Fran James and Bárbara Mendes-Jorge of the Over/Underrated podcast join Sam & Martin to kick off season 20 with a song about the saddest body of water you can imagine (feedback pending). We compare to other wet songs from musical theatre, discuss vocal quality and tone, and touch on the difference between enjoyment and analysis.

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Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Misery Is the River of the World, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002)

Old Man River, Showboat, Paul Robeson/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II (1936)

Ol' Man River, single, Ray Charles/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II (1963)

Ol' Man River, The Concert Sinatra, Frank Sinatra/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II (1963)

Ol' Man River, Cilla, Cilla Black/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II (1965)

Ol' Man River, Should Sister, Aretha Franklin/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II (1966)

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