"Rate" My Cast Recording Roster

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 9:14pm

Howdy friends, I'm in a broadening-my-horizons kind of mood. To help me become more "well-rounded," here's a list of most of the cast recordings I own. From this, you tell me which (no more than 3 please) might be the most beneficial for me to check out. (The only parameters are no explicit subject matter and a strong preference for HQ audio.) Thanks in advance!

• Amelie OBCR
• Bombshell
• Chicago (Movie soundtrack)
• Heathers OCR
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame OCR
• Fun Home OBCR
• On the 20th Century (New Broadway cast)
• La La Land (Movie soundtrack)
• Into the Woods OBCR
• Frozen (Movie soundtrack)
• Mamma Mia! OCR
• What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
• Highlights from Les Miserables OBCR
• Marry Me a Little (New Cast Recording)
• Miss Saigon (Live from the Prince Edward Theatre)
• Nice Work If You Can Get It (OBCR)
• Nine (New Broadway cast)
• Wicked (OBCR)
• Show Boat (Lincoln Center cast)

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 9:29pm

Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters

City of Angels

The Life

In addition to mesmerizing orchestrations, each of these recordings has a wonderful story arc told through the individual songs.

Updated On: 6/12/18 at 09:29 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 9:35pm

Songs For A New World
Allegro
Adding Machine

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 9:37pm

Sooo many - here are three (all OBCR's)
Sondheim - Sweeney Todd 
Kander & Ebb - Cabaret
Bernstein & Sondheim - West Side Story

Updated On: 6/12/18 at 09:37 PM

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 9:49pm

1.) Michael John LaChiusa - "See What I Wanna See"*

2.) Jason Robert Brown - "Parade"

3.) Stephen Sondheim - "Sunday in the Park with George"

[ballet_broadway_&books]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 10:34pm

First of all, I love your current collection! For recommendations, I would say:

Cabaret-- An older musical about love and desperation in a sleazy Weimar Germany nightclub that had quite a successful revival in the late 90s then again in 2014. I would listen to the original, then the revival, then watch the movie, but that's just my preference. Try not to get too caught up in comparing the various Sallys or Emcees (there is an especially passionate debate between Joel Grey and Alan Cumming's performances that I find to be more about people's personal preferences than what the actors bring to the role). Also, you will be humming Wilkommen for the rest of your life.

War Paint-- OK, so this one is not for everyone because of its relatively underdeveloped secondary characters and lack of a very interesting plot, but hear me out. It's actually a new one despite its old fashioned jazz-hands showtune-y sound, and it centers on the "frenemy" relationship between makeup pioneers Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. (Frenemy isn't the most mature or emotionally deep word, but just think Burr-Hamilton sort of star-crossed nemeses thing) I love this one to pieces and I think stars Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone really gave 110% for a show where they easily could have phoned it in and taken advantage of their diva status.

Falsettos-- This is my go-to recommendation for people who liked Fun Home, not because of compositional similarity (although I guess you could find ~some~) but because of the sheer heart in the middle of all the crazy family antics and struggles. At its core, the show is about the meaning of family and how relationships can grow and change as people change, but still mean just as much. One of several shows that dealt with the grief and confusion surrounding the AIDS crisis, it gets quite serious but in such a beautiful way and without dropping its other themes. I would listen to the 2016 revival and then the original, again just my preference as I find the revival easier to follow.

Also, just a bonus Sondheim because I saw Into The Woods on your list and this one is just so amazing--Sweeney Todd! OBC before movie for sure though.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:09am

I’d suggest the the original cast recordings of Camelot, Sweeney Todd and possibly The Phantom of the Opera.

[teatime2]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:25am

Merrily We Roll Along (OBCR or the 1990s OOBCR)
The Theory of Relativity (a great song cycle)
Amour (OBCR)

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:59am

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Howdy friends, I'm in a broadening-my-horizons kind of mood. To help me become more "well-rounded," here's a list of most of the cast recordings I own. From this, you tell me which (no more than 3 please) mightbe the most beneficial for me to check out. (The only parameters are no explicit subject matter and a strong preference for HQ audio.) Thanks in advance!

• Amelie OBCR
• Bombshell
• Chicago (Movie soundtrack)
• Heathers OCR
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame OCR
• Fun Home OBCR
• On the 20th Century (New Broadway cast)
• La La Land (Movie soundtrack)
• Into the Woods OBCR
• Frozen (Movie soundtrack)
• Mamma Mia! OCR
• What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
• Highlights from Les Miserables OBCR
• Marry Me a Little (New Cast Recording)
• Miss Saigon (Live from the Prince Edward Theatre)
• Nice Work If You Can Get It (OBCR)
• Nine (New Broadway cast)
• Wicked (OBCR)
• Show Boat (Lincoln Center cast)

"

1. The Light In The Piazza 

2. The Most Happy Fella 

3. Ragtime

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 2:15am

cool thread! I'd check out:

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (original off-broadway recording with Phillipa Soo and Dave Malloy)

Evita (original Broadway cast recording with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin)

Follies (1985 concert recording with Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearn and Lee Remick)

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 2:41am

How could I forget Patti’s Evita!? That’s another truly great cast album.

[jwsel]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 3:17am

I would second a lot of the shows mentioned, particularly Follies, Ragtime, Evita, Sweeney Todd, and Cabaret, plus select songs from City of Angels and Songs from a New World.  

Even if you're not a big fan of hip hop, I just don't think a cast recording roster can be complete these days without the Hamilton OBCR. 

I also recommend the OBCR's of Dreamgirls, A Chorus Line, South Pacific (I also like the Carnegie Hall concert version), Oklahoma, and Hair (the Actor's Fund recording of Hair also is excellent).

Also, a great way to explore cast recordings is through Apple Music.  For the cost of buying three cast recordings, you could get unlimited access to a lot of cast recordings for a few months.  They may even have a free trial before you have to pay anything.

 

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 7:35am

Here's a general rule: just stick to the greats. There's a reason they are the greats and others are not. Rodgers, Porter, Gershwin, Berlin, etc..... you know the names. If your cast recording collection is limited just to these, you could play them a million times over and be happy for the rest of your life. Indeed, listening to Oklahoma! or Kiss Me, Kate for the millionth time would give you far greater happiness than listening to such dire fare as Sunday in the Park With George or Fun Home even once. In fact, the latter two would just cause you pain. So why willingly inflict pain upon oneself when life dishes out more than enough of that as it is?

I know the concept of "broadening one's horizons" sounds good. But if one ends up venturing into some vast wasteland in the process, that's not so good.

La Fontaine wrote a very wise fable on the subject entitled Les Deux Pigeons. It illustrates what can happen when you decide to stray from the comforts of home. It's well worth reading --- and heeding.