Recorded live in 1980, this long-out-of-print album shows Barbara Cook about halfway through her Broadway ingénue beginnings and her current incarnation as cabaret's reigning empress. Her crystalline upper register is still in very good shape, but she also swings surprisingly hard--those who know only Cook's semi-operatic trills or her dramatic readings of Sondheim's art songs are in for a shock here. The contrast between the singer's tone and the brassy orchestra behind is startling from the very first number, Irving Berlin's "I Love a Piano," and it sustains the entire album. But what makes the album stand out is its mix of show tunes and pop songs. Take "Inside," for instance; cowritten by Peter Allen, it's something you'd expect on a Barbra Streisand record and yet Cook does such a fabulous job that it feels completely natural for her. The frantic glee of "Sweet Georgia Brown" (on which Cook scats) is even better. Add tracks such as Harry Nilsson's "Remember" and Laura Nyro's "I Never Meant to Hurt You," and you realize that what Cook is doing is pulling off the rare feat of "cabaretizing" pop tunes without sounding ridiculous. Fans of the more traditional Broadway repertoire aren't forgotten, especially with an ace Leonard Bernstein medley. It's Better with a Band is a gem and it's nice to have it around again. --Elisabeth Vincentelli