In Person

This discount-priced two-fer reissue combines two albums Robert Goulet released originally on Columbia Records in the early '60s; Always You, Goulet's debut LP, appeared in 1961, and In Person, a live collection, was his fifth full-length disc in 1963. Goulet came to belated recognition with his featured role as Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot, but when he did he became a big star due to his dark good looks and powerful baritone. Columbia producer Frank DeVol took advantage of that voice on Always You, having Goulet record show tunes and old-time standards and bathing them all in string arrangements that the singer had no trouble dominating. At the time, that was more than enough to keep Always You in the charts for over a year, but 40 years later listeners may wish that the material held up as well as the vocalist, although "And This Is My Beloved" from Kismet and "It's All in the Game" have weathered the decades. The songs on In Person are even more noticeably a mixture of the good and mediocre. Goulet's act was written by Jerry Bresler and Lyn Duddy, who imposed a handful of their forgettable songs on him. Happily, they also left room for such standards as "All or Nothing at All," "Soliloquy" from Carousel, and a medley of Lerner & Loewe show tunes, including "Almost Like Being in Love." Goulet also sang his single "What Kind of Fool Am I?" and inevitably concluded with his Camelot signature song, "If Ever I Would Leave You." So, as a 76-minute Robert Goulet collection, this CD definitely has its moments, even though you have to wade through some less-than-memorable patches to hear them.