NEW KRITZERLAND RELEASE

[bk]

Posted: 8/16/10 at 3:13am

Our latest show release, and one that's very special to me for a whole slew of reasons. If you love the revue, and witty, melodic songwriting, check out the samples on the site. This was the first revue I ever saw and it was a life-changer for me - since then Billy has become a friend and this is my way of saying thank you to him. He's quite brilliant.

Our latest - one that's very special to me.


“L.A. IS…”

KRITZERLAND IS PROUD TO PRESENT A LIMITED EDITION CD:

BILLY BARNES' L.A.
Original Cast Album (and more!)
Music and Lyrics by Billy Barnes

After the rousing success of The Billy Barnes Revue and The Billy Barnes People (both of which traveled from L.A. to Broadway), Billy Barnes' L.A. opened at the Coronet on October 10, 1962, and, as always, the LA critics and audiences ate it up. Obviously an LA-centric show was not going to be traveling to Broadway, but Billy was LA and LA loved Billy’s shows (and Bob Rodgers was an integral part of them as both sketch writer and director). The show skewered all things LA back then – some of the references probably won’t make sense now, but they’re still a lot of fun and, as always, the songs are melodic, infectious, and reflect Billy’s impish personality and wit. “The Akron,” for example, was a classic budget LA store – sort of an LA version of Target. And to prove that Billy was not always about impish and sly, the show features a wonderful Billy ballad, “Does Anybody Here Love Me?” The cast of merry-makers is great – Joyce Jameson, Ken Berry, Steve Franken, Tom Hatten, Marlyn Mason, and Sylvia Lewis.

The show received the usual critical love letters – “Madly funny” said the LA Times. “Uproarious… Delightful funsters” said the Herald-Examiner. “Billy Barnes is Hollywood’s most talented revue commentator” said the Hollywood Reporter. “Genuinely entertaining… Bright, fast-paced, replete with clever lyrics” said Variety. Even Louella Parsons chimed in with “Something no one should miss.”

Billy Barnes, LA native, has been writing brilliant special material for decades. He also wrote the classic June Christy song, “Something Cool” as well as the Barbra Streisand classic, “Too Long at the Fair,” which was on her debut album. In addition to his classic revues, Billy spent years doing the music for TV’s Laugh-In, as well as writing special material for any number of network TV specials, as well as for specific celebrities.

There was a previous CD release of Billy Barnes' L.A. back in 1994 – we’ve cleaned up the sound as much as possible given the limitation of the original recording tapes, and we’ve added five great bonus tracks from a live show at Studio One, a nightclub in West Hollywood, where Billy and Marvin Laird were at the twin pianos singing some wonderful Billy songs, including an updated (to then) “L.A. Is,” with lyrics reflecting the quite different LA of the 1970s – massage parlors, Mr. Chow’s, coke (not the beverage), the Roxy, the Whiskey A Go Go, and even Studio One.

They simply don’t know how to write this sort of revue anymore. But, thanks to this CD, we all can get in our LA time machine and travel back to a more innocent time, a time when Los Angeles was fun and weird and wonderful, a time that Billy (and Bob Rodgers) capture perfectly in their perfectly perfect time capsule called Billy Barnes' L.A.

This release is limited to 1000 copies. The price is $19.98 plus shipping.

CD will ship by the third week of September – however, preorders placed directly through Kritzerland usually ship one to five weeks earlier (we’ve been averaging four weeks early). To place an order, see the cover, or hear audio samples, just visit www.kritzerland.com.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/16/10 at 3:20am

I almost bought this on Ebay today but something told me not to bid. Glad I didn't. TY again Bruce, looking forward to it. :)

[bk]

Posted: 8/16/10 at 3:27am

The previous version was on a label that's basically out of business - it was released back in 1994 with truly horrible packaging. As noted, we've cleaned up the sound and, best of all, included five great bonus tracks with Billy and Marvin Laird from their live show - about twenty extra minutes - I think the CD runs close to seventy minutes. I'm glad you didn't buy the other one :) And I encourage anyone who loves the sound of classic revues to take a chance on this - Billy did this as well as anyone ever has.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 9/1/10 at 1:55pm

Congratulations on this release if I haven't already said that. I think I will have to live with my AEI reissue, though. It's great you're making it available again and with such lavish packaging--maybe someday I'll pick it up on a whim.

What I really want to know is: When are we finding out about your next super-deluxe two CD cast recording reissue? I'm dying to know.

[bk]

Posted: 9/1/10 at 7:20pm

It's much better than a whim - it's got five fantastic bonus tracks and better sound :)

Our new 2 CD show release announces next Monday.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 9/1/10 at 7:52pm

I appreciate that, and believe it to be true. If I were more into revues I would definitely fold. I listened to my AEI copy and felt content with it. But, perhaps, when whim time comes around next. . . . =)

Looking forward to Monday.

Updated On: 9/1/10 at 07:52 PM

[bk]

Posted: 9/1/10 at 8:21pm

Monday is a goodie. Another case where there was a previous CD available that was not the original album mix. So, we're issuing that for the first time, along with a brand new re-mix from the original session tapes that is pretty spectacular and which shows this score, a particular favorite of mine, off in a whole new light.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 9/1/10 at 9:21pm

And it's a Broadway title? Hit? Flop? Somewhere in-between?

I'm hoping it's not I'm Getting My Act Together And Taking It On The Road because I just found a reasonably priced copy on eBay and purchased it. I know you did not have a hand in the Fynsworth Alley release of I'm Getting..., so your former partners could have screwed up the mix, potentially.