GavestonPS said: "And ENCORES! did such a great job with Lerner & Loewe's PAINT YOUR WAGON, it has become one of my favorite scores. Can't wait for this BRIGADOON (even though I already have four other recordings)."
OK... so on your high praise, I went to iTunes and searched "Paint Your Wagon". I am SO NOT disappointed!! I'd always been kinda "meh" about the score because I'd only known the movie version (aside from always liking "...Wandering Star", ",,,Maria" and "I Talk to the Trees" from singing them in grade school choir).
The thing I like best about the Encores! series is that they include the entire score and orchestrations. What a difference that makes! Also, the quality of the performers they cast as well as the quality of the recordings. I wish ALL of them were available.
I also downloaded Gentlemen Prefer Blondes which I'm just as impressed by, if not even more. The vocal arrangements are INCREDIBLE, and although Carol Channing is iconic. I appreciate hearing Megan Hilty's vocals more, as a perfect 'in-between' of her own talent, with a sprinkling of Marilyn Monroe's breathiness sprinkled here and there.
I completely expect to be attacked for this, but after listening to GPBs, I'd rather see a revival of GPBs over Tootsie, which I found to be pandering to the (legitimate) supporters of #meetoo.
There are ALL kinds of women (as is true for men, too) that exist in today's world, including the types that lead the show in GPBs. I think it would be much braver to revive GPBs, with its excellent score and enjoyable book than to pander to a current movement with (although loaded with fun and humor) an inferior Tootsie.
