Bette Midler: Bathhouse Betty (1998)

15 September 1998 saw the release of the ninth studio album from artist Bette Midler. "Bathhouse Betty" was not only her debut on Warner Brothers Records, sister to her previous label Atlantic Records, but the title itself was a callback to her days performing at the Continental Baths at the Ansonia Hotel in New York. The gay bathhouses, this was the place where the persona of the Divine Miss M was truly born, and has flourished for generations since.

Through all of Bette's offerings over the years, from the sparkling debut of "The Divine Miss M" and its successor "Bette Midler", through "Songs for the New Depression", "Broken Blossom" and "Thighs and Whispers", live compilations "Live at Last", "Divine Madness" and "Diva Las Vegas", through "The Rose" and its accompanying soundtrack LP, "No Frills" and "Some People's Lives", even a comedy album entitled "Mud Will Be Flung Tonight!" before the phenomenon that was "Beaches", and all of her varying movie roles, ranging from "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" to "The First Wives Club" and more, Bette was "Bathhouse Betty" to those devoted audiences at the Continental Baths. *This* was the callback to them. *This*, in some sense, was Bette's music career coming full circle. *This* could almost have been published as a 1990s sequel to "The Divine Miss M", with elements of "Beaches" worked in.

My first encounter with this album was walking through the local town mall, back when you had about two or even three different music outlets, and there it was. This bright, almost fluorescent cover prominently displayed in the new releases section. It wasn't only the front cover that grabbed me either, but the track list. Because once you turned it over, there was the song list written out in fancy little fonts all in the shape of the figure of "Bathhouse Betty"! It was a striking design. It called out to you: listen to me! It very much made you aware that Bette Midler had released this album she was incredibly proud of. Or, in this case, "THE DIVINE MISS M" had returned!!! How about this: "The Divine Miss M II: Back to the Divine"? Or "The Divine Strikes Back"? Or "Divine II: Eclectic Boogaloo"?! I'll stop now.

It was sometime after when I was gifted both "Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits" and "Bathhouse Betty" when I heard this album, which also means, as far as studio albums are concerned, this was my first Bette CD! And as a fan of her talent, and this music, that's something I wear with pride. Not unlike Bette's quote here as published in the Houston Voice: "Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [when I got my start singing at the gay bathhouses]. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride."

That's another reason to admire "Bathhouse Betty", the performer *and* the album.

Let's have a look at some of the musical credentials here. Typical of Bette, it has some great eclecticism. We have moving pop songs like "Song of Bernadette" from Leonard Cohen, Bill Elliott and Jennifer Warnes, "Lullaby in Blue" from Adam Cohen and Brock Walsh, "Boxing" by Ben Folds, "That's How Love Moves" by Jennifer Kimball, Ty Lacy and Fitzgerald Scott, and the single "My One True Friend" (also featured in the film "One True Thing") written by David Foster, Carole King and Carole Bayer Sager. 

Then we have the upbeat comedic moments, including "I'm Beautiful" written by Brinsley Evans (and containing a soundbite from Mel Brooks classic "The Producers"), "I'm Hip" from Bob Dorough and Dave Frishberg, and "Big Socks" by Chuckii Booker, and on to the classics like "Ukulele Lady" from Gus Kahn and Richard Whiting (which Bette had performed in her "Diva Las Vegas" concerts), "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" by Leon and Otis René (intended as a live song for 1977's "Live at Last"), "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" from Rose Marie McCoy and Charlie Singleton, and the amusing, touching little moment at the end "Laughing Matters" by Dick Gallagher and Mark Waldrop from the musical revue "When Pigs Fly". Notably, the Japanese release includes another song called "Heaven" by Julie Gold, author of Bette’s earlier single "From a Distance". I've only heard it once.

Production wise we have a whole array of musical talent working on separate tracks: Ted Templeman, Arif Mardin, Brock Walsh, Marc Shaiman, Chuckii Booker, and David Foster. All of these people who worked on this album, and all of the people I've neglected to mention in past reviews, have my emphatic "thanks" for putting these projects together! Also, the artists who produced the front cover and all of the inlay/rear design, plus the disc itself.

