I Got My LA CAGE CD Today!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/22/10 at 4:40pm

And it sounds GLORIOUS! After all these years I'm so happy to finally have a recording of the show I can actually hear without turning up the sound to the max and still straining to hear.

[Kad]

Posted: 9/22/10 at 6:10pm

Agreed! Mine came yesterday. Sounds fantastic! And it's one of the few times that I think that included dialogue enhances the listening experience.

[LegallyBroadway2]

Posted: 9/23/10 at 10:29pm

Mine has yet to come.. I cannot wait though..

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/23/10 at 11:34pm

Mine arrived today as well.

My observations based on the first listen is that they are more intimate sounding - exacerbated by the modern tendency to closely mic each member of the ensemble so you hear each instrument but not that blended sound as heard on older cast albums.

That said, the smaller sound really does fit the piece better, and there is extra dialogue - mostly lead-ins to the songs - that was not on the original album.

The one thing that is missing is the Curtain Call encore of "Best of Times" that for me was always the icing on the cake of the older album.


Also arriving today was SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM. I know some of you have commented on the missing numbers (Why did they cut Ahh But Underneath? It was one of the high points of the show!) More distressing is the segment where Sondheim talks about his rocky relationship with his mother. The track cuts off BEFORE he tells the story of the letter she sent him when she was
in hospital! I'm not sure who makes the decisions about what to cut but these are not what I expected at all. Also has anyone found that when the orchestra sneaks in under Sondheim, his voice gets buried?

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 9/23/10 at 11:41pm

frc, is the clip you're talking about in SoS the one that leads into "Children Will Listen"? I was disappointed with that one being cut as the juxtaposition between that clip and the song was one of the most touching moments in the show. Beautifully tragic (forgive the Wicked quote).

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/23/10 at 11:44pm

Yup - That's the segment. The first part IS on the CD but not the story about the letter his mother sent him, which I also felt beautifully set up "Children Will Listen."

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 9/23/10 at 11:50pm

Could you remind me the details of the letter his mother sent him? I thought I remembered something about wishing she had never had him, something like that? Truly heartbreaking.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 12:33am

Yes he wrote a letter somewhere in the 1970s's saying she was going in for open heart surgery (SS claims iut as to have a pacemaker put in) and she said "I want you to know the only thing I regret is having given you birth." (paraphrase from memory..may have been "Having given you life.") Either way it was horrible thing to say.

He later said he just cut her off and instructed his business manager to handle her long term care in a nursing home. The old bat lived to be 95 and one book says it cost $70,000 a year. Sondheim did not even bother showing up for her funeral.

[tazber]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 1:36am

I only heard the SOS cds once, so I can't remember if that was on there or not. But I have heard that story before and I can't think of anywhere else I would have heard it.

Are you sure it's not somewhere else on the recording?

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 1:41am

The whole story is not on the recording as it was in the show. He talks briefly about his mother, but they cut out the real meat of it. It was definitely indicated that they didn't have a good relationship on the cd, but it doesn't go into too much detail (and leaves out the detail that frc mentions).

Apologies, Jordan, for dragging your thread so far off-topic.

On-topic, I still can't decide if it's worth it or not to buy the La Cage CD. I'm sure I'll cave eventually, but it's not at the top of my list.

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 10:57am

Back to La Cage.....
It is a keeper. Although the band is slight, you get a feel for the show and the club (La Cage). You can sense the small, smoke-filled cabaret somewhere on the Rivera with ZaZa and Les Cagelles.

I also enjoyed the added dialogue to set up certain songs. The CD does have an intimate feel to it. And the photos in the booklet add to the story-telling.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 11:26am

Yes, I should have mentioned the booklet. It's another first class production from PS Classics with two dozen color photos, an introductory essay by Harvey Fierstein, a detailed synopsis, and all the lyrics.

Even if you prefer downloading music, the booklet alone makes the CD worth purchasing.

[matty159]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 11:34am

Does anyone know whether they are selling it at the theater yet? If so, I think I may have to drop in tonight and pick it up!

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/24/10 at 2:54pm

I think it was reported here that they had it at the theatre over a week ago. But it hits stores next Tuesday (28th).