Company (2006 Broadway Revival Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Company (2006 Broadway Revival Cast)
Free Music Review: 3.5 Stars...with an Extra .5 for the Immortal Score
Hit: 4 Stars
This Broadway revival recording of the seminal Stephen Sondheim score of "Company" is a major disappointment, and this is NOT the best sung recording of this score, as the Amazon reviewer claims. That honor remains with the original cast. To begin with, this recording is bland and a bit mushy. The arrangements are fuzzy and even irritating at times (the jazzy intro to "Side By Side" is the best {worst} example of this). Worse still, the performances are virtually characterless, so one voice melds into another and you don't know who you're listening to. The original had Dean Jones at the top of his game as Bobbie, the immortal Elaine Stritch, the classic trio of Donna McKechnie, Susan Browning and Pamela Myers, the iconic Beth Howland and the underrated Charles Kimbrough at their best. Not all great singers (though Jones, McKechnie and especially Myers belie that assumption), but each actor put a very personal stamp on her / his performance. This recording cannot compare.
Examples abound. "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" literally does that. Aside from lacking the tight, precise harmony of the original, the "do-dos" have been replaced by the instruments played by the performers - big mistake because it robs the song of its off-the-wall quality. In addition, Kelly Jean Grant chooses to punch the line "...likes to pull the hooks out of fish", which robs one of the funniest lyrics in the song its impact by overstating it, a chronic problem on this recording. Raul Esparza does a fair job as Bobbie, but even he can't resist the high note at the end of "Someone is Waiting", which is simply a show-off move. His voice is not up to most of the material, though he does get to sing "Marry Me a Little", a song that should never have been cut from the original, and he does a nice turn on this number. Unfortunately, it seems that Barbara Walsh can't get Elaine Stritch out of her head, which is a surprise, both because she's capable of so much more and she reinforces that Stritch's "Ladies Who Lunch" will never be topped (a belief I don't ascribe to - Stritch was great, but she ain't the only ballgame in town).
Most damaging to this recording are the dialogue passages, which are read with about as much vigor and inflection as the pledge of allegiance in any elementary school. Worse yet, because the book represents vignettes rather than a linear story line, these passages are totally dispensible as they add nothing to the cohesiveness of the score. Most damaging is "Another Hundred People." The dialogue that may work onstage totally destroys the song's structure on this recording. Listen to Pamela Myers on the original to discover a phenomenal song rendered by an extremely talented actor / singer.
So why 4 stars? This is one of Sondheim's most precise and memorable scores. The original, sharp Jonathan Tunick orchestrations are sorely missed, but the score itself remains the magnificent, challenging work it has always been. That alone makes this CD a worthwhile purchase; one that I will listen to again and again and, maybe one day, come to love just as I do the original.
And no, all of you who are damning my review, I am not an OBC purist. I bought this CD at 9AM the morning it was released, wanting to love it because the score is so great and Doyle's "Sweeney Todd" revival of last season was a classic example of reinventing a classic. This recording doesn't cut it, and that's that.
Free Music Review: Another interesting take on a classic Sondheim show
Hit: 4 Stars
In just the last few years, there have been a bunch of interesting re-workings of Sondheim shows: "The Frogs," "Assassins," "Pacific Overtures," "Sweeney Todd," "Sunday in the Park with George," and now this new recording of "Company."
Starring Raul Esparza and directed by John Doyle, the Tony-winning director of 2005's acclaimed "Sweeney Todd," this version of "Company' uses the same conceit as his "Sweeney"-- the performers double as the orchestra. Some will undoubtedly complain, like they did for "Pacific Overtures" and "Sweeney Todd," that a smaller orchestra does not do the score justice (why that complaint seems to have escaped last year's shockingly bland "Sunday in the Park with George" recording, I have no idea). But mainly, the intimacy of the small orchestra works here.
Overall, this "Company" is about as good as previous Broadway "Company" recordings (yes, including the underrated 1996 recording-- listen again to Veanne Cox's "Getting Married Today," LaChanze's "Another Hundred People," and Debra Monk's "The Ladies Who Lunch" for proof.)
