I'm with willep on this one - every score has (to some ears at least) at least one mediocre-to-clunk song, past which many a listener will fast-forward.
I agree with Playbilly about Gypsy. Most people think Little Lamb is the bad apple, but for me, it's definitely Mr Goldstone, which I think is just awful.
I thought Nathan Lane and Faith Prince did a really good job with Sue Me on the Guys and Dolls recording video. It can just be a throwaway song, but they made it into a really nice moment.
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?"
"you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start"
"well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"
I would say GYPSY but "Little Lamb" is absolutely atrocious. The only show I can honestly say has no songs that I dislike even in the slightest is LES MISÉRABLES. I absolutely adore the score, there is not 1 song I don't like.
Well....... good songs/ clunkers are only personal opinion so no-one can be right or wrong here, but.....
My take is a perfect score has never been written but three that come closest are: MY FAIR LADY (though I can't wait to get past the endless exposition of "You Did It") WEST SIDE STORY (though I find "A Boy like That" the clunker), and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (though I view "Perpetual Anticipation" as the low point).
Cabaret and Jesus Christ Superstar, excel for me in this aspect.
Also:
Les Mis Legally Blonde (I know it seems odd, but I can't think of a single song in the score which I dislike) Tell me on a Sunday West Side Story
Updated On: 5/28/13 at 11:33 AM
I have to admit that I love almost every song from the 5 main Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. The only one I can think of that I don't like is "We Kiss in a Shadow." The blending of music and lyrics is unbeatable.
I must be more critical of these scores because I can think of at least one clunker in most of these... I'm willing to overlook "You Did It" in favor of the glory of the rest of MY FAIR LADY, but that's really the only score that came to mind after lots of thought. GUYS AND DOLLS, maybe, but I'm less forgiving of "Take Back Your Mink." It just irks me, sadly.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
^ GUYS AND DOLLS was really close to the top of my list (and I adore "Take Back Your Mink" if for no other line than "to from whence it came".) But I find "Sue Me" sort of atrocious as song-writing, despite the magical performances Nathan and Faith brought to it in '92.
Whoever mentioned FINIAN'S RAINBOW might have hit another winner. Lucky for the older shows that have fewer songs in them, hence fewer chances to hatch a clunker.
Nathan and Faith made such an indelible impact on that song that it sounds like it was written for them. In retrospect, an astonishing feat.
FINIAN'S RAINBOW is an unexpectedly good pick here. Even the "filler" songs are great. I can go with that one.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.