Is James Lipton's Sherry! any good?

In the firm belief that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, I will state that (sound unheard) the "Sherry" album is rotten because the show was rotten. I saw it in its original production, and with the sole exception of the title song, it was a total bust. The title song is pretty terrible, too, but Dolores Gray was so sensational in her performance that she made it work. The lyrics are particularly cringe-worthy, since Lipton has no clue about matching words to music. The horror of the line "Sherry,/You make me feel deliciously merry/And oh, so high!/I swear champagne is overrated" can only be experienced when heard in context of the tune, which it has only a passing relationship with.

The show was a failure for good reason. So no matter how well, Lane, Burnett, Peters, et al do them, they'll still be those same icky songs.

Updated On: 3/13/04 at 07:02 AM

I guess the reason people put up good money to produce this album because it was rotten. For whatever it is worth, I throughly enjoyed the CD & again Music Man thinks something is rotten merely because he says so. It is his opinion just like this is mine. Buy the CD & make your own judgment.

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Expectation is key, I think. Those expecting a great long lost gem will be disappointed in Sherry! It is a middle-of-the-road score, at best, though it does boast a couple of attractive songs. However, I'm a sucker for 60s flops and I've grown to find the whole thing really enjoyable and I'm so glad it was recorded, in such a high profile way.

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"If SHERRY! had a sparkling score, we'd all would have known it long before now (because it would have been recorded earlier)."

If you knew any of the history of this show you would know that the entire score was lost immediately after the Broadway run closed in 1967. It was found in 2000 and they have been working on getting it recorded since then. I'm sure if the score had not been lost that it would have been recorded earlier but that was impossible. Lots of other subpar scores have received recordings. The quality of a score has nothing to do with whether it is recorded or not. If someone puts up the money, it will be done.

As for the actual recording. In my opinion, and I have actually listened to it, it is extremely uneven. Some of the songs I am listening to over and over again and others I'm completely skipping. Everyone on the album sounds FANTASTIC!. Carol Burnett's voice is maybe not quite up to the job but that would be my only minor complaint. I'm really loving some of the love songs but I'm a sap for love songs.

A friend is giving me his copy next week. He played it once and hated it.
From what I've heard, it's not bad, and beautifully orchestrated with a nice rich sound.

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LOL Well that is certainly a possibility, Jose. Just trying to make the point that the reason it has never been recorded was because the score was lost not because no one thought it was worth recording. Clearly that is a subjective thing and everyone seems to have varying opinions.

My God, that shamlessly pompous self-delusionary ass!
He's a no talent fool, who holds a bunch of wannabe acting students captive audience. It's the old cliche taken to new heights: HE CAN'T DO, SO HE TEACHES! It's self-important pseudo-intellectual buffons like that who suck the lifes blood out of the American theatre.
Oh yea, and he's ugly too.
Too bitchy?
Gladys

Tonight Kate Winslet. I've grown to love her.

I like the CD. Some songs I could do without, but I like wordy cast recordings because they sort of tell the story without you having to see it. Much like Sondheim's work. You can imagine the costumes and sets (even if they don't exsist) while you listen to the songs. I think it would make an excellent concert...not a revival of the actual show, but a concert.

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Gladys, I'm shocked! I think you've read one too many of my posts because you are becoming even more ascerbic than I am.

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The cast is excellent, but the music is not "jumping out" to me..listening as I type.....

I've finally got around to listening to this. James Lipton is the luckiest person in the world to assemble this cast, which for the most part rises far above the material (especially Bernadette Peters and Nathan Lane). This might have been VERY funny watching on stage, or a staged concert. But I pretty must have zero interest to see this show with another cast. There would be so many other better alternatives.

My favourite songs:

Bernadette's two heartfelt ballad's

* Maybe It's Time For Me

* Imagine That

Nathan Lane's hilarious opening number

* Why Does The Whole World Adore Me

Plus a couple of the character numbers:

* Sherry

* I Always Stay at the Ritz

There was even at least one particularly clever lyric, where they set up a Rhyme but then take it in a completely different direction for comedic effect. It's common these days (e.g. the 'set-up' rhyme and switch the word is in The Book and Mormon, Next to Normal, Frozen etc.). But I don't know if I remember hearing it from many musicals in this period.

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