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[binau]

Posted: 11/19/11 at 5:10pm

I can't remember, did you end up seeing this revival too? (only because "One More Kiss" works so well on the stage I wonder if you would have disliked it so much if you had seen it).

Also, are you sure they are different keys? The first note of the song on the OBC and revival album both sound the same to me (D). I'm pretty sure they are in the same key.

Updated On: 11/19/11 at 05:10 PM

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 11/19/11 at 5:29pm

. Updated On: 11/19/11 at 05:29 PM

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 11/19/11 at 6:06pm

Huh... now that I compare them, it appears that they are in the same key... I don't really have a great ear for that kind of stuff. I thought I had read on here that the key was lowered for her. I guess she deserves a little bit more credit.

I haven't seen this production live, but I've watched the bootlegs from DC. I thought that production was good, but the Chicago Shakespeare production was really stunning. The actress who played Heidi sounded great, and even better than Young Heidi. Had that production been recorded (not that it actually would) that would be a very satisfying cast album.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 11/19/11 at 6:36pm

In fairness, it very much improved from DC to Broadway, so don't judge it entirely from what you "saw" of it at the Kennedy Center.

[follies85]

Posted: 11/19/11 at 7:50pm

For the most part, I'm really enjoying this recording. However, the vocals sometimes seem forced and the words over-enunciated. Also, some of the tempos could be sped up a bit. The overall sound of the recording reminds me of that of "Finian's Rainbow," another PS Classics release which sounds like it was recorded in a beehive. I much prefer the sound and production values of the mid-2000s albums of "Assassins" and "Grey Gardens" which were less overwhelming and seemed to have greater clarity.

[lizabombs]

Posted: 11/19/11 at 8:55pm

The over-enunciation bothers me, too. It gets really silly at moments, especially "Each in her style a Delilah reborn," which sounds on this album like "Each. In. Her. Style. A Delilah. Reborn."

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 12:29am

The new recording of is stunning. There is very little about it that I don't like. Having some dialogue included is fantastic. What a treat. Maybe I'll post more about it later when I've given it a couple more spins.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/22/11 at 2:12am

"For the most part, I'm really enjoying this recording. However, the vocals sometimes seem forced and the words over-enunciated. Also, some of the tempos could be sped up a bit."

I haven't listened enough, but the tempi hasn't bothered me--I do find it a bit slow on the Papermill recording. I wonder though, in this case does it reflect the theatre experience or ou r expectations?

Having not seen the show--I know that, particularly in the past, tempo on cast albums was often sped up, sometimes to fit more music on one record (which could be true of the original Follies cast album), but often for other reasons. Sondheim has said that expert producer Godard Lieberson almost always sped up a lot of the tempo (Bernstein complained that he did some of West Side Story'szs original cast album, like the Prologue, at close to double the theatre speed, and I've heard some complaints about part of Chorus Line in paricular). Lieberson said--and I think he has a fair point--that on record the music had to be of complete interest and sometimes tempo changes helped that, since you didn't hvae the dance and other visual elements to also have to take in and process that you would at the theatre. I think cast album producers are less likely to do that now.

(There's a book all about the music of West Side Story that goes through the cast album track by track pointing out all the changes, including tempo changes).

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 11/28/11 at 11:56pm

Just bought my copy on iTunes!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 11:36pm

The producer of the recording answers questions about it here http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=2028249

Interesting stuff, though frankly I don't buy his reason for not recording the Bolero (which I would have liked, just to have such a complete recording of essentially all the music from the original production). Sorry, but if he's going to restore so much dialogue, and has a pro orchestra there already who can sight read, it should and could have easily been included

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 11:41pm

From Eric's link -

In addition, there were all kinds of little lines that had been adjusted over the years, and simply because I'm a fan of the elegant poetry in the original libretto, some of them, frankly, just bugged me. Young Ben's original line in the scene after "The Road You Didn't Take" is "You'll make a good wife, Phyl." It's repeated later on, to great effect. In the production, they were doing "I'm sure you'll make a good wife for me, Phyl," and the clumsiness bothered me.

THIS. When I noticed this on the recording, I was stunned. I HAAAAAAAAAAATE the way it is in the show now, because I think it's clumsy. I can't believe there was another human being on the planet who gave a sh*t about that.

[NoName3]

Posted: 12/2/11 at 1:23am

For years I've heard a rumor that Sondheim doesn't want the Bolero in the show because he didn't write it. Does anybody know whether there is any truth to that or whether it's just unfounded gossip?

[chewy5000]

Posted: 12/2/11 at 2:46am

Well, considering that it is purely dance music, a lot of it could have been arranged by someone else - my script suggests John Berkman.

The same can probably be said of Tick Tock in Company

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/2/11 at 8:30pm

Phyllis, we were just lucky that apparently Widow Goldman was not present at the recording...


I think some people (though probably not too many on here) forget how little dance music is usually done by the composer. Of course there are exceptions like Bernstein and West Side Story, but Rodgers never did his Dream Ballets (although based on themes of his of course), John Kander actually did the dance music for Gypsy, etc.

I know in Sondheim's case he usually didn't--and is quite open about that. For Anyone Can Whistle he didn't do any of the Don't ballet (though of course it's based on his music), though he did do all the new themes for the Cookie Chase and was apparently quite involved, but has still credited the dance arranger (whose name I can't remember) for strining it all together. (Love that ballet--it's like Swan Lake performed by a rusty circus band).

Bolero D'amour's basic theme was his as well, but he didn't compose the full piece. For Tick Tock the dance was vastly different out of town (as that Boston recording shows) and frankly doesn't sound exciting at all. They knew somethign was wrong, and Sondheim brought in his friend David Shire expressly to re-do the dance (he was not the show's dance arranger)--obviously it uses some of Company's themes but it's pretty spectacular I think.

I've never bought that rumour that Sondheim doesn't like Bolero. He does seem ok with cutting it (again I hate that--it makes sense to have a dance number from the Follies and Bennett's original staging looks heartbreaking), but the rumour came from it not being in Follies in Concert--but most of the dance music was cut or trimmed from that. Sondheim seems open and more than accepting of the fact that he doesn't do most of the dance music in his shows (what there is anyway... the last major dance piece I can think of is the dance break in Now You Know for Merrily).

[chewy5000]

Posted: 12/2/11 at 8:36pm

Overtures are, or at least were, the same.

I was just watching Passion last night with the commentary on, and it suggests that Paul Gemignani was responsible for a good deal of the transitional material.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/2/11 at 8:40pm

I think Overturs almost all are, if they'
re done anymore--Sondheim gives full credit to Tunick for the brilliant Merrily overture.

I found that interesting with Passion too. I get the impression they did the transitions together, but regardless it certainly is an important part of the atmosphere of Passion. I did find it interesting that Tunick didn't do them as I would have assumed, but I know Gemignani's role in Sondheim's shows seems to increase with each one.

Add to my list of dance numbers that Sondheim didn't actually write but I find important to the show, the Lion Dance in Pacific Overtures which is one of the dramatic highpoints, and turning points, in the show (and frustratingly cut from a lot of smaller productions I assume because the dancing required is pretty difficult no matter who choreographs it).