BWW Album Review: With BROADWAY BY DAY Spencer Day Freshens Up Some Old Friends

The taking of and revisiting of classic musical theater compositions is a tried and true venture that has served singers of song and lovers of Broadway for decades; it is a fun way for artists to honor a genre of music that resonates, particularly, with them, while reaching a niche demographic interested in hearing their favorite tunes in new ways. The seventies saw Linda Clifford's disco version of a song from Sweet Charity, while the nineties saw Dionne Warwick reinvent an entire album of Cole Porter songs, in the style of the day, and everyone has their favorite Broadway themed album (this writer favors Nancy Wilson Broadway, My Way!). This month Broadway aficionados get a chance to hear some of the most famous musical theater melodies given a jazz treatment on Spencer Day's nuanced and imaginative new album BROADWAY BY DAY.

Whether familiar with Mr. Day's artistry, style, and background or just coming to the party because of the theme of the Great White Way, there is much enjoyment to be found on the twelve-song/forty-three-minute-long album. Choosing (mostly) material from classic musicals by the likes of Lerner & Loewe, Lionel Bart, and Jerry Herman (the most current musical represented is the 1978 play EVITA), Day seems to favor Rodgers & Hammerstein, featuring three of the legendary duo's songs on the album, one of them, a "Bali Ha'i" that claims one of the triumphant spots on the song list. It is possible to consider that an album culled from musicals like My Fair Lady, The King and I, and Annie might lean into the treacly but, rest assured, Mr. Day has gone to great lengths to reimagine the works in ways interesting and unique - not so unique, though, as to render them unrecognizable. The songs that the people know and love are still here - they are just here to be enjoyed by adults, rather than during a family outing informed by that which is wholesome and pure. This is cocktail hour Broadway.

Perhaps it is the naturally sultry quality of Mr. Day's voice, or maybe it is a stunningly dramatic Latin arrangement featuring guitarist Eduardo Leon that makes a standout on the album out of "I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You" but whatever the reason, it's working for Spencer... and for Broadway. It is a treat to be relished when Mr. Day duets with jazz great Jane Monheit on a one-time HELLO DOLLY! ballad that is, here, a sunny song of jazz intricacies that take more than a moment to enjoy - when he sat down with his musical team to create the album, Day didn't mess around. Each and every track goes into musical storytelling places that don't happen every time somebody at an open-mic declares they have come to sing "I Don't Know How to Love Him," and though some of the arrangements score higher marks than others, the entire album can, easily, be played from start to finish without ever feeling like the experience has gotten a bit twee.

With exceptional backup from the musicians on the album, Mr. Day takes his interpretive skills and lush vocals to places divine on two particularly emotional numbers here - and emotion can sometimes be a hard thing to come by on a CD of jazz treatments. Although Latin-informed, sexy, and worthy of a spin around a dimly lit dance floor, the ballad "If I Loved You" drips with yearning and passion (aided by Dave Koz's brilliance on the saxophone), and on a surprisingly simple and straightforward "Losing My Mind," Day creates a visceral breaking of the heart without, once, approaching the overflow mark, as some other singers tend toward on this particular Sondheim standard. Both tracks carry the emotional weight of the album (as well as a dreamy closing number from a dance-heavy Pulitzer Prize winner), allowing Spencer and co. to have some fun with the spiffier presentations of up-tempo musical parties on the CD. Indeed, the album is a continual party - a celebration, not only of Broadway but of the ability of artists to find something new in the somethings old that generations of fans have loved - now, they get to fall in love with them again, which can always be a fun experience. After all, everybody has a favorite cast album that they, at one time, listened to over and over but that hasn't been played in years. Perhaps the experience of listening to Broadway By Day will inspire fans to get out their favorite recording of Jesus Christ Superstar (I'll take the Brown Album) or Carousel (the Barbara Cook studio recording) and enjoy them, and the memories they inspire, before returning to Spencer Day's fine CD to find something new to appreciate, from his point of view. To that end, Broadway By Day isn't just a fine new album, it's a catalyst that might lead people down a Broadway rabbit hole - and who doesn't love a big fat Broadway rabbit hole?

Jump.

Spencer Day BROADWAY BY DAY is a 2022 release on the Club 44 label. It is available on all streaming platforms and at the Club 44 website HERE.

THIS is the Spencer Day website.

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