Miss Spectacular: The Concept Album
It's a testament to the clout of artist Jerry Herman (Mame,Hello, Dolly!,La Cage aux Folles) that he can get Faith Prince, Christine Baranski, Michael Feinstein, Debbie Gravitte, Karen Morrow, and  Steve Lawrence to sing on a "concept album" of his unproduced showMiss Spectacular. Not only that, but the singers are backed by a huge orchestra instead of the usual small ensemble that so often makes this type of recording sound cheap. But while Larry Blank's orchestrations are luscious as can be, the synopsis is inane even by musical-theater standards (Midwest girl goes to Vegas looking for fame and fortune), and the songs feel as if they could have been written in 1952, 1988, or anytime in between. Whether you'll call them dated or timeless depends on your mood. The "Finale" even feels like aSimpsonsparody of a Broadway show's take on Vegas. The recording's saving grace is that the pros in the cast could sing the yellow pages and still make you want to buy an orchestra seat.--Elisabeth Vincentelli