This various-artists collection of specially recorded songs in small-band arrangements does not pretend to feature
Johnny Mercer's best or best-known songs, instead combining the well-known ("You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," "Blues in the Night") with many interesting obscurities. Nor, as the title indicates, is the album given over entirely to Mercer. There are two ringers, both debut recordings: "Ask Me Again," a George and
Ira Gershwin song discovered by
Michael Feinstein, who accompanies
Rosemary Clooney in performing it, and "Time You Old Gypsy Man," lyricist E.Y. Harburg's final song. Other performers include Eydie Gormé,
Jennifer Holliday, and
Anita O'Day. Highlights include "I Wonder What Became of Me" from the musical St. Louis Woman by
Henrietta Valor, "Out of This World" by
Judy Garland-imitator Jim Bailey, and the comic "I Fought Every Step of the Way" by Laura Kenyon, Armelia McQueen, and Mary Gordon Murray. ~ William Ruhlmann