Comparing some of the recent Sondheim recordings, this one contains a lot of the same extra transitional/dialogue material that I enjoyed on the new "Pacific Overtures" and "Assassins" recordings (I still think the new recordings of those two shows outshine their originals). This "Company" also contains a lot of the stream-of-consciousness, dreamlike quality of Doyle's version of "Sweeney Todd."
But if the new recordings of "Sweeney," "Pacific," and "Assassins" come across as modern and fresh, as if they could be brand new shows, this "Company" can't escape feeling sort of stuck in the 70's. I don't mean that as a slight, but it feels very much a period piece. The presence of Esparza as the lonely bachelor Bobby is a definite plus-- his renditions of "Someone is Waiting," "Marry Me a Little," and especially the finale, "Being Alive," have some definite contemporary bite like I've not heard before. The singers playing Bobby's meddling married friends are good, if not quite as memorable as some of the performers on other "Company" recordings. I do like how there's more an emphasis on the melancholy aspects of the show -- though it almost makes you think they should probably retire the "A Musical Comedy" subtitle!
Free Music Review: A Little Sorry, but Grateful Nonetheless
Hit: 4 Stars
While I do enjoy this cast version better than the OBC, I was disappointed with a number of songs. Most of it had to do with the added dialogue. Although the dialoge is in the middle of the songs in the show, this is a CD, and I wanted to HEAR the songs not imagine the dialogue as it is being said in the middle of a great song. It kills the momentum of the songs on the CD! An example being Another Hundred People where the listener gets a sneek peek (audibly) into the lives of the women in Bobby's life. I wanted to HEAR the song, but instead the song was interrupted by the dialogue. Another is Being Alive. There should have been a bonus track with Raul Esparza singing this through without interruption.
I dont get why there just couldnt be the music and songs without dialogue when the show is being recorded for PBS anyway!
My second gripe is Barbara Walsh's version of The Ladies Who Lunch! She just howls it out, screaming, whailing - it's just awful. The best version of this song is on the Camp Soundtrack with Alana Allen and Anna Kendrick.
Great CD. A must for your collection. And Raul is A - MA - ZING!
Free Music Review: It's All About the Acting
Hit: 4 Stars
Ever since I got this CD, I actually think about it when I'm not near a CD player. The acting is fantastic, every note is explored, and every moment calculated. Mr. Esparza is especially fine. He has this way of being completely vulnerable with his voice but then he reaches the money notes and just nails them (vocally as well as emotionally). I haven't gotten to see the live performance yet, but now I feel like I have to. I love the cast and the orchestrations are much more contemporary. Yes, the instrumentation is light, but this lends itself to a piece as intimate as Company.
And YES, Barbara Walsh is fantastic. Of course she's not Eliane Stritch, but her sarcasm, edge, and voice are right on the money. I fear we run the risk of stifling creative interpretations like this when we endlessly compare the new with the old. Yes, please, respect the classic moments of theatre---but remember that creativity involves risk---and what's riskier than trying to recreate a character after a classic performance like that of Stritch's. Ms. Walsh is to be commended for her bravery as well as her talent!
Free Music Review: Company Re-Imagined
Hit: 4 Stars
There are some stunning moments on this recording, especially Raul Esparza singing, "Marry Me a Little" and "Being Alive". The ensemble work is very satisfying. Beyond the vocal talent, the instrumental accompaniment that is provided by the actors is sometimes incredible (but at other times, mediocre).
The least satisfying portion of this show is the deadening dialogue that permeates some of the songs; especially the otherwise wonderful number "Another Hundred People". At least this is a faithful recreation of the problem plaguing the Broadway show.
The orchestrations by Mary-Mitchell Campbell are masterfully done, they have been crafted to fit the playing capabilities of the actors (and part of the fun of the live stage performance); listen to "What Would We Do Without You?" towards the end and realize that there are only a handful of actor/musicians playing instruments while the rest are singing. It is brilliant! I would highly recommend this recording.