(2 of 2)
Home Is Where the Heart Is (The Buffalo Bills; Columbia). The music that almost put the barbershop out of business gets a fine, nostalgic ride from the most adroitly anguished quartet in the business. Ears allergic to Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day should approach with extreme caution.
The Writing on the Wall (Adam Wade; Coed). A good young singer with nice theatrical sense and enough mist-in-the-throat to cause tremors in the bubblegum set.
Lionel Hampton: Silver Vibes (Columbia). Backed by trombones and rhythm, Hampton walks spring-gaited through some familiar territory—My Foolish Heart, Poor Butterfly, Walkin' My Baby Back Home. A little vibraphone goes a long way, but it is difficult not to be hooked by the infectious lilt of Hampton in up-tempo mood.
Piano Forte (Peter Nero; RCA Victor). Tinseled, quicksilvery arrangements of standards by a cocktail pianist who could probably stick the 1812 Overture in a martini glass if he had a mind to. Pianist Nero has to watch only an occasional tendency to get too coy.