I feel the same sense of speed or being rushed in listening to the new recording. Notice the spoken interjection "I'm Fanny by the way pleased to meet you" - "Coronet Man". When I first heard it --- I thought the recording had sped up for some reason. Were these songs done with live orchestra? Or was it possible they had a pre-recorded orchestra track? If the latter --- that could account for some of the speed, I guess.
I still note that Lea is "pitchy" on long held climax notes of the songs . Probably not noticable at all in the theater. I also noticed the "nobody but nobody" that was pointed out. It is as though she is singing "n'body" for the first word.
I wish recordings of the today could replicate the warm homey acoustic of the Pre-Digital era. This one doesn't. The original with Barbra is much warmer to me. Richer .
"Temporary Arrangement" just seems to come out of nowhere for me, and sounds, on this recording, stylistically at odds. From another era? A different sound.
My favorite track is "Who Taught Her Everything She Knows." That one resembles the sound of the original 1964 to me, and brought a lot of joy on each listening.
For new recordings --- Into the Woods remains my favorite. Although this is an exciting release. Still favorite FG will remain the original.
I just listened to the ending of both versions of the song, and the delivery is wildly different between the two. Right from “get read for me love ‘cuz I’m a comer.” Lea appears to get ahead of the music in both that line and “nobody, no, nobody” (she delivers it as “nobodynono, body&rdquo in order to get a large breath before the sustained notes.
It’s one minor quibble but moments like this happen constantly and seem to sacrifice the character of the music, but in the orchestrations and in the vocal line.
kidmanboy said: "I just listened to the ending of both versions of the song, and the delivery is wildly different between the two. Right from “get read for me love ‘cuz I’m a comer.” Lea appears to get ahead of the music in both that line and “nobody, no, nobody” (she delivers it as “nobodynono, body&rdquo in order to get a large breath before the sustained notes.
It’s one minor quibble but moments like this happen constantly and seem to sacrifice the character of the music, but in the orchestrations and in the vocal line."
I just love how Lea does the nobody, no nobody part....it's musically powerful during that moment of the song!
Lea Michele, who is the Fanny Brice we have all been waiting for, all this time. She is who it should have been, all these years that people have talked about wanting a Funny Girl revival, and we all just had to wait for the timing to be right. Thank goodness it finally was because we all deserve this: the people who love Broadway, the people who love Funny Girl, the people who love cast albums, the people who love musical theater. And do you know what? Barbra Streisand deserves to know that Fanny is in good hands, and Lea Michele deserves to have her hands be the hands that hold the Funny Girl legend.
"Anything you do, let it it come from you--then it will be new."
Sunday in the Park with George
CatLady3 said: "I am not a huge fan of the original orchestration - like I said in an earlier comment, I felt they were too distracting and at times really drowned out the singing. They were definitely fuller, but I don't think that was necessarily a good thing.
I disagree about Lea not being lyrical or warm.. her biggest moments in this recording are in songs like People, Who are You Now (Reprise) and The Music That Makes Me Dance, and her singing does things to my heart in those songs. I actually think more emotion comes through in her version of People and TMTMMD than the original versions, but I know that will sound blasphemous for some."
I find Lea very warm and accessible. Adorable is the word that comes to mind - especially in Cornet Man. I get that some here don't care for the videos, but they are worth watching. I've watched both the movie version of People and the video and much prefer both the staging and the presentation of the song (in the film Nicky is halfway down the block). Also, love, love, love Who Are You Now (reprise). I prefer the videos of the songs to the album.
NoItAll said: I have two small favors to ask. Please explain:
2. What the meaning is of “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
A question for the ages, I've been wondering that since I first heard the song - over 50 years ago. What I came up with is Nicky tells Fanny he sees a lot of women in order to not get attached. She tells him she's too busy for a relationship. It's her way of telling him she's stopped being too busy. Seeing it in this production, the words kind of make sense.
2. What the meaning is of “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
Streisand admitted even back during FUNNY GIRL’s original run that she had no idea what that meant. Even today she holds up to not understanding that lyric.
I saw it when I was 15 and I have always felt that it meant that you would live a richer life if you made a point of opening yourself up to people and welcoming them in, flaws and all. It’s better to be a part of something than being alone on the sidelines. Still feel that is what the lyric means. On Henry St., everyone knew everyone else, and their lives were richer for those relationships.
Penna2 said: "NoItAll said: I have two small favors to ask. Please explain:
2. What the meaning is of “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
I think it means something similar to "alone is alone, not alive" from Company. Fanny and Nick don't seem to need a significant other; they are both successful and happy. Fanny is saying that, ironically, people who need other people are luckier than them because being with "one very special person" can bring more joy than being free from commitment.
Uncertainty of meaning might be acceptable, even inherent, in poetry, but not so much for Broadway song lyrics. (Know your audience.) For a more logical sermon on the subject of romance, I would offer:
People who get people with whom they can live happily ever after are the luckiest people in the world.
I've always interpreted the lyric as, people who need to be around people, who understand the need for human connection, who can't live without other people and friendships, etc in their lives, are the luckiest people because they get it, they understand the human condition.
I think they are suggesting that it's a bit uninsightful because "people who need people" are probably 99% of the population - so the idea that they are somehow 'lucky' doesn't make any sense because actually there is nothing lucky about it, it's just human nature. I kind of agree logically but sometimes you have to put logic aside and just enjoy the emotion associated with an idea rather than take it so literally hehe. I for one am happy to be 'emotionally manipulated' by the song/lyric even if it doesn't make literal sense.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
NoItAll said: "A person who enjoys a characteristic common to the overwhelming majority of all people should not be called “lucky.”"
You have to take context into consideration. Someone who just misses getting hit by a bus is "lucky to be alive." Sure we're all alive. But without that same almost-got-hit-by-a-bus context.
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.
wewdie said: "I've always interpreted the lyric as, people who need to be around people, who understand the need for human connection, who can't live without other people and friendships, etc in their lives, are the luckiest people because they get it, they understand the human condition.
Just pre ordered it. It is coming out towards the end of her run. So it will be hard to get it signed. I treasure my Bette Midler- Dolly vinyl. But I have not played it once.