Let's have a look at the charts. Album wise, "Bathhouse Betty" reached #32 on the US Billboard 200, #55 on Australian Albums (ARIA), #88 in Canada, a less disappointing #68 in Germany, but a more disappointing #89 in Japan. As far as sales, “Bathhouse” has racked up an impressive 500,000 in the U.S., going gold there. This is not exactly what I would have expected for this album, but I can't really complain about it either.

There were three singles: "That's How Love Moves", "My One True Friend" (the movie theme for "One True Thing"), and "I'm Beautiful". "I'm Beautiful" actually shot all the way up to #1 on the US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) (echoing the earlier "To Deserve You" dance mix) and #8 on the US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard). That's pretty cool! "My One True Friend" managed #16 in the US, #49 in Canada, #87 in New Zealand and #58 in the UK. I have no information to report on "That's How Love Moves" unfortunately, but I wouldn't have stopped there. Heck, most of this album could have been singles. I mean, why not?

Let's have a look at the songs themselves.

"Song of Bernadette"---this is inspired by the story of Bernadette Soubirous, and if you don't know what that's about, have a read, oh and listen to this song. I've always been fond of it. Co-writer Jennifer Warnes recorded the original version which I've yet to hear.

"I'm Beautiful"---this is a blast! Plus I love the bit with Zero Mostel from "The Producers" screaming: "That's it, baby! When you've got it, flaunt it, flaunt it!" The Divine Miss M is in full force here.

"Lullaby in Blue"---the album changes mood, with this deeply moving song about a woman who once gave up her child for adoption. Please have a listen if you haven't. Bette was moved to tears by this song.

"Ukulele Lady"---the contrast, already by track 4, is clear. I think some reviewers find that this makes the album sound inconsistent. *My* experience is that it's eclectic and something like "Ukulele Lady" or "I'm Beautiful" is light-hearted after the more serious moments. This is an old classic which Bette has a ball with.

"I'm Hip"---it's almost impossible for me to single out a song from this album that doesn't quite land for me, and I'm not going to say "but" here either because this isn't one of those moments. The lines about beards are hilarious.

"I sold my Heart to the Junkman"---I do wonder how this might have sounded in "Live at Last" era, but then I realize it probably would have sounded a lot like this anyway. I've always liked it, if just for the title alone. That's a strong, powerful image. The original version was by the Basin Street Boys which I've never heard.

"One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show"---from the first time I heard this album, I took to this song like a duck to water. The original was by Big Maybelle and even her name is awesome. I haven't heard her version yet either.

"Boxing"---this has to be one of the stand outs and most underrated songs from this album. Between moments like this and "Lullaby in Blue", I'm not sure why this album didn't chart higher, but oh well.

"Big Socks"---again with the contrasts! And this one has always been a fun favourite! The more you discover Bette's back catalogue, the cooler it is to hear her embracing sounds like these. The Divine Miss M is evergreen but she remains contemporary. I really like that.

"That's How Love Moves"---it does make sense to release this as a single. I'm just not sure if they shouldn't have released it a bit later than they did. Also, for me, it sets up the following song so these two moments really blend together into one moving thing.

"My One True Friend"---I think I've talked about "Some People's Lives", Bette's 1990 album, feeling like a sequel to "Beaches". This song almost feels like CC Bloom after twenty years singing about Hillary as an older woman. Carole King also wrote this song, one of three times Bette recorded her music.

"Laughing Matters"---it helps, if you feel depressed, to listen to this song, but listen to the rest of the album beforehand. If Bette had wanted to end her music career here, this could have been the perfect final note. Of course I'm glad she kept going but this also would have made a lot of sense. It's just a song that cheers me up.

So "Laughing Matters" brings me to the end of "Bathhouse Betty", and also to the end of the 1990s. It's all very fitting then.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.