Best Gypsy Cast Recording?- Page 2

[The Josh]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 5:21pm

I'm partial to LuPone, but definitely don't skip Merman and Lansbury.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 5:36pm

Merman may be the original, but I don't find her acting to be very good.
Peters sounds a little too sweet, which also makes her somewhat terrifying.
Lansbury' s orchestra isn't great and she's not as strong a singer as the others.
Lupone screams her face off, which fits the character the best. She's extreme and brassy. Her recording also includes the beautiful Benanti.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 6:00pm

No love for Roz Russell I see.

[binau]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 6:08pm

Wasn't she dubbed?

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 7:07pm

Yeah, Lisa Kirk dubbed her, but I think the soundtrack includes a couple of Roz's tracks on it.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 8:59pm

My favorite recording is the Merman recording, followed by Angela, LuPone, Bernadette and Tyne & Bette tying for last (although I enjoy each one in different ways). My problem with the LuPone CD is that the quality is so fuzzy in my HQ headphones ripped at 320 kbps. I don't like that it's not crisp and clear.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 10:36pm

The Lupone one is the one I listen to when I've got one of the songs in my head. It sounds the best (just in terms of the production/recording quality) and I do like most of the vocals. I would put Merman after that. Then the movie version which I'm just very fond of despite it not being great. Then Bette Midler and finally Bernadette.

I haven't listened to the other versions though I may try Lansbury now that I looked and discovered that it's on Spotify. I'd love to get my hands on the newest one with Imelda Staunton.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:01am

Merman for sure. (I prefer the remaster, although recently on FB Thomas Z Shepherd--who handled the remaster--expressed regret that he did use different takes for 2, I believe, tracks when he did it--saying he should have just added them as bonuses.)

I listen to the Lansbury one nearly as much.

The only other one I'd recommend to a true Gypsy fan as a must have is the LuPone and the reason is almost entirely based on the appendix of cut songs at the end, which are presented (when possible,) in their original orchestrations (why don't more recordings of shows previously recorded do this? I know Papermill's Follies did...)

As for the others... I don't really play them much. I actually don't mind Bette in the DVD of the tv version, and it's my go-to version of Gypsy to watch over the original film (partly because it is so extremely faithful to the original libretto choreography and music,) but I would never play the cd.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:56am

Wow I'm listening to the Bernadette version on Spotify and absolutely loving it! I had actually never heard it before. The orchestra really is on fire.

That being said I still don't think I'd revisit too often. Too much Bernadette (same reason I hardly listen to the LuPone version - TOO MUCH PATTI).

Also I think whoever it was that mentioned the Lansbury orchestra finally hit the nail on the head why I hate that recording.

[NoName3]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:47am

Yes, Lisa Kirk dubbed Russell on the soundtrack. Mr. Goldstone is mostly Roz and she has a few lines in the the first half of Rose's Turn, but the rest is Kirk. And it's great. The film was my introduction to the show and I love the soundtrack although I guess it shouldn't be anyone's first choice. It's still a more than fine supplemental recording, Kirk and that full film orchestra are great, a lush and faithful treatment of the score.

Updated On: 3/27/15 at 04:47 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 10:54am

Maybe this belongs in the unpopular opinions thread, but my favorite Gypsy recording (by far) and the one I listen to most often is Bernadette's. Even though she claims to be a little under the weather during the recording I think she makes it all work in her favor. The orchestra sounds the best and Tammy Blanchard does fine work too. Nothing gives me thrills like Bernadette's big numbers though.

I have a live audio of Lansbury that's a much better representation than the cast album where the orchestra isn't quite at its peak.

Patti and Merman both are worth owning.

Tyne sadly does not sound great on her recording- she apparently won't even sign the CD because she was so unhappy they made her record it while she was ill- but I have heard numerous people say she acted the crap out of the role and remains their favorite Rose.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:45am

Overall, my favorite is the Tyne Daly recording. Her voice really doesn't bother me as many of the others tend to oversing the character of Rose, which can work in the theatre, but is just a bit much for me on the recordings. I saw Patti in the initial version of the revival at Ravinia and she was sensational, but I think I only bothered to listen to the CD once. Lansbury probably gives the best recording of Rose, but the accents of much of the supporting cast are quite distracting and I don't always care for the musical direction. I enjoy listening to the OBC as a time capsule of a historically significant show, but Merman really grates my nerves.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:12pm

Mister Matt, I saw Patti at Ravinia as well and greatly preferred that performance over both City Center and Broadway. I always attribute that to her being under the direction of Lonny Price as opposed to Arthur Laurents, who seemed to push her into monster bulldozer territory.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:59pm

I don't like Bernadette's acting lines on the recording (though I'm sure it worked on stage). She sounds like she's playing Rose drunk.

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 12:11am

Lupone is the one on my Ipod. I attribute this not only to LuPone but to the fine work from the supporting cast, the splendid orchestra and (most important to my geek brain) the bonus tracks of cut songs.