Turn-ons and Turn-offs in Current Home Entertainment Releases : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“A Singer’s Singer.” Mabel Mercer. V.I.E.W. $39.95. The British-born singer, born in 1900, became a Paris favorite in the 1930s and the toast of New York’s East Side starting in the ‘40s. Revered by her countless fans, she offers here a cross section of songs, most of them fairly obscure, in her almost parlando style. For many, an obvious feeling for lyrics compensated for her lack of technical skill. Jimmy Lyons’ piano backs her well in this 42-minute, 17-song set taped at Cleo’s in New York in 1981, three years before her death. Information: (212) 674-5550.