Dear Broadway Performers Thinking About Doing a Solo Cd...

stop singing songs by Randy Newman, Billy Joel, or Joni Mitchell on your solo cd's. They're over-done! If you can't think of anything to sing, how about, oh, songs from actual shows? Weird concept huh?

You don't find it a tad annoying to get one of your favorite Broadway performers' cd's and there not be a single song from a musical? I do!

I know they're trying to appeal to a mass market, but come on, they all choose the same types of pop songs.

And I just don't GET the appeal of Randy Newman.

I usually would agree with the original post but some of Randy Newman's songs are very theatrical. "Marie" comes to mind. Mandy Patinkin used it in a medley on his first solo cd.


And Betty Buckley took Billy Joel's "And So It Goes" and linked it beautifully with "Everything Must Change."

Updated On: 1/28/06 at 11:48 AM

No NO NO. Most are not that talented. I said most. Maybe a few are but the rest should stick to using really good material from talented songwriters.

Talking about Mandy's debut cd, does anyone else love how he screams on at least 3-4 songs on the album. This is one of my all time favorite albums. I hate to say it but I love screamers on my turntable and in my bed.

Really? Great? Where can I listen to her stuff?

Anything Anthony Warlow decides to record is just fine by me. Hell, I'd even listen to him sing "Memory" and not say a word.

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thanks bobby bubby baby. I just ordered it for $2.00 on amazon!

any other suggestions?

Updated On: 1/28/06 at 12:03 PM

BobbyBubby--I feel your pain from a listener and fan point of view. But one of the primary reasons Broadway artists want to record their own CDs is to branch out and perform songs they might not get to sing in a theatre at any point in their stage careers. So they look for material that is "out of character"... or even out of genre.

They don't feel like being locked into any rigid molds. I'm sure you can relate to that in your own life. We all probably can.

EDIT: I will add, though, that the best artists know that this is a "two way street." They should be singing songs for themselves as well as their fans. Both. Liz Callaway has been great at "trying to please everyone" with her CDs. She's sung the songs we'd like her to sing, as well as ones we never thought she would consider. It's a nice mix. Variety is the spice of life, and it shows me that she cares about her own opinions as well as others.

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Updated On: 1/28/06 at 12:05 PM

Kitz-- You amaze me more and more everyday. Anthony Warlow is a VOCAL GOD. If he put out a cd with him singing commercial jingles, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

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