Sondheim Reissues - Any Chance?

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 9:48am

So I'm reading on Talkin' Broadway.com's "Sound Advice" section that MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, INTO THE WOODS, and SWEENEY TODD will be reissued on March 20th.

Any chance? Or do you think they'll be pushed back YET AGAIN?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 10:23am

Amazon still doesn't list them and I can't find them listed on any other site that sells cd's...so...I guess probably not.

I've been waiting to replace my warped Sunday cd with the remaster but I'll probably just have to track down a used copy.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 10:27am

This is the cast-album lovers equivalent of a cock-tease.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 10:29am

Yes it is! Not as bad as Jay Records, who have been dangling the complete Merrily and One Touch of Venus over our noses for years!

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 11:39am

On March 20, Sony BMG Broadway Masterworks will be releasing remastered versions of four Sondheim musicals (with bonus material):

SK 68636 INTO THE WOODS
SK 68637 MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
SK 68638 SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
SK 68639 SWEENEY TODD

Since these are SONY catalogue numbers, it almost implies these were put into the system some time ago.


For up to date info on all cast album releases check out:


http://www.castalbums.org/


Also Jay's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG has been out for more than 10 years now. It's ANYONE CAN WHISTLE that John Yap is holding back. (He feels that the market for cast albums is too soft right now. These are expensive double CD sets and sales are not strong enough to support them.)

ONE TOUCH OF VENUS is a more likely candidate to eventually show up, because a) MCA's CD reissue of the old Decca set of 78-RPM's was deleted about 10 years ago and is now hard to find, and b) Decca's set, limited to five 10-inch 78 RPM discs, is woefully incomplete and also only retains the two stars and orchestra from the show.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 12:05pm

(breathes in for a few seconds)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Finally! I've been waiting for these CD's FOREVER!

Updated On: 3/7/07 at 12:05 PM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 12:33pm

Now tell us how you REALLY feel!

The problem until now is that in anticipation of these releases, the original editions were discontinued and as stores ran out of stock they could no longer get any more. Result: MISSED sales opportunities! (Five years ago when Kennedy Centre did their Sondheim celebration the gift shop there was well stocked with all titles except PASSION, which was out-of-print at the time. Angel re-released it a few months later, but missed out on a lot sales during the run.)

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 1:01am

Here's the official release info from Sony BMG:

Home News & Win New Releases Artists Series Soundtracks Community Sign Up Listen Podcasts International Shop A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z NEWS Masterworks Broadway Proudly Announces The Re-Issue of Four Great Sondheim Musicals!


Masterworks Broadway proudly releases digitally remastered versions of the Original Broadway Cast recordings of four of the greatest Stephen Sondheim musicals: Into The Woods, Sweeney Todd, Sunday In The Park With George and Merrily We Roll Along. Each of these four discs, sold separately, contains exciting new additions such as rare bonus tracks as well as new liner notes by Richard Jay-Alexander. All four titles will be released on March 20, 2007.

Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest artists and most recognizable names in musical theater history. With a near constant presence on stages around the world, he is currently represented on Broadway by the hit revival of Company. Additionally, a revival of Sunday In The Park With George is slated for a 2008 Broadway production. He has been honored with an Academy Award®, multiple Tony® Awards, multiple Grammy® Awards and a Pulitzer Prize in drama. Many Broadway stars have shined brightest in his musicals, and these CDs feature unforgettable performances by Bernadette Peters, Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, Joanna Gleason and many more.

CD details / special features:

INTO THE WOODS - Original Broadway Cast Recording
After premiering on Broadway in 1987, the fairytale-inspired musical was nominated for the 1988 Tony® Award for Best Musical, and won for Best Book of a Musical (James Lapine), Best Lyrics (Stephen Sondheim) and Best Actress (Joanna Gleason). In addition to Gleason, the cast includes Bernadette Peters, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Maureen Davis and John Cameron Mitchell. Suggested list price is $13.98.

