On Serenade Radio's latest episode of Mark Steyn on the Town, we begin with The Naked Gun and a very niche musical genre and work our way round to a Vegas lounge take on monarchical music hall from England. In between comes our Café Continental - plus Porgy and Bess and Frank.
To listen to the programme, simply click here and log-in.
~Thank you for your kind comments about last week's edition. From England, Nick Hingley says:
A great programme as always – learned many new things about songs I already knew well.
Fran, a First Weekend Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, writes:
I've heard a lot of these terrifically executed Mark Steyn on the Town episodes but really not sure how you can top this one. Thanks so much for pouring all you've got into these most enjoyable and touching shows. Loved the story shared about Frank Sinatra meeting Cole Porter for the first time.
Nancy also enjoyed our Sinatra segment:
I have so enjoyed the Sinatra Summer Stock offerings the last two weeks. Please sir I'd like some more!
Click above and enjoy, Nancy. Alison, a Steyn Clubber from the English Home Counties, likewise appreciated that section:
Very cheering. Ethel Merman could defnitely summon up the 1930s in one phrase.
Gary Alexander, our West Coast music maven, says:
The Sinatra segment reflected a marriage made in heaven -- lasting a lot longer than any of Frank's marriages, in fact... I also enjoyed your mining out a sextet of mostly older readings, especially your first 'I Get a Kick Out of You' with a vocal group adding the verse near the end, as it seems more convincing than that live version at the end. (And the smell of 'perfume in Spain' is a nicely Bowdlerized replacement to appease any potential Drug Warriors in the Radio Censorship Bureau).
One more, from Fraser, an East Anglian Steyn Clubber:
If this show was an example of breaking the iron-disciplined Steyn format, then screw the format. A show of unexpected twists and turns.
Great Sinatra-Cole Porter Septet, great anecdotes, great Larry Adlerian name-drop: Steyn sitting between Lauren Bacall and Ali McGraw! ( God how I hate that Steyn guy. It's so unfair!). After peak-Barbra Streisand's 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers' and the bitter-sweet 'The Way We Were' who's to say that the Bergman duo, in the fullness of time, won't be the real G.O.A.T?
And in a show of logic-defying highlights maybe Mighty Sparrow and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires 's rendition of Don Black's lyrics to 'Walk Away' took the biscuit. Now that was unexpected. The whole thing was sheer pleasure. Roll on next week, same time, same place. Thanks Sensei Steyn. Thanks Serenade.
~On the Town is Steyn's weekly music show on Serenade Radio every Saturday at 5pm British Summer Time - that's 6pm in western and central Europe or 12 noon North American Eastern. You can listen from almost anywhere in the world by clicking the button at top right here. We also post On the Town at SteynOnline every weekend as a bonus for Mark Steyn Club members. You can find all our previous shows here.
We do enjoy your comments on our weekend programming. Steyn Clubbers are welcome to leave them below. For more on The Mark Steyn Club, now in its ninth year, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Mark Steyn on the Town can be heard on Serenade Radio at its regular times:
Saturday 5pm London time/12 noon New York
Sunday 5am London time/9pm Los Angeles
