Here are some recent releases by Sony Masterworks, and they are making a yeoman’s effort to bring back some of the best and most intriguing musical productions you’ll ever want to come across. Some are being released for the first time, and one I never even knew was in existence.
Possibly the most rare of all these is the Original Broadcast Soundtrack of Julie Andrews starring in a charming take of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. This CBS TV production takes place before Cinderella worked for a British family as a housemaid or saved an Austrian family from the Nazis. The orchestra and supporting cast is first rate, particularly when Jon Cypher woos Andrews with “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful.” Andrews herself is impeccable, shining in the tune “In My Own Little Corner” that has somehow eluded becoming a jazz standard. Fantastic surprise!
No, it wasn’t an infection, but Candide (for the first time here on cd) was one of the biggest hits of the hippie era, since the story seemed to fit in with the whole wandering minstrel mentality of the Sgt. Pepper age of Aquarius. Voltaire’s romp, set to music by Leonard Bernstein, is a fast paced theatre production filled with Renaissance Faired outfits, mentalities, melodies and mirth. It’s hard not to get caught up in the tunes like “Oh Happy We” and “Barcarolle,” and the closing theme of Act 1, “My Love” needs to be put back on the modern airwaves.
The 1949 original production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes hearkens back to a time when Broadway was Broadway, and Broadway was about…BROADS! The songbook provided by Jules Styne and Leo Robin is simply first rate, and the delivery by Carol Channing, Yvonne Adair and Jack McCauley give ample ammunition to the belief that 42nd Streets heyday has passed by. Obscure tunes like the saucy “A Little Girl From Little Rock” are just delightful, and of course how can you not fall in love with Channing and McCauley go back and forth on “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Don’t forget the tune that became a jazz classic as well, “You Say You Care,” which needs someone to bring it back one more time.
The 90’s original production of Forever Plaid, The Heavenly Musical Hit caught a lot of people by surprise with its Four Freshman-styled vocal arrangements of standards. You can take the tunes like “Three Coins in the Fountain” or “Perfidia” as tongue in cheek camp, sincere nostalgia or haute vocals. If you aren’t joining in with the four gents by “Heart and Soul,” then I suggest sticking to docudramas for entertainment. This is just fun for all concerned!
Trying to do a remake of the iconic Grease with Travolta and Newton-John has got to be like being the coach to replace Phil Jackson of the Lakers. However, you’ve got to give Laura Osnes and Max Crumm credit, as well as the whole cast, as they give the well worn tunes a ton of energy and vigor. Tunes like “Summer Nights” and the title song sound like they were just written, and lesser tunes like the “Bobby Rydell Fight Song” are on a par with the biggies. Gotta give them credit, and the live sound of the mix gives an extra point in this one’s favor.