Essential Solo Albums by Broadway Performers- Page 2

[Violet Tree]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 4:40pm

I like how it makes her sound like a lounge singer.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 4:44pm

Anthony Warlow - 'Center Stage' (and another I can't remember the name to - but I own)

Linda Eder - everything

Melissa Errico - Blue Like That (new CD next year!)

[keatonbynumbers]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 4:45pm

Kristin Chenoweth: "Let Yourself Go" (er... "As I Am" is good, too -- not at all Broadway, but if you like Kristin and you like Christian music... which I do.)

Bernadette Peters: All the ones mentioned and "Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein". Gah. Brilliant.

Daphne Rubin-Vega: "Souvenirs". I bow to her supreme sexy excellence.

Mandy Patinkin: "Dress Casual". Some people hate the Evening Primrose renditions but I think I'm a biased "Can't go wrong with Mandy/Bernadette" party.

Liza: "Liza with a Z". A Liza fan will tell you that you're gold with anything Liza and this is entirely true, but I'd start with this.

Sherie Rene Scott: "Men I've Had". Will make you want to jump Sherie Rene's bones. Did I just type that?

Linda Eder: Anything. I am promoting "By Myself: Songs of Judy Garland" till I die, though.

Patti LuPone: "Matters of the Heart". OMG just get it.

Liz Callaway: "Sings Frank Loesser". Effin' brilliant.

Audra McDonald: "Happy Songs". This one, too.

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 4:47pm

does anyone have the bizarre rap anthem I DO THE ROCK ? by tim curry?
i had the LP at one time-- delightfully campy...

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 4:50pm

If you are talking Essential, this is a must.

Dorothy Loudon - Broadway Baby

[ben1986]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 6:49pm

Elaine Paige's "Encore" is just brilliant
Patti LuPone's Matters of the Heart is well done too

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 6:53pm

i highly recommend Susan Egan's So Far... for great Broadway standards. She also has Coffee House, which I love, though it's not all Broadway. It's great.

[YankeesFan175]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 6:57pm

threadjack for a minute here b/c this is driving me crazy:

what exactly does "campy" mean? call me stupid, but ive heard this used a lot around the boards and elsewhere and i have no idea what it means. can anyone explain for me?


back on track, i own chenos as i am, and even though its not the best CD i own, its a very relaxing CD thats worth a listen.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 7:55pm

Besides all of Bernadette's albums, I'd recommend Marin Mazzie's new one (more of a duet than a solo, though she has a 'to die for' solo number).

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 9:36pm

CAMP: A sensibility that revels in artifice, stylization, theatricalization, irony, playfulness, and exaggeration rather than content, as Susan Sontag famously defined the term in her short essay, "Notes on 'Camp.'" According to Sontag, "Camp sensibility is disengaged, depoliticized—or at least apolitical"; however, some postmodernists, feminists, and queer theorists have explored the ways that camp (for example, the drag show) can trouble the belief that gender is "natural" or inherent, and can therefore work against heteronormativity. As Sontag argues, "Not all homosexuals have Camp taste. But homosexuals, by and large, constitute the vanguard—and the most articulate audience—of Camp." By exaggerating sexual characteristics and personality mannerisms, such queer-inflected camp could be said to contend that all behavior is really performative. Camp is also tied to postmodernism. As Sontag puts it, "Camp sees everything in quotation marks. It's not a lamp, but a 'lamp; not a woman, but a 'woman.'" In this way, the term resembles Linda Hutcheon's very similar understanding of parody, which Hutcheon offers as one of the major characteristics of postmodern art. (See the Hutcheon module on parody.) Camp's relationship to kitsch is a close one; camp could be said to be a self-conscious kitsch. As Sontag writes, "Many examples of Camp are things which, from a 'serious' point of view, are either bad art or kitsch," though she also acknowledges that "some art which can be approached as Camp... merits the most serious admiration and study." Sontag also distinguishes between "pure camp," which amounts to a kitsch that takes itself so seriously that we can now see it as hilarious (in other words, the camp sensibility is on the side of the audience not the author of the work), and "Camp which knows itself to be camp" and is, therefore, already making fun of itself.

a little dab'll do ya.


notes on camp

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 9:38pm

btw-- ann hampton callaway's album THIS CHRISTMAS is essential. her recording SLOW is very sophisticated and if you're looking for a b'way album this is not for you...but it is INCREDIBLE.

