Company - A Musical Comedy (1970 Original Broadway Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Company - A Musical Comedy (1970 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: AN ORIGINAL ,NOT TO BE COMPARED
Hit: 5 Stars
with the current revival of this sondhiem/ furth show, i thought it would be great for me to review the original as it will be compared with the new revival. this version of company outranks all others. being a cast recording collector i have every english language album of this show.while i can pick specific things in all the cast recordings that i love, this one is by far my favorite. this is my very favorite sondhiem show.not as traditional as gypsy and not as complexed as pacific overtures, company's source material hits home and is told in a way very revolutionary for it's time and has not been replicated since then.the performances as amazing , even if the actors are not as in tune as we hope the actors seem so true to the characters that it doesent matter. every thing from the 1970's orchastrations to the wonderful characters make a perfect fit.this cast recording produces deifinitive versions fo some of sondhiem's best hits.elaine stritch in "the ladies who lunch", pamela myers in "another hundred people" and beth howland in "not getting married" make that list.the addition of the laerry kert version of "being alive" gives you only a taste of what the london recording sounds like.if you can find a copy it's worth a listen,although it is the same recording with replaced vocals be larry kert.Free Music Review: One of the Greatest Ever
Hit: 5 Stars
Company, the groundbreaking 1970 work from Stephen Sondheim, is one of the greatest shows in musical theatre history. It's only fitting that such a great show gets a truly great Original Cast Recording. The orchestrations on this recording are so much better than either the 1995 Broadway Revival recording, or the 1996 London recording that I wonder if it will ever be equaled.
The performances on this recording are also unequaled. Not only are the songs well sung, but they're extremely well acted. This is especially true of what has become one of Sondheim's classics, "The Ladies Who Lunch", performed admirably by Elaine Stritch. Other standout tracks are Beth Howland's version (the original) of "Getting Married Today", Dean Jones' stirring interpretaion of "Someone is Waiting" and Pamela Myers' stunning rendition of "Another Hundred People."
Free Music Review: My First Sondheim
Hit: 4 Stars
This was the first Sondheim album I ever had, and I got hooked.
My only complaint is that the late, great Larry Kert, who took over for Dean Jones who left the show shortly after it opened (so soon in fact that Kert was nominated for the Tony), isn't on the recording. Jones is fine but Kert was even better. And of course this includes the now legendary version of The Ladies Who Lunch sung (?) by Elaine Stritch. But the star of the recording is Sondheim. It's a brilliant score!
Free Music Review: Haunting, melancholy, life-affirming -- a work of art
Hit: 5 Stars
Sometimes it's great not to have heard something in your youth - it makes it that much more enjoyable when you finally encounter it further down the line. I had already enjoyed Sondheim's genius work in the musicals "Sweeney Todd" and "Into the Woods" but only just heard "Company" for the first time this year. All I can say is I'll never hear the word "Barcelona" without thinking of Sondheim's gorgeous song of that name from this musical about the ups and downs of marriage and loneliness and how these states of being both mirror-reflect and contradict each other (sometimes at the same time, as Sondheim observes in the song "Sorry-Grateful").
I can't stop thinking about the song "Barcelona" - it's so beautiful that I find myself listening to it over and over again. Existentially, I feel like the whole world is nothing more or less than one person asking another "Where you going?" and hearing back "Barcelona" - in this equation, "Barcelona" is quite simply and symbolically someplace else. The wiseness of Sondheim's lyric and somber timbres of the music convince you once and for all that each one of us is going to his/her own private Barcelona - and, ultimately, we're all going there alone (even if someone is along for the ride, as it were).
As a recording, the music as performed by the orchestra on this 1970 recording of COMPANY is fresh and vibrant and shot through with dynamics - why don't the Broadway orchestra pits sound like this anymore? You can't beat real musicians playing real instruments - synths just don't cut it.
All vocal performances are top-notch - Elaine Stritch brings a delicious madness to "The Ladies Who Lunch," and I can't believe that the same Dean Jones who starred in Disney's LOVE BUG movie is the incredibly emotional voice of Bobby singing "Being Alive" on this album. I don't see why so many seem to have knocked his voice or his performance over the years - I thought Dean Jones captures the sweet desperation of "Being Alive" much better than the Larry Kert version.
There's a line in "Being Alive" along the lines of "Blow out the candles, Robert, and make a wish . . . Want something . . . want SOME-thing." I get a lump in my throat every time. This music is incredible - Sondheim really got it all down here and it's a blessing to the human race to be able to hear our lives played back to us in this way.
Buy this CD performance of the musical - it should be in everyone's music library . . .
Have a good trip to Barcelona, everyone.
Free Music Review: You're always sorry, you're always grateful
Hit: 5 Stars
I actually have two recordings of Company - I bought this one for the fabulous performances of Elaine Stritch and well, everyone except Dean Jones, and the 1995 Broadway Revival Cast for the superior vocal talents of that show's Bobby and the additional song "Marry Me a Little." If you're a true Sondheim devotee, I'd get both recordings. If you only buy one recording though, this should be it.
One of the previous reviewers said that they didn't think people who've never been married would appreciate this show. As a person who is not married and is now in the position of having many married friends, I've always overidentified a bit with Bobby. Bobby is on the outside looking in, and that's what makes this show so special. Without much (if any) plot, Sondheim manages to capture the basic contradictions of giving your heart to another and the fears that go along with that, and he manages to do so in alternately funny and heartbreaking music.
And the lyrics...
"You're sorry-grateful, regretful-happy,
why look for answers when none occur?
You always are what you always were
which has nothing to do with, all to do with her."
"Somebody hold me too close/ somebody hurt me too deep/ somebody sit in my chair/ and ruin my sleep/ and make me aware of being alive"
Company is to me one of Sondheim's most subtle, affecting works. It sneaks up on you - the melodies are accessible enough that you don't always realize the bittersweet complexity of the lyrics right away. This show ranks up there with A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and Follies as one of his greatest works. I highly recommend it.