Scores That didn't Have One Single Bad Song In It?- Page 3

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 4:37pm

Mama Mia!

::Runs to fire exit::

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 5:05pm

Les Mis
Beaut And the Beast
Chicago
Hello Dolly
A Chorus Line
Joseph
Evita
Into The Woods
Next To Normal
WSS
Ragtime
Rent

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 5:08pm

MURDER BALLAD.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:41pm

I'd go along with GYPSY but there's that problematic "Little Lamb"

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:45pm

I may be the only who says this but I think Memphis's score was amazing and I loved every song.

[boggess]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:50pm

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought Next to Normal. It was the first show I thought of when I saw the title. I've never found myself wanting to skip certain songs when they come on, I can just listen to it through.

[all that jazz]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:51pm

What's exactly problematic about Little Lamb? I think it's actually quite lovely.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 8:55pm

I agree with an earlier poster who feels "Mr. Goldstone" is the big clunker in GYPSY, although I think "Wherever we Go" is a close second.

Does anyone really think "(What I Couldn't Do Was) Sing" from A CHORUS LINE is a decent song?

And for the fans of RENT, are you guys really fans of "Over the Moon"? For me personally, clunkers all.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 9:31pm

First you have to define "bad song." A non-hit? A song un-related to the plot?

Sometimes I see comments that indicate the writers do not understand the function of songs in a score and the placement of the songs in terms of pacing.

Someone complained about the song "Little Lamb" in GYPSY and thinks it should have been cut. He could not be more wrong. In fact, Jerome Robbins tried to cut the song but Jule Styne rightly insisted it be kept. While true it doesn't really advance the plot, it does help explain Louise's unhappy situation..ignored at her own birthday party, and unsure of her true age it is touching moment and without the song her character would lose much of its initial arc.

Even more important is its role in the pacing of the show. At this point in Act One we have had a lively (and noisy) Overture, a brief kiddie routine, Rose's introductory number "Some People" (with a lot of screaming leading into it and in the middle of it), a number of argument scenes, some noisy kiddie/vaudeville numbers and Ethel Merman blaring her way through 3 songs. We need that short quiet moment to reflect. If you took that song out the first act would become relentless. You may not like the song for personal reasons, but its role is very important to the success of GYPSY. I happen to think it has a lovely, plaintive melody and appreciate it. I think GYPSY is score without a single bad song barring, of course the purposely awful vaudeville bits which are more humorous than irritating.)

Other scores that I feel lack a single "bad" song: ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, BABES IN ARMS, BRIGADOON, CAMELOT, CAROUSEL, COMPANY, FINIAN'S RAINBOW, HELLO DOLLY!, THE KING AND I, MAME, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, OKLAHOMA!, NO STRINGS, NO NO NANETTE, OF THEE I SING, PETER PAN, SHOW BOAT, RAGTIME, SAIL AWAY, HIGH SPIRITS and SOUND OF MUSIC. (These are all scores I return to again and again, yet never tire of and never skip a track.)

[Kad]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 9:37pm

"Wherever We Go" is a gem of a song.

[emida]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 10:28pm

I agree with Annie Get Your Gun, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Follies and A Little Night Music.

I would also add The Apple Tree. I love every song from that score and it's simple, funny and sweet at the same time. Never get tired of it.

Updated On: 5/28/13 at 10:28 PM

[Musical Master]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 11:19pm

Everything that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote on paper.

Including Sondheim as well.

[PTOPhan]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 8:49pm

FrontRowCentre2, I'm so glad you mentioned "Camelot." For me, that may be the only score that doesn't have a boring song. (That's how I'd define "bad.")

Even "My Fair Lady," which I adore, has a clunker. For me, it's not "Show Me," but the massively popular "On the Street Where You Live."

Many people have named "Les Mis" as a show without a bad song, but frankly, I think the middle is seriously boring. I don't even like "Bring Him Home" much. My mind quickly wanders off during "A Heart Full of Love" and "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." "Red and Black" reminds me of fingernails on chalkboard. In fact, almost anything sung by Marius or the adult Cosette drives me crazy, and not in a good way. However, the beginning and the end of the show are dynamite. I always cry for the reprise of "Do You Hear the People Sing."

As for "The Phantom of the Opera," the only song that seriously annoys me is "Wishing You were Somehow Here Again," again because I find it boring. I used to feel the same way about "All I Ask of You," but I've grown to like it.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 11:48pm

I agree with many of the shows already named.

I already know many people disagree with me on this, but in my personal OPINION, I would include Matilda.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 12:02am

Hairspray
Evita
Les Mis

And IMO,
Bring It On

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 12:40am

Rags, Rags, Rags!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 10:28am

Falsettos

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 12:51pm

MURDER BALLAD????

Seriously????

Easily the worst show I've seen in a decade. How anyone could like the score is beyond me. First, there wasn't one discernible melody, just random notes and constant, unrelenting percussion. Second, the lyrics were mostly incomprehensible, and the few lines I could understand had all the wit and cleverness of a grocery list.

Forgive my vulgarity, but IMHO, Richard Rodgers, with a stomach flu, could've farted a better score.

[lupone76]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 1:50pm

Les Mis and La Cage

[dreamcoat12]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 1:57pm

There are a lot of shows that I feel have a bad song, but not bad for the show itself. However, IMO, La Cage Aux Folles, Joseph...Dreamcoat, Pippin, Cabaret and The Music Man are the only shows I can put on without skipping any of the songs. It might also be because they're my favorite shows!

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 2:19pm

Into The Woods
Gypsy (I like "Little Lamb")
Carousel
The King And I
The Sound of Music
My Fair Lady
Legally Blonde (though I'm not a fan of "Serious")
Les Miserables
City of Angels
Ragtime
Lippa's The Wild Party (I like it - not ready for a debate on it!)
Crazy for You
Chicago

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 2:39pm

Surprised to see La Cage on the lists of dreamcoat and lupone76.

Sure there are some great songs in that score, but "Masculinity" and "Cocktail Counterpoint" (that dreadful Act II quintet about soup bowls featuring boys playing leapfrog...)?? Really??

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 10:26pm

RE: "MB" - I guess it's a matter of perspective.

Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers...

[jackieoh]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 10:39pm

There aren't too many that I can listen to all the way through without skipping a song... A CHORUS LINE, PIPPIN, SIDE SHOW, LES MISERABLES, OKLAHOMA, IN THE HEIGHTS, FOLLIES, PASSION, RAGTIME.

My honorable mention would be THE COLOR PURPLE. I think it's a masterpiece.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 6/7/13 at 11:10pm

THE FANTASTICKS.