The Box Under the Bed

The title for this album comes about because the songs come mostly from previous releases by cabaret performer, D. C. Anderson. The masters for these releases were in a box under his bed, ergo The Box Under the Bed. Over his years as a performer, Anderson has traveled coast to coast, working in such musicals as Candide, Pippin, and a lengthy association with the Andrew Lloyd Webber smash The Phantom of the Opera. The play list is very broad. There's "Mississippi Mud," which brought Bing Crosby to public attention. Anderson re-creates himself through dubbing, singing in the same syncopated manner Crosby and the Rhythm Boys did more than 75 years ago. Sticking to the well-known cabaret formula of selecting material based on the story it tells rather than solely on popularity, there are several songs here that are not all that well known, even among other cabaret performers. But typically they are all done in the expressive, sincere tone that is so unique to this vocal art form. Anderson uses his flexible voice to establish just the right atmosphere for the song he is singing. This comes through often on such tunes as a somewhat doleful "From the Heart" to the medium tempo better known "Waiting for the Train to Come In" where he lets loose with his clear tenor to the deep bass plucking of Ritt Henn. But he can also go deeper down the vocal range as he shows on "That Lonesome Road" which he delivers as a quartet and a cappella, never swerving from the pitch. This album is a prime example of the variety of pleasurable music that good cabaret offers. Where can one find songs penned by Harold Arlen and by Roseanne Cash on the same CD?