What, no “Luck Be a Lady?”

I’ve come to expect fabulous things from the Grammy Award-winning Ultra Lounge series, which consistently mixes ’40s, ’50s and ’60s kitsch with big band, exotica, light jazz and the occasional torch song. But the newest entry – Vegas Baby – misses the Bellagio gondola this time around. While the lineup is ring-a-ding (Garland! Bennett! Torm!) the disc is mostly one long “Swingers” reference, reminding the tired listener that “It’s Vegas, baby, Vegas!” then chiming in with the obligatory “It’s Not Unusual” halfway through. Perhaps the more disappointing tracks are supposed to echo the seamier side of Vegas, but that’s probably way too Pomo for a series entitled “Ultra Lounge.”

And then, at the 16th track… Steve Lawrence’s version of “Night and Day” kicks everything up. Pure Vegas, real Vegas, baby – lush and loungey with a splash of “Copacabana” shaken in. It is followed by “Big Spender,” throatily crooned by Peggy Lee and backed by hot brass. Louis Prima and Wayne Newton close out the disc on a strong, swingin’ groove, but even the hidden Bobby Darin track can’t revitalize the clich