Mandy Patinkin: Sings Sondhiem

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 5:24pm

On a whim I downloaded from itunes Mandy Patinkin's: Sings Sondhiem.

Has anyone else heard Mandy's schizophrenic renditions of Sondhiem's songs?

This is a mess! ...yet I can't stop listening to it. It is so incredibly bad.

Your thoughts?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 5:31pm

All of Patinkin's solo albums are a mess. They're all overblown. It's as if someone told him he was Pavaratti doing a live performance at the Met instead of a Broadway hoofer.

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 5:41pm

On this recording he goes from one song to the other as if they were written as one. It's like one enourmous song that won't end. He whispers one pharase of a song and then yells on another.

Craziness, I say.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 5:48pm

Give a listen to "Experiment". I think the experiment is how moody-manic you can be on an album.

"He whispers one pharase of a song and then yells on another."

Thank goodness Barbra Streisand wouldn't let him sing in Yentl.

[Smartful Dodger]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 6:23pm

Patinkin did a benefit for Classic Stage Company at the Schoenfeld last night. While I applaud his willingness to bring some "star power" to raise money for a small theatre company, I was pretty stunned at how dreadful and inconsistent his interpretations of a variety of song genres were -- from rock to show tunes to some new material. I've only heard him sing in the context of cast recordings for EVITA and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, where his schtick is tolerable in carefully produced doses. In concert, I couldn't wait for the end.

The shocker of the night was when he couldn't remember the lyrics to "Eleanor Rigby." He tried to start the song three times before really settling into the first and part of the second verses. After the line about Father McKenzie's sermon, he gave up. At least he acknowledged that he was probably the only person in the theatre who didn't know the words.

One positive note -- his rendition of "Bring Him Home" was the most prayerful and nuanced I've heard. Touching.
Updated On: 5/20/08 at 06:23 PM

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 6:53pm

Dress Casual was one of the most amazing concerts I've ever seen and I always buy his albums - even if they are odd.

[matty159]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 6:56pm

My parents took me to see Dress Casual at the Kennedy Center and it was indeed amazing...it helped that we were in the front row. I think my jaw temporarily went slack that afternoon.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 7:04pm

I have a weakness for Mandy, as hyper as he can be, and buy all his albums. But the Sondheim one isn't one of the better ones, in my opinion. As Adam Chris says, the whole thing is like one long song, and that can get old.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 7:54pm

I have always loved Mandy - and he is one of my favorite performers.

SINGS SONDHEIM is one of my favorite albums....

[bob8rich]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 7:59pm

This is an awesome set of recordings by one of the foremost interpreters of Sondheim's work. Mandy's version of Finishing The Hat in particular is spinetingling.

Updated On: 5/20/08 at 07:59 PM

[fosca3]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 9:36pm

I was at the Classic Stage concert last nite -- front row, absolute center -- and I was completely and utterly happy for the entire almost-2-hours. It was one of the happiest nites of my theatre-life

I guess people are just different

Yes, he was all over the place last nite, but he's just like that. He even practiced his Shakespeare on us at the beginning -- it was a relaxed sort of evening

It seems like you either love him or hate him. No one ever seems to be indifferent

I thought 'Children and Art' was absolutely perfect, one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard

I don't think anyone sings Sondheim quite like him

[JBSinger]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:48am

MANDY's Albums:
first album - Mandy Patinkin - was critically praised when it came out. Many were saying it was the finest they'd ever heard R&H's "Soliloquy" performed and the Sondheim was truly wonderful throughout.
DRESS CASUAL - his overproduced follow-up. Everything sounds too loud - the orchestrations are huge, he's huge. The best thing on that album is the Primrose Suite with Bernadette. wonderful!
OSCAR & STEVE: Wonderful Cd. orchestrations are gorgeous, the song selection is strong, good guest singers (Judy Blazer - hello!). Remarkable album.

Mandy's got his schtick. He's really extreme and makes huge, bold choices - not everyone's taste. It can definitely get on my nerves after a while. But, he is 100% committed to his material, his vision, and can use his voice in so many ways. He wouldn't be MANDY PATINKIN (the star) without all his baggage. The same is true of Chenoweth, LuPone, Peters, Stritch, Lane, etc... they've all reached a level where their meer presence says something - without uttering a lyric or saying a word.

