Some More Bolcom and Morris

As I mentioned a while back, here for instance, I'm a big fan of the husband and wife team of Joan Morris and William Bolcom.  The numerous albums they've made of American songs are a total joy, creating a sense of what the songs likely sounded like when they were written, yet coming across today as fresh, and not dated.  (Bolcom, as well, as written several well-regarded operas.)

I saw them perform at the Ravinia Music Fesival years back and had become fans of their with their Grammy-winning album, After the Ball, which was a collection of turn-of-the-century songs -- some famous, many lost today.

As I said, I love how they give a sense of the song in its time.  But I also love that they, not surprisingly, include the verses to songs which -- even if the song remains known today -- are long forgotten.  And that helps give a richness to this old songs, showing them as little stories, not just "ditties."

Here's an example.  It's a song which, while not still-famous is nonetheless likely pretty well recognized, "I've Got Rings on My Fingers."  But it's the very funny, odd verses that gives you a very different picture of the song than you no doubt ever had.