John Raitt "Soliloquy"

[callitquits]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:34pm

After seeing the clips of this on the PBS documentary, does anyone know if there's any complete audio recordings of John Raitt's "Soliloquy" where he sings the optional high note at the end? Just curious.

[bbroadwaybb]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 1:24pm

What optional high note? I'm not aware that there is one.

But I believe he is on two recordings of Carousel.

[callitquits]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 2:15pm

On the PBS "Broadway: The American Musical" documentary, there's a clip of the very end of "Soliloquy" where instead of the notes on "or die" that he sings on the original cast album and the Lincoln Center one, he goes up to what someone said on another board was a B-flat.

[beacon1]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 2:46pm

Actually it was John Raitt "improvising" at the end...and the composers didn't really like it. They preferred it to be sung as written. :o)

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 2:49pm

That note was beautiful. Whenever I've listened to recordings of that song, it's sounded like Billy should go up to the B flat there anyway, but I'd imagine few baritones can hit that note.

Wait, was John Raitt a baritone in his prime, or a tenor?

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 12:38am

The high note was Raitt's doing. Maybe to prove he could?

In the show it would be the difference between a "character" song and an actor showing off.

Since we're talking of this number, on the old Decca OCR Raitt includes a verse ("When I Have a Daughter..") that is not on any other cast album nor in the published score. This short section was cut during the try-out but since Decca was giving two full 78 RPM sides for the "Soliloquy" Rodgers felt that since they had the roo, they might as well record the extra verse.

For those curious, you had to flip the record after the line "My Kid ain't even been born yet!"

[Sunfish]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 2:17am

Wow...that would be worth having. Flipping the vinyl in the middle of a song, huh? Thank goodness THAT, at least, was before my time.

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 2:32am

I heard the Frank Sinatra version of Soliloquy and when the extra verse about his daughter came in, I couldn't make any sense of it. Also, Sinatra's ending verse was in a lowered key, which sucked.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 3:04am

Flipping Vinyl? LOL, 78 RPMS were pressed in heavy shellac. Very breakable. A 12-inch record played about 4 1/2 minutes per side. The more standard 10" discs played about 3 minutes. Ever wonder why the early OCRS have such short selections? the numbers had to be cut down to fit on the records. So the CAROUSEL album (which was five 12-inch 78s, plus a booklet with all the lyrics!) cut the middle section of the waltz, and eliminated the whole "bench scene" leading up to "If I Loved You." They combined "Blow High Blow Low" and "Real Nice Clambake" to make one side, and the same with "Stonecutters" and "What's the Use of Wond'rin'" The final side starts with Billy's "The Highest Judge of All" with that final high note. Then Julie's dialogue ("he's dead, Nettie. What am I gonna do?") leading into Nettie's "You'll Never Walk Alone." After her solo the chorus picks up the refrain from "Walk on through the wind..." and the record ends with those final few lines from the finale.

As a kid I had only seen the movie (which dropped "Highest Judge") so I figured in the play Billy sang that big aria then expired after that high note. It wasn't until I read the script that I learned how much Decca had fudged the running order of the songs. When Long play records came out, Decca put CAROUSEL out in the new speed, but moved "Solioquy" back to close the first side of the Lp, placing it right after "If I Loved you" !!
So they meet all in love and bam right away Julie gets pregnent!

I should add that the CD tries to put the songs back in their proper order.