Reviews of Just Around the Corner

This six-track disc comes from a concert that St. George performed in 2004. On Old Fashioned, St. George uses her soprano marvelously in Sondheim's "So Many People," reflecting the same heartfelt phrasing as Barbara Cook. Also on the disc are a jazzy take on the Kern/Mercer standard, "I'm Old Fasioned" and a smooth medly of Porter's "So Nice to Come Home To/Easy To Love." -- The Sondheim Review, Vol. XI No. 3, Spring 2005.

"Elaine St. George's 'Love is Just Around the Corner' reminds us of the many great songs written for the screen in the '30s, with a few showtunes added as well. There might be a surprise at finding 'A Kiss to Build a Dream On,' popularized in the early '50s, but it was intended for, then not used in, the Marx Brothers' 1935 A Night at the Opera, and was a revised version of Bert Kalmer and Harry Ruby's earlier song 'Moonlight on the Meadow,' with lyric input from Oscar Hammerstein II. Among other goodies are the title song from Flirtation Walk, College Swing's delectable 'Moments Like This,' Happy Landing's mildly risqué 'Hot and Happy,' High, Wide and Handsome's lovely 'Can I Forget You?,' and Footlight Parade's 'Shanghai Lil.' It's unusual enough for that song to be performed, even moreso by a woman. St. George is an out lesbian, singing the lyrics without changing their gender. This certainly puts a new spin on the Gershwins' 'Mine,' with St. George double-tracked and accompanist Paul Katz singing as the third corner of a triangle. She is at ease and relaxed with ballads or gently swinging tempos, less secure in her upper vocal range. Katz leads a small group that provides sympathetic accompaniment for this likeable collection." -- Show Music, Winter 2000-01, Volume 16, No. 4

A "lovely album...you may find yourself listening to Have You Met Miss Jones and some of the other infectious 1930s songs she's re-imagined here over and over again." -- from the liner note by Mary Rodgers

"From the moment I slipped Elaine St. George's Just Around The Corner (Two E Music) in my CD player, I was captivated. Her sparkling voice, vibrant delivery, classic selection and sheer cleverness instantly made a fan of me...the album's fifteen swank offerings traverse a wide spectrum of sounds and moods...From the gutsy, bluesy jazz of the title track "Love Is Just Around The Corner," to the heart-wrenching tenderness of the grandiose ballad- medley "Can I Forget You/It Never Was You," St. George proves a masterful interpreter....St. George is a singer's singer, and though deftly accompanied by a host of accomplished musicians, her voice is squarely the focus here. As it should be. I hope to be hearing more from this spunky, classy diva soon." -- Margaret Coble, Impact News, January 15, 1999

"Elaine's love of old American musical films and the music from those days is more than visible in her treatment of some great 30's evergreens. It's especially evident in her very romantic treatments of Cole Porter's Do I Love You, Otto Harbach & Jerome Kern's classic Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Lane and Loesser's Moments Like This. Elaine conveys a special tenderness too in Yip Harburg and Arthur Schwartz's Then I'll Be Tired of You. Elaine brings back the flair of 'old times' too with songs like Hot and Happy." -- Seems Like Old Times, syndicated radio show, June 1998