This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Aside from Stormy Weather, ’30s tunesmith Harold Arlen wrote nearly as many standards as Lennon and McCartney — Come Rain Or Come Shine, It’s Only A Paper Moon, Blues In The Night, Get Happy and a little ditty called Over The Rainbow were in his resume.
Naturally, they’re all part of this outstanding tribute album brought to you by the same folks behind the memorable 1997 Kurt Weil tribute September Songs. The 17-track Stormy Weather takes a similar tack, getting contemporary artists to reinterpret these classic tunes. Some highlights: Wonderfully lush versions of Paper Moon and I Wonder Whatever Became Of Me by balladeer Rufus Wainwright; a downtown jazzbo revamp of the title cut by Debbie Harry; a raucous Cab Calloway-style take on Kickin’ The Gong Around by David Johansen; a sultry version of I’ve Got The World On A String by the suitably flamboyant Hawksley Workman; and a torchy Come Rain Or Come Shine by (who else?) Sandra Bernhard. I don’t know what Harold would make of it, but I think you’ll like it just fine.
