Follies in Concert (1985 Live Performance) + Stavisky Film Score
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Free Music Notes for Follies in Concert (1985 Live Performance) + Stavisky Film Score
Free Music Review: Review for Follies
Hit: 5 Stars
I was very pleased with this transaction, and with the product I received. Thank you.Free Music Review: When "genius" becomes an understatement.
Hit: 5 Stars
If I had to limit myself to only two recorded performances as proof of Stephen Sondheim's genius, this would be one of them, with the original cast album of "A Little Night Music" being the other.
And this is with the admission that every recording of each of these shows over the years has value and has added to our appreciation of America's greatest living composer for the Broadway stage, Stephen Sondheim. And it is also with the understanding that these two shows are but the best representation of Sondheim's art.
So, there you ares, the two best recordings, respectively, of the two shows which I feel best represent that seemingly bottomless well of creation Mr. Sondheim seems to draw upon.
The recording in question here is not only technically without peer, it effuses the joy so often missing from the recorded form. It is a live recording, almost always a plus. And even though we can't actually see the artists as they perform (the documentary video does give us glimpses - far to miserly for my taste) we can hear the joy of performing that virtually explodes out of their performances. It is impossible to not react.
This CD is beguiling, bewitching, and yes, electrifying. It is a snapshot which freezes forever a most amazing event in New York City that the whole world is allowed to share in forever.
Lucky us!
How very, very wonderful.
Free Music Review: GREAT PERFORMANCES!
Hit: 5 Stars
A WONDERFUL RECORDING OF "FOLLIES" WITH A LOT OF BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES
BY THE STARS ON STAGE. A "MUST" FOR ANYONE WHO CARES FOR THIS GREAT MUSICAL.
Free Music Review: A Good recording.
Hit: 4 Stars
The original is my perferred version, even though it is very watered down. Here, all the songs are complete, but it comes out uneven somehow. The really great performers here are Carol Burnett and Barbra Cook. They really shine. The rest do mediocre performances. Out of the rest, Lee Remick, and Elaine Strich do a great job. Buy this you want the "complete" version and four stellar performances, but the original is the one to get performance wise.Free Music Review: FOLLIES - the best recording ...so far
Hit: 5 Stars
If any one album makes a case for FOLLIES is is this set of FOLLIES IN CONCERT. It is not the definitive FOLLIES, but about as