I would like to hear that dishing as well. Although, I would probably love the LC tape no matter how awful the quality.
I lean to the OBC too, the performances are unmatched, but I always imagine them singing the full score.
As far as a "definitive edition" I like the cut and paste idea, Frontrowcenter2 gave this great rundown of what he considers the "best" of each song, I often want to do the same. I don't kknow that I agree on every choice, but I love that he gives such detail.
re: Help me decide which Follies Recording to buy!!!!!!
Posted On: 1/5/06 at 02:45 AM
To assemble a Best of FOLLIES proper I suggest the following for debate:
1. PROLOGUE/OVERTURE - PMP is most complete; Concert cast is best recorded.
2. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS - Concert cast captures what it was like in the theatre with the audience applauding the ladies as they make their entrances. Very exciting.
3. DON'T LOOK AT ME - OBC with Dorothy Collins and John McMartin is best.
4. THE GIRLS UPSTAIRS - The OBC is probably best performance but the record producer should have identified clearly when the ghosts come in. I prefer the concert cast here to PMP as a second choice.
5. RAIN ON THE ROOF/AH PARIS/BRADWAY BABY - The OBC drops the fist number and the first half of the 2nd, so it’s useless. It also changes the ending dropping the montage. This last change is also used for the concert, but Elaine Stritch is having so much fun it doesn't matter. Still this leaves ONLY the PMP recording catching the number as it is performed on stage. The best take of "Broadway baby" is Ethel Shutta re-creating it for the 1973 Sondheim tribute.
6. ROAD YOU DIDN'T TAKE - John McMartin hands down on this one on the OBC.
7. BOLERO D'AMOUR - Only recording is on the PMP set.
8. IN BUDDY'S EYES - Both Dorothy Collins and Barbara Cook are sensational with this but if pushed I would opt for Collins on the OBC.
9. WHO'S THAT WOMAN - OBC is truncated losing the dance music (so you never know when the ghost dancers come in.) The concert cast has the best performance and most excitement, but PMP set is the most complete.
10. I'M STILL HERE - Yvonne DeCarlo's take (despite losing a verse and a half) is definitive. Nancy Walker on the Sondheim Tribute is more complete (but the live recording does not have the best sound; Carol Burnett starts introspective and builds it to a grad finale but seems to be straining her voice in doing so on the Concert recording. Ann Miller on the PMP disc KNOWS what the song is about and even though her voice is not in the best shape, it is quite possibly her finest recorded performance. (Am I alone in thinking Ethel Merman should have picked this up and used it to close her concerts in the 70s/80s?)
11. TOO MANY MORNINGS - Best recording is John McMartin and Dorothy Collins on the OBC. (On the Sondheim tribute they also restore the cut "Pleasant Little Kingdom" in its best-recorded performance.)
12. THE RIGHT GIRL - Gene Nelson on the OBC is best. It also includes a final verse either cut from the show or created by Sondheim for the recording. Listen to the anguish in Nelson's voice at the end as he trails off and says "ahh SH*T!"
13. ONE MORE KISS - None of the recordings of this is completely satisfactory. The OBC was left ff the first LP release and has been restored for the CD. They should have left it off it is not well done at all. The same performers re-created it for the Sondheim Tribute and that is better. The best of the available is the Concert recording with Lucia Albanese's voice in ruins (she was in her 80s then) wrapped up with Erie Mill's glorious soprano.
14. COULD I LEAVE YOU - Hands down it belongs to Alexis Smith. Listen to her mounting anger, and unlike everyone else she doesn't pause after "Wait a goddamn minute!" - she just hurtles forward into the last part of the number.
15. LOVELAND - Only RCA's concert recording includes the dialogue lead-in even though it does slightly re-routine the middle section.
16. YOU'RE GONNA LOVE TOMORROW/LOVE WILL SEE US THROUGH - Again go with Victor's concert cast. Complete and well sung. OBC is abridged and the PMP is not as well performed.
17. BUDDY'S BLUES - OBC with Gene Nelson is best-recorded performance even if it does change the order of the verses. Mandy is too over-the top and Tony Roberts is too underpowered.
18. LOSING MY MIND - Still belongs to Dorothy Collins (OBC) though Barbara Cook's recording is wonderful as well.
19. STORY OF LUCY AND JESSIE - Alexis Smith's OBC recording is marred by being abridged of all its dance music. Lee Remick is great on the concert cast but the number has been re-routined to eliminate the dance section. Best-recorded version is Dee Hoty on the PMP set, where it is relegated to "bonus track" status.
20. LIVE LAUGH LOVE - George Hearn on the concert cast is the concert recording is the ONLY one to include Ben's spoken lines as he suffers the breakdown. This also leads into a (fabricated for the concert) finale with a reprise of BEAUTUIFUL GIRLS that does put a nice final button on the recording. THE OBC is horribly rushed and truncated and the PMP recording lacks the drams...if you didn't know what was going on you would be lost.
I have avoided mentioning the 1987 London cast because it makes too many changes and none of the performances are spectacular. Cle Laine does the best version of "Ahh But Underneath on her Sondheim recital. "Make the Most of Your Music" is a great song but really has nothing to do with the character of Ben, nor FOLLIES.
I am surprised so many people dislike RCA's FOLLIES In Concert.
Of course I came to it after 14 years of having ONLY the truncated EMI cast album, so the concert allowed a chance to hear virtually the whole score. Yes, Mandy does go way over the top with "Buddy' Blues" but that's what he does best! And the concert generated a level of excitement that comes through beautifully on the recording. I like it a lot and find no one horribly miscast. Minor trims and changes to the text don't really affect the recording at all. But it is live and there is a lot of enthusiastic audience response throughout. Still, I find this the most satisfying listening experience as far as FOLLIES recordings.
The OBC was always a disappointment and the CD release magnifies technical problems with buzzing mics and such that occurred during the rushed recording session. But you find a more irreplaceable cast - even allowing for those who don't sing well and the many irritating cuts in the score plus the missing songs.
I have a few minor complaints about the Paper mill Playhouse set. I find the tempos too precise and lacking the excitement that Paul Gemignani brought to the concert recording, and I don't think any of the leads are as perfectly matched to the roles as either the original cast or concert cast. Oh they are all fine but none of them are truly outstanding. Both Phyllis Newman and Lilliane Montevecchi have lost vocal power since recording these roles for the concert, 14 years earlier. More troublesome is that the orchestra is recorded very dry and the singers seem to have a lot of reverb added, as is the trend now. I prefer the open sound of Capitol's cast album and RCA' concert recording where everyone is in the same space. From having read many posts from the younger members it seems they DON'T like that open sound and prefer the more intimate mic sound of the modern discs. This of course is just a matter of personal preference.
As others have pointed out with the full score plus the appendix of cut songs this is a very valuable document of the complete FOLLIES score but I must admit I listen to the appendix material more than the show recording.
I stand corrected, you are as vapid as they say.
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