[bwayrocks_ca]

Posted: 11/28/05 at 9:47pm

I'll have to second or third... Patti LuPone's Matters of the Heart and Live albums.

And also add
Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley - Duets
Tami Tappan Damiano - Hot Notes
Barbra Streisand - The Broadway Album

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 9:25am

Alison Fraser-NEW YORK ROMANCE and MEN IN MY LIFE
Melissa Errico-BLUE LIKE THAT
Emily Skinner-EMILY SKINNER
Audra McDonald-WAY BACK TO PARADISE
Mandy Patinkin-OSCAR AND STEVE
Ute Lemper-BLOOD AND FEATHERS (LIVE AT THE CAFE CARLYLE)
Alice Ripley-EVERYTHING'S FINE
Faith Prince-A LEAP OF FAITH (LIVE AT JOE'S PUB)
Lea DeLaria-PLAY IT COOL
Caroline O'Connor-FROM STAGE TO SCREEN and WHAT I DID FOR LOVE

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 9:42am

Lea DeLaria has a solo album? Why?

[sharon1]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 9:43am

Since it is the holiday season I would like to mention Michael Ball's Christmas cd. It has become one of my favorites.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 9:54am

Lea DeLaria has two solo albums: the aforementioned PLAY IT COOL and DOUBLE STANDARDS, as well as several comedy albums. Both albums are really superb; her vocals are very jazzy and breezy. She interprets Broadway standards like you've never heard them before.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 9:56am

I'm sure she does! Well, hopefully she sings better than she did on Hair. She's hysterical, I don't deny that.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 10:02am

Give it a listen...Trust me, you've NEVER heard "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" like this before!
"Play it Cool" on Amazon

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 10:09am

Mandy Patinkin - Dress Casual
Judy Kuhn's tribute to Jule Styne

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 10:17am

Luba Mason - COLLAGE

A MUST have. Simply amazing.

She is also working on an album of showtunes.. (yay!)

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 10:42am

Lillias White - FROM BROOKLYN TO

Christiane Noll - While I greatly enjoyed BROADWAY LOVE STORY, she really impressed me with her range in LIVE AT THE WEST BANK CAFE. It's a mix of jazz and Broadway. Christiane's rendition of Amazing Grace is so incredibly moving.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 12:12pm

Emily Skinner

[whimsical]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 1:48pm

My favorite Christiane Noll album is The Ira Gershwin Album, which hasn't been mentioned here yet. I also enjoyed Broadway Love Story and Live at the Westbank Cafe. I love me some Christiane. :)

[evitakita]

Posted: 11/29/05 at 5:17pm

I LOVE "The Ruthie Henshall Album" (out of print, but often on eBay). I also really like Frances Ruffelle's self-titled album as well as "Fragile" (although I think both are sort of an acquired taste...).

I also really like "Blue Like That" (Melissa Errico) and anything by Linda Eder (not so much her newer stuff, though...my favorites are "It's Time" and "No Secret Anymore"). Michael Ball's "Center Stage" is growing on me.
Updated On: 11/29/05 at 05:17 PM

[nelliecollins]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:00am

I'm bumping this thread... wondering if anyone else has suggestions as I am trying to increase my collection as well.

Also, my picks:
Bernadette Peters - Carnegie Hall Concert
Audra McDonald - How Glory Goes and Way Back to Paradise
Anthony Warlow - On the Boards, Centre Stage, and Midnight Dream (especially love this one)
Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner - Duets and Unsuspecting Hearts
Howard McGillan - Where Time Stands Still
I also really enjoyed Andrea McArdle's solo album though the title escapes me... predictable songs, but I really enjoy her voice.

And I am dying to get the Marin Mazzie/Jason Daniely duet album "Opposite You" - anyone have this?