Broadway has always had a great ability to celebrate itself, actually, and that ability is showcased on the third volume of RCA's anthology series in songs about show business, starting with the title track (actually written for the movie musical Forty-Second Street, which then became a Broadway musical) and ending, inevitably, with "There's No Business Like Show Business." In between are songs by
Sondheim, Coleman,
Styne, Herman, Kern, Yeston, and
Kander, all exploring aspects of the biz. As with the other volumes in this series, the caveat is that these songs come from various sources including but not limited to original Broadway cast albums -- concert versions, revivals, revues, etc. -- but there isn't a performance here that isn't good, and the selection makes a powerful case for Broadway. ~ William Ruhlmann