Saturday, January 24, 2015
Original Broadway Cast, 1978 (Columbia/Sony) Michael Bennett’s big post-Chorus Line flop is beloved by those who saw it, but sadly, the show’s special qualities are not retained on an au…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 01:04PMOriginal Cast, 1976 (Take Home Tunes) This beautiful cast album continues to mystify listeners as to why The Baker’s Wife was a huge flop. Based on the play and subsequent film La femme du…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:31PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1965 (MGM/Decca) One of the last in the cycle of My Fair Lady wannabes, Baker Street is complete with handsome Victorian settings, a misogynistic hero (Sherlock Holme…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:07PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1964 (Columbia/Sony) No stars; not recommended. Some ethnic groups have all the luck — and some don’t. The same year that Fiddler on the Roof so beautifully celeb…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:48AMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1983 (Polydor/]AY) The too-busy opening sequence is a bumpy ride, with some smarmy humor about the conception of a child. Then Liz Callaway sings to Todd Graff, “Pi…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:41AMStudio Cast, 1951 (Columbia/Sony) Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s 1937 classic, the father of all those hey-kids-let’s-put-on-a-show movies with Mickey and Judy, has an expendable book…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:17AMTuesday, December 30, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1965 (Kapp/Decca) This first recording of the Mitch Leigh-Joe Darion score for their musical inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ epic novel Don Quixote is definitive. …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:14PMOriginal London Cast, 1999 (Decca) Die-hard musical theater fans love to hate this international mega-hit, which showcases two dozen songs by the hugely popular 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA.…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:38AMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1966 (Columbia/Sony) Seldom has a cast recording captured the thrill and excitement of a smash Broadway musical as well as this one does. From the spectacular opening…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:37AMMonday, December 29, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1973 (Bell/January Records) This musical got the worst reviews imaginable but ran five years, thanks to its star, who could not act, sing, or dance but was a magician…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:19PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1968 (RCA/DRG) Hardly remembered today, this show has had only one small-scale revival. It marked the return of Shirley Jones to Broadway, where she began her career …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:52PMNew York Concert Cast, 1988 (CBS) This is a musically adventurous, complex, and unruly Colombian stew by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The show was a flop on Broadway in 1948, but an admired one that …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:37PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1966 (Columbia/DRG) Marshall Barer was an unsung genius lyricist of the musical theater; his output was slight in terms of quantity, but he could write a ballad or co…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:06PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1974 (ABC/MCA) This beloved flop starred Robert Preston as silent-movie pioneer Mack Sennett and Bernadette Peters as his leading lady/lover, Mabel Normand. In spite …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:44PMWednesday, December 24, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 2003 (RCA) What a devilishly clever parody of Sesame Street this Tony Award-winning musical is! Robert Lopez and ]eff Marx’s songs are mostly upbeat and catchy (“…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:06AMOriginal Off-Broadway Cast, 1991 (RCA) There’s no doubt that Stephen Sondheim’s scores are brilliant. His lyrics are innovative; he’s the master of intellectual argument in rhyme. His …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:41AMOriginal Cast, 1989 (Polydor) Beyond being one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most inscrutable shows, Aspects of Love is also one of his most ridiculous — more soap opera than pop opera. Thoug…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:28AMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1966 (Columbia/Sony) What could Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick do to follow Fiddler on the Roof? The team answered that question with an unconventional evening of thr…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:17AMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1970 (ABC/Decca) When librettists, composers, and lyricists take on a masterpiece, they rarely improve it. Such is the case with this musical version of the classic f…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:03AMTuesday, December 23, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1946 (Decca) When this album was made, cast recordings were still a fairly new concept. It’s a major disappointment that the classic Irving Berlin score for Annie G…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 02:54PMSunday, December 21, 2014
Recordings by Original New York and London Cast Members, 1934 (various labels/Prism) While it wasn’t Cole Porter’s first success or biggest hit, Anything Goes has always seemed the quint…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 01:57PMOriginal Off-Broadway Cast, 1993 (Angel) Everyone’s favorite redheaded orphan sparkles once more in this Off-Broadway sequel to the Broadway mega-smash Annie. After a prolonged gestation p…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:23AMFriday, December 19, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1977 (Columbia/Sony) Ironically, Charles Strouse’s biggest hit is one of his less interesting efforts. Thomas Meehan’s book capably adapts the adventures of comic…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:24PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1955 (Decca) 0 Stars; not recommended.This is a four-alarm disgrace, even worse than its title implies. A tip-off is the description of the Guy Bolton-Eddie Davis lib…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:36AMOriginal Off-Broadway Cast, 1991 (RCA) The songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb, never lacking in entertainment value or theatricality, were a natural for the revue showcaseformat. This is a sp…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:21AMOriginal Broadway Cast, 2003 (Ghostlight) The English version of Michel Legrand’s French smash hit Le passe-muraille, based on Marcel Ayme’s short story about a man who gains the ability…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:48AMTuesday, December 9, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1962 (Columbia/Sony) How many Joshua Logan flops can a person do in one year? Anita Gillette managed two in 1962, soubretting through Mr. President and this provincia…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:23PMFriday, December 5, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1947 (RCA) This recording presents only a small fraction of the score of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s third collaboration, a show that was both directed and choreograp…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:29PMOriginal Broadway Cast, 1978 (RCA, 2CDs) Manhattan Theatre Club presented Ain’t Misbehavin’ to rave reviews before its hugely successful transfer to Broadway. What this show had that oth…
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:00PMStudio Cast, 1999 (PolyGram) Before the Broadway launch of Aida, composer Elton John recorded this studio set with a host of pop stars, including Sting, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Shania …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:48AMTuesday, November 18, 2014
Original Broadway Cast, 1978 (DRG) The last word in star vehicles, The Act centers on Liza Minnelli as “Hollywood’s own Michelle Craig,” performing in Las Vegas. Between the numbers …
SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:09AM 
