heart
11. He Ain't Mr. Right
12. Sweet Dreams
13. Meeting Across The River
14. Heaven Can Wait
Posted 2007-11-16 05:52:10: Amazon.com: Some cabaret albums strive to be no more than ear candy, satisfying the audience with beautiful, familiar melodies. Closer than Ever alum Sally Mayes takes a different approach in this gem of a recording, The Story Hour. As the title implies, Mayes performs a program full of stories and patter--whether the topic is love, life's daily grind, undergoing therapy, or the babysitter. As on Patti LuPone's cabaret recording Matters of the Heart, the songs of composer John Bucchino stand out as exceptional. Two of the more ambitious selections are Christine Lavin's playlet "Shopping Cart of Love," about romance discovered at the grocery store, and Frank Loesser's "Hamlet," which music director-pianist Patrick Brady transforms into Shakespeare by way of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Mayes tells her live audience, "This is an evening of story songs. Hopefully, some of them will make you laugh; some of them will make you cry. And who knows? Along the way we might even learn something." She's right on every count. --David Horiuchi
