Originally issued in 1994, Roslyn Kind’s gratifying Come What May, has come back on the market, with one charmer of an additional track: “Times Like This” from the Stephen Flaherty-Lynn Ahrens musical Lucky Stiff. Even with that, the nine-cut CD is still regrettably short: under 36 minutes. The singer, whose only other full-length recordings were both vinyl albums back in 1969, sounds marvelous here, with rich, honeyed tones in songs’ first sections building up to big, exciting belting conclusions, as in “Can You Read My Mind?” from the film Superman. Others, like the title song and bonus track, stay primarily in cozy, warm-and-fuzzy territory.

Though occasionally a bit dramatically mannered, with a whisper or growl, she’s generally on target, whether tender or torchy. A restrained but regret-drenched, thoughtful “The Man That Got Away” (set up and ending with piano quotes of “My Man’s Gone Now”) finds her earning her degree in cabaret lament classiness. All she needs is sympathetic piano accompaniment, (arrangements/production by Michael Orland, except the extra song: piano by Sam Kriger). There are many gloriously luscious vocal moments here to relish.

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
September 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org