Bette Midler Bathhouse Betty CD

Personnel includes: Bette Midler (vocals); Dean Parks, Dennis Budimir, Ira Siegel, Tim Pierce, Michael Thompson (guitar); Brock Walsh (banjo); Eric Weissberg, Moon, Jay Berliner (ukulele); Robbie Kondor (mandolin); Bob Efford, Richard Mitchell, Roger Neumann (saxophone); Warren Luening, Jack Sheldon (trumpet); Richard Todd (French horn); Leslie Benedict (trombone); James Self (tuba); Kim Bullard, David Foster, Carole King, Cyrus Chestnut, Randy Kerber, Randy Waldman, Steve Skinner, Phil Shenale, Greg Hilfman (keyboards); Matt Bissonette, Nathan East, Ron Carter, Jerry Barnes, Chuck Domanico, James Leonhard (bass); Gregg Bissonette, Rick Marotta, Steve Schaeffer, Emil Richards, Lewis Nash, John Robinson (drums); Royal Crown Revue.
Producers include: Ted Templeman, David Foster, Brock Walsh, Marc Shaiman, Chuckii Booker.
Personnel: Dennis Budimir, James Achor, Ira Siegel, Michael Thompson, Tim Pierce (guitar); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, balalaika, dulcimer, mandolin); Brock Walsh (banjo); Robbie Kondor (mandolin); Eric Weissberg, Jay Berliner (ukulele); Richard Mitchell, Roger Neumann, Bob Efford (saxophone); Mando Dorame (tenor saxophone); Bill Ungerman (baritone saxophone); Jack Sheldon, Warren Luening, Scott Steen (trumpet); Richard Todd (French horn); Les Benedict (trombone); James Self (tuba); Cyrus Chestnut, Greg Hilfman, Randy Waldman, Carole King (piano); Steve Skinner (organ, keyboards); Kim Bullard, Randy Kerber, John Philip Shenale, David Foster (keyboards); Chuck Domanico (acoustic bass); Ron Carter (upright bass); Daniel Glass , John "J.R." Robinson , Gregg Bissonette, Lewis Nash, Rick Marotta, Steve Schaeffer (drums); Richard Crooks (spoons); Frank Pagano, Emil Richard (percussion); Chuckii Booker, Eddie Nichols, Natalie Jackson, Ivan Matias, Michelle Matlock, Jerry Barnes, Johnny Kemp, Katreese Barnes, Margaret Dorn, Petra Haden, Ula Hedwig (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Dana Jon Chappelle; Frank Filipetti; David Koenig ; Jeff Hendrickson; Kevin Clark.
Recording information: Complex Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Right Track Recording, NY; Unique Recording, NY; W; Westwind Media, Burbank, CA.
Arrangers: Chuckii Booker; Bill Schneider; Bill Ungerman; Kim Bullard; Marc Shaiman ; Arif Mardin; Steve Skinner; John Philip Shenale; David Foster; Brad Dechter; Brock Walsh; Carole King.
This 12-song album tries to be all things to all Bette Midler fans: there's high camp for her loyal, and early, drag cult (the sassy "I'm Beautiful," the nostalgic "Ukulele Lady"); there are straight-up covers of big-league songwriters, both veteran and modern (Leonard Cohen and Ben Folds among them), for the critical clique; and there are big, bad ballads for the people who made her a moderately successful Top 40 and box office draw ("My One True Friend," which does for One True Thing what "Wind Beneath My Wings" did for Beaches). Through all of this, Midler has somehow become a legend, and throughout Bathhouse Betty, she sings as if she truly is one. Only problem is that for all of its roots-returning and sappy serenading, it doesn't have much of a personality. It's almost like looking at a photo album filled with vaguely familiar faces, none of which you really know that well. ~ Michael Gallucci
Bette Midler's got all the bases covered on this exuberant album, from swelling, big-voiced ballads ("That's How Love Moves") to quieter, soulful songs ("Song of Bernadette," "Lullaby in Blue"), the loud, hip-hop bitchfest "I'm Beautiful" and the peculiar and campy ("Ukulele Lady," "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show'"). For the uninitiated, BATHHOUSE BETTY is likely to be mystifying but oddly irresistible, while Midler's longtime fans will find this album to be a comeback of sorts, a return to the uninhibited energy of her 1972 debut in a way that none of her interim releases have even hinted at. We've known for some time that Midler has a big, ferocious voice which can go all soft and sweet or soar to meet the