Bonus tracks (all available for the first time ever):
• “Giants In The Sky” - John Cameron Mitchell
• “Back To The Palace” - Kim Crosby
• “Boom Crunch” – Maureen Moore

SWEENEY TODD - Original Broadway Cast Recording (2 CDs)
Broadway introduced the world to the Demon Barber of Fleet Street with this musical thriller in 1979. The musical won 8 Tony® Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Hugh Wheeler) and Best Original Score (Stephen Sondheim). Stars Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury won for Best Actor/Actress in a Musical as standouts in an impressive cast that also included Victor Garber, Edmund Lyndeck, Betsy Joslyn and Craig Lucas. Suggested list price is $24.98.

Bonus tracks:
• “Symphonic Sondheim: Sweeney Todd” from Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall - Eugene Perry / Henry Perry / Jerry Hadley / American Theatre Orchestra conducted by Paul Gemignani
• “Green Finch And Linnet Bird” from Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall - Harolyn Blackwell / American Theatre Orchestra conducted by Paul Gemignani
• HIDDEN TRACK: “Sweet Polly Plunkett” from Putting It Together - Julie Andrews

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Sondheim’s inspiration for this musical was the painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat. The musical was nominated for several 1984 Tony® Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score (Stephen Sondheim), Best Actor in a Musical (Mandy Patinkin) and Best Actress in a Musical (Bernadette Peters). Further accolades were given when Sondheim was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work in 1985. Suggested list price is $13.98.

Bonus Tracks:
• “Putting It Together” from Putting It Together - Julie Andrews / Stephen Collins / Rachel York / Michael Rupert / Christopher Durang
• “Sunday” from Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall - Chorus & American Theatre Orchestra conducted by Paul Gemignani

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG - Original Broadway Cast Recording
The musical, based on the 1934 play of the same name, earned Sondheim a 1982 Tony® Award nomination for Best Original Score. Though short-lived on Broadway, the cast album has gained the musical a following over the years. The talented cast includes Jason Alexander, Lonny Price, Tonya Pinkins and Liz Callaway. Suggested list price is $13.98.

Bonus Tracks:
• “It's A Hit” (demo from Sondheim’s personal archives, never available before)
• “Not a Day Goes By” from Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall - Bernadette Peters / American Theatre Orchestra conducted by Paul Gemignani

The recent mergers of Sony BMG combined the Sony Classical/Columbia Masterworks and RCA Victor labels, and led to the formation of Masterworks Broadway, which houses one of the most formidable catalogues of cast albums anywhere, with recent titles such as Tony winner Avenue Q, the revival of A Chorus Line, and Grammy-award winners The Producers and Hairspray, as well as the treasured original cast recordings of West Side Story, the original A Chorus Line, the revival of Chicago, and many others.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

[sondhead]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 1:07am

"Also Jay's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG has been out for more than 10 years now. It's ANYONE CAN WHISTLE that John Yap is holding back. (He feels that the market for cast albums is too soft right now. These are expensive double CD sets and sales are not strong enough to support them.)

ONE TOUCH OF VENUS is a more likely candidate to eventually show up, because a) MCA's CD reissue of the old Decca set of 78-RPM's was deleted about 10 years ago and is now hard to find, and b) Decca's set, limited to five 10-inch 78 RPM discs, is woefully incomplete and also only retains the two stars and orchestra from the show."

And he's not putting them up on iTunes why??

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 1:15am

Although the material has been recorded, I don't believe either album has been mixed or edited as yet.

[Sondheim Geek]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 11:25pm

I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet, but Merrily is on iTunes (and you can just buy the Sondheim 'It's a Hit' track, which is obviously from a backers audition and contains cut material).

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 11:30pm

Those bonus tracks are disappointing.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 11:32pm

Um, they got their info wrong in the press release. Ben Wright is Jack, not John Cameron Mitchell.

[kjklo]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 11:34pm

Yeah, the bonus tracks are mainly throw-aways. What a missed opportunity!

[BandNerd]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 11:39pm

I think that they're already at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square...

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 11:46pm

No, John Cameron Mitchell is singing the bonus track.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 12:03am

in addition to Gleason, the cast includes Bernadette Peters, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Maureen Davis and John Cameron Mitchell.

Call me anal, but it makes it sound like JCM was in the original cast.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 12:09am

^Yeah, it does...


I love him in Secret Garden.