Christa Justus has done a yeomanlike job of compiling an all-Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics) and David Shire (music) collection on this neatly produced CD. I do find much positive to report. She handles her voice like an instrument with an impressive control of her full-frontal Broadway-style voice. Her sound is silvery and she has a very controlled vibrato that usually eases in before the sound becomes unpleasantly straight—mostly avoiding a habit that numerous singers have today. On the very top she is rather short and I would guess that in this music, it is nearly impossible
to really open up on legit high notes. Her inter- pretations range from pert and saucy to pure and innocent, as she is not a singer of the wrist-slashing variety. This material does not lend itself to much nuance—for the most part.

I am not sold on a CD of Maltby and Shire, at least from what is presented here. The better material, “I Chose Right” (Baby) and “The Word Love” (The Sap of Life) are charming and unpretentious, as is the pleasant waltz, “Stargazer” (Cyrano). I also enjoyed the jazzy handling of the lightweight “Coffee, Black” (Big) aided and abetted by her arranger and pianist Andrew Gerle.

On the other hand, the team that is responsible for musicals such as Baby, may have seemed “consciousness-raising” at the time, but now seem sadly dated when it comes to lyrical content. Some of it actually feels like a satire on “feminist theory” that is almost laughable. I was miffed to discover the same deal even in the more recent show—2007’s Take Flight about Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and the Wright Brothers. “You and the Sky” contains phrases such as, “You ask me to love you and I do/I feel your male heart bleed for things you say you need,” leading to, “And I knew right then could not live in a universe defined by men. In arguably the most famous piece, “Life Story,” the heroine constantly states that she’s “not com-plaining” but, she certainly sounds like she is and her life has turned out quite sad. Maybe it’s ironic and I am missing the point by “just complaining.”

Perhaps these songs sound better in the context of characters in a musical, but on a CD, you don’t get to experience that opportunity to make that judgment. I do believe there is a possibility to write about women’s conflicts without the saccharine treatment rendered by Maltby.

It is important that Justus keeps mixing it up vocally. Many of the tunes hit the same spots over and over again and I am relieved when she chooses to let her voice sit in a more conversational range. She does have a strong belt, but does not use it as much to her advantage as she could. I look forward to seeing her do a more varied program in the future.

Melody Breyer-Grell
Cabaret Scenes
September 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org