If Mandy isn't your taste - then don't go to his programs or buy his albums. Check them out of the library or listen to snippets on line. don't complain after you've bought them if you know you might have a problem with him.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 9:18am

Thank GOD, I thought I was the only one who couldn't stand Patinkin's hideous braying.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 9:27am

I can barely get through a cast album with him let alone a solo recording. His falsetto is so affected and the way he has to stress virtually every syllable of every word makes me wonder, who talks or even thinks like that? So why sing like that? And when he starts screaming and barking, that's it. I have to turn it off. I couldn't imagine attending a concert. Maybe I could forgive his voice if came across as a really wonderful person, but in every interview I've seen and everything I've read about the man, he's completely unlikeable, which only makes listening to him that much worse.

[tgrabon]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 10:07am

Nails on a chalk board.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 10:31am

I LOVE Mandy and have all his albums.

The passion and honesty he shares with us is amazing.

I'm certainly feeling the hate for him today in this thread... Not good

Updated On: 5/21/08 at 10:31 AM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 10:53am

I've taken JB's advice and avoided Patinkin's work like the plague, ever since seeing him on that FOLLIES IN CONCERT special, where that horrific rendition of Buddy's Blues put me off him for good.

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 11:20am

Well, I am not trying to spread hate for Mandy.
I enjoyed him in Evita and especially in Sunday. So I assumed (silly me) that a Sondhiem album would be great.

But he is a maniac on this recording! Truely scary. Don't believe me? Listen to You Can Drive A Person Crazy.

This should have been the show that went broadway with the title Jekyll & Hyde.



Updated On: 5/21/08 at 11:20 AM

[sanda]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 11:30am

The first time I heard Patinkin's voice was "Man of La Mancha" studio recording. I was so mad and shocked by his singing of Sancho. It's unbelievably aweful.

Later I heard "The Secret Garden" OBC and got obsessed with his Archie. And fell in love with his "Sunday in the park with George" OBC.

I still cannot listen to any of his personal albums.

Patinkin is the most unique singer and perfermer I ever heard. You either love him or hate him. There is simply no gray zone.

And based on my personal experience, I think I love him.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 11:44am

I can't stand him in the Evita OBCR.

He's okay in The Secret Garden, though. Sings a little more naturally.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 11:52am

I love Mandy's performing, and I've tremendously enjoyed his CDs and concerts. But I sometimes wonder -- well, I don't know how to say this without making people angry, so I probably shouldn't say it. But I sometimes wonder if he might be bipolar. Several relatives of mine have this condition, and it's hard not to notice similarities.

I only bring it up because, if true (and I know I could be totally off-base here), it could explain some things about the way he acts both on- and offstage.

There now, I've probably gone and made people furious. But I don't think things like that should have a stigma. It's not like it's the person's fault who has it. And again, I'm not saying he DOES have it, I'm only wondering if it's possible.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 12:02pm

It's hard to know unless you do a clinical interview with him... but when would he have been manic, in your opinion?

Updated On: 5/21/08 at 12:02 PM

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 12:11pm

See, I couldn't really say. I'm just thinking of certain behavioral patterns and how they remind me of what I've seen with some of my relatives.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 12:17pm

He's Super-Frantic-Hyper-Active-Self-Indulgent-Mandy!

I don't think the man is bipolar, but he's definitely everything Alessandrini calls him in that song.
Updated On: 5/21/08 at 12:17 PM

[heathurrr]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 1:10pm

He sure can be 'somewhat overindulgent', as Forbidden Broadway cleverly sings about, for sure. But I adore the man.
As "hyper" as he is there are many recordings of him that are beautiful... As much as I generally dislike ALW's work, I do enjoy him on the Evita recording.
And of course SITPWG is a stunning example of beauty that he contributes to!
Also his 'Mr. Arthur's Place' (which you can find on youtube) is goregous.
I can see why people either love him or they hate him. I love.