Although I could cite the entire B side of Bette Midler's eponymous second album, from Optimistic Voices all the way through to the end, it's the final cut 'Your Love Is Lifting Me Higher' that does just that - keeps on liftin' me higher! Laura Nyro w/LaBelle's version of 'Dancin' In the Streets' fairly bursts with joy and makes me want to move. 'Brown Earth', another Laura Nyro from 'Christmas and the Beads of Sweat' also gives me that feel-good feeling. Although it's a torcher, Barbra Streisand's rendition of 'When the Sun Comes Out' makes me high every time I hear it. Everytime I play Carly's 'You're So Vain' I end up cranking it up and singing gleefully along at the top of my lungs. Great hook, great song! Ok, 6 jubilant songs. When Judy Garland tells her audience 'We've got one more. We'll do 'Chicago' and then launches into a scintillating rendition after pouring every ounce of her body & soul into stunning performances of the 24 songs that preceded it, I get goose bumps and want to shout along with the audience when she's done. Mark in Seattle (so Michael Y., can you tell I'm a big OLD queer?? LOL!)
