Cole Porter and Anything Goes

When it comes to Cole Porter, I prefer Kiss Me Kate. But Anything Goes is still phenomenal.

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As for Kiss Me, Kate, the 1999 revival recording is the best.
While the OBCR has awesome performances, it is drastically cut, because of time constraints, and censored, esp. Too Darn Hot and Always True To You. Amy Spanger gives a knockout performance of the latter in the revival. And there's also the Great Performances DVD, with Rachel York, Brent Barrett, and Nancy Anderson, my favorite Lois/Bianca.

My personal favorite recording of Anything Goes is the LuPone revival, but I also the the 1962 Off-Broadway recording, mostly because of the songs that they didn't use in 1988.

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Updated On: 1/5/09 at 12:29 AM

Elaine Page's London production is fine. I can't stand the Lupone version. I am convinced that Porter would never have hired someone like Patti Lupone to sing his sparkling lyrics. Can you imagine the droll comments he would have dropped about her voice?

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Cole Porter was one of the greatest of all musical writers, period. For Anything Goes, I'd go with the Lincoln Center production. For Kiss Me Kate, either the OBCR (the first, by the way, ever made for LP and no one could ever turn a phrase like Alfred Drake) or the 1999 revival. And if you REALLY get hooked on Porter, try the Fifty Million Frenchman with Howard McGillan and the Out of this World (either the OBCR and the Encores! version with Andrea Martin). It's really a crime that there have never been complete recordings of DuBarry Was a Lady, The New Yorkers, Panama Hattie, Red, Hot and Blue, or Leave It to Me.

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the best/worst thing about Anything Goes is that no matter how many times you listen to a cast recording, you can't figure out the plot of the show.

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Have you ever heard Noel Coward's version of "Let's Do It"? If not, you MUST get it. It's hilarious!

I agree with Mamie. The shows are hard to revive as Porter intended them, so it's much better to start with the songs as sung by the best interpreters and then start listening to the cast albums, each of which has its virtues and drawbacks.

Start, as Mamie said, with Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook. It was the first songbook album Ella recorded in 1956, when Porter's reputation was in decline. It revived his career, launched a new genre of singers singing a songwriter's catalog--she does 34 complete songs on the album!--and established Ella as the First Lady of American Song.

She sometimes misses some of the more sophisticated lyrics, but it's the best introduction to his whole work.

Then I'll go out on a limb and suggest this one: Bobby Short Loves Cole Porter. Bobby Short was a "saloon" singer who sang at the elegant Cafe Carlyle in New York, and his style is somewhat of an acquired taste--but he knew Porter personally and epitomizes Porter's sophistication. (He does 22 songs.)



After those, you will be a Porter expert. Then you can start on the various Anything Goes recordings, the various Kiss Me Kates, the early 20s and 30s recordings, the tracks from the 1940s shows and the Hollywood scores and the 1950s cast albums of Can Can and Silk Stockings, all of which are mixed bags.



Bobby Short Loves Cole Porter

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Updated On: 1/5/09 at 10:13 AM

There is a great series called THE SMITHSONIAN COLLECTION OF RECORDINGs. Each CD spotlights a different composer. Their is one for COLE PORTER. It is an excellent introduction to his catalogue.

Tracks:

01 - Anything Goes - Cole Porter (1934)
02 - I Get A Kick Out Of You - Ethel Merman (1934)
03 - Night And Day - Fred Astaire (1932)
04 - Miss Otis Regrets - Ethel Waters (1934)
05 - Begin The Beguine - Artie Shaw And His Orchestra [1938]
06 - My Heart Belongs To Daddy - Mary Martin (1940)
07 - Let's Do It - Billie Holiday (1941)
08 - Easy To Love - Lee Wiley (1940)
09 - Don't Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters (1944)
10 - Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Benny Goodman Quintet Featuring Peggy Mann (1944)
11 - Be A Clown - Judy Garland & Gene Kelly (1947)
12 - It's All Right With Me - Peggy Lee (1956)
13 - I've Got You Under My Skin - Peggy Lee (1953)
14 - Love For Sale - Billie Holiday (1952)
15 - It's De-Lovely - Mabel Mercer (1954)
16 - Just One Of Those Things - Lena Horne (1957)
17 - What Is This Thing Called Love? - Ella Fitzgerald (1956)
18 - Always True To You In My Fashion - Lisa Kirk (1959)
19 - Which? - Jeri Southern (1959)
20 - In The Still Of The Night - Eileen Farrell (1961)
21 - At Long Last Love - Bobby Short (1971)
22 - The Laziest Gal In Town - Marlene Dietrich (1964)
23 - You're The Top - Eileen Rodgers & Hal Linden (1962)

Another excellent recording as mentioned by another poster is ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK. Another personal favorite of mine is the soundtrack to the MGM film HIGH SOCIETY.

Updated On: 1/5/09 at 10:27 AM

I beg to differ MrMidwest but no Cole Porter collection is complete without:

I think both are necessities, Usnavi.

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I know, I know I've posted it a million times but I love it. It's the top!!!!

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I take it I'm in the minority but I am a very big fan of the '87 Lincoln Center revival cast recording with Patti LuPone and Howard McGinn. I get chills when LuPone hits those notes during "Blow, Gabriel, Blow."

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