Rarer musicals CDs

Ok, as I posted in the Troubling Sales thread -- I love to find rarer musicals -- I buy stuff that I've never heard of if I find it just because who knows? I've ended up with some of my favorite CDs this way. So anyone have any rarer or really lesser known CDs that I can start hunting for - or favorites that not many people know of?

Keep in mind, I have some 600 cast recordings already, so anything anyone who doesn't read this board knows about is NOT what I'm looking for! (That made sense, right?)

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What I basically mean is anything that doesn't get tons of talk on here -- not things like Rent or Wicked or shows well known from the past ie South Pacific, Man of La Mancha, My Fair Lady etc.

I would consider most off-Broadway shows even to be "rare" in the sense that the mainstream doesn't know them (then again, most people in the mainstream don't know Rent, so i don't know how to qualify this!)

I guess I mean things like:
Fields of Ambrosia
Flowers for Algernon
Das Barbecue
No Way To Treat a Lady
Three Musketeers
Hero

Whether or good bad, just some names I pulled off my shelf...

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Floyd Collins? Myths & Hymns?

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Floyd Collins and Myths and Hymns have been in regular rotation for a LONG time.... :)

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Brownstone

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I would like to see 'Mystery...Edwin Drood' back in print and not look at the 100+ dollar price tag on amazon.com. Same with the OBC recording of 'Little Me'

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The following are the true rare titles and approx how much you will need to pay to secure a copy.....

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES London Cast (SONY West End) $50-75
Canadian Cast (Attic) $25-35

BAR MITZVAH BOY (SONY West End) $100-200

COMPANY - Larry Kert (SONY West End) $50-75

A DOLL'S LIFE (Bay Cities) $50-75

EATING RAOUL (Bay Cities) $25-35

HAPPY HUNTING (RCA Victor) $35-45

HIGH SPIRITS (MCA) - $35-50

JANE EYRE Toronto cast (Mirvish) - $100-150

KWAMINA (Angel) - $90-120

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - Judi Dench, London rev. (TRING) $100-150

THE MAGIC SHOW (January Records) $25-30

ME AND JULIET (RCA Victor) $50-75

THE MERRY WIDOW - w/ Jeremy Brett (Priceless) $90-135

MOBY DICK (RCA Victor - 2 CD set) $75-100

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD
-orig issue w/ alternate endings (POLYDOR) $200-300
-reissue without alternate ends (Varese-Sarabande) $40-60

NAPOLEON Toronto cast (ANGEL) $60-90

NYMPH ERRANT London concert cast (ANGEL) $125-150

110 IN THE SHADE (RCA Victor) $35-45

SAIL AWAY (Angel) $25-35

TAKE ME ALONG (RCA Victor) $35-50

WHOOP UP (Polydor) $200-250

WILDCAT (RCA Victor) $35-50

WOMAN OF THE YEAR (Bay Cities) $25-40


If your looking for "investments" ... SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING was issued by Fynsworth Alley as a limied relaease in 2001, but later went into general release. This was a limited pressing of 5000 copies. Also Decca's UP IN CENTRAL PARK was a limited web-only release of 1,000 copies. Less than half sold and the rest are made available through Amazon.com but once these are gone there will be no more. Harry Connick's THOU SHALT NOT was also released privately and while copies can still be found, once these are gone there will be no more.

If It was a FLOP chances are it will not get a 2nd pressing!

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Some of my favorite rarer shows are:

The Spitfire Grill
(an off-broadway show from a few years ago which I couldn't find in ANY store and only on one website)
Violet
Jeanine Tesori's show BEFORE Millie and Caroline, Or Change--AMAZING)
Subways Are For Sleeping
Up In Central Park/Arms And The Girl
(together on one disc) (Arms And The Girl has Pearl Bailey in it and she's fantastic)
and two which are demos which I came across in one way or another:
Smile
Summer Of '42

Interesting you should say Spitfire Grill. Living in NJ, I do have some access to some of these shows. I had bought this a long time ago when it first came out as a "why not" cd and I really liked it. A couple of years ago a production of it was done by my house, and it wasn't bad. I thought the show was a little secret I had discovered -- today I was in B & N and there was the CD! It was one of those moments where I thought "If I didn't already have it, I'd be so excited right now!"
Violet's a good one too -- one of my single all time favorite songs from any show is Let It Sing.

I don't know Up in Central Park/Arms and the Girl - are those older ones?

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I wouldn't call "Snoopy" rare, but it's not particularly popular.

THE MAGIC SHOW is a RARE CD?! Pfft! Go to http://www.drgrecords.com . You can buy a copy there for a whopping $7.99!

UP IN CENTRAL PARK/ARMS AND THE GIRL and SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING are now available in any record store (My local mrecord store has them both in stock).

Just a couple of years ago I got the CDs of SUGAR, DO-RE-MI, SILK STOCKINGS and YOUR OWN THING. Good luck trying to find them now!

If you want to pick up CD that are in danger of going out of print, might I suggest:

I'M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND PUTTING IT ON THE ROAD (Fynsworth Alley)
HALF A SIXPENCE (RCA Victor)
SARATOGA (RCA Victor)

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Updated On: 6/19/05 at 07:56 PM

I have the Flowers for Algernon CD -- interesting is a good word for it. It's not exactly BAD, but I haven't listened to it more than once...

I actually just looked, and Up in Central Park is available on iTunes. Does it still count as rare? :)

What are some FAVORITE Cds that you all listen to that most people (even theater fans) don't? For example, I LOVE "No Way To Treat a Lady," "Violet" (not sure if that counts), "Your Own Thing" and "The Fix." -- Those are just a couple amongst numerous examples...

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Metropolis OLC
La Cava OLC
Napoleon (both Canadian and London)
Spend Spend Spend OLC
By Jeeves (Scarborough tryout live)

The last two were only available via the theatre

If anyone has any problems with the back-catalogue from First Night (Fields of Ambrosia, Moby Dick etc), it is readily available from their (admitedly badly designed) website
First Night Records