Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill / Levine, Lenya, Armstrong, Gilford, et al

The voice of Lotte Lenya--filled with a bittersweet tone, slight imperfections, and that unmistakable accent--is something you either love or hate. But decades later, the former wife of Kurt Weill still has a voice we can't forget. Simply put, nothing compares to Lenya. This reissue gathers her English-language September Song and Other American Theater Songs album from 1958 (for the first time here, heard in its stereo version) as well as her tunes from 1957's Cabaret; "Song of a German Mother" from the Broadway show Brecht on Brecht; and even a collaboration with Louis Armstrong on "Mack the Knife." These recordings were the cornerstone of Lenya's American career, and even with pop orchestration--"Saga of Jenny," "Green Up Time," "Speak Low"--these are infectious numbers. Like the previously released Sony Masterworks reissue of Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins, this is simply a great package. The sound quality is excellent and the eight-minute-long session outtake from "Mack the Knife" with Armstrong is truly fascinating. --Jason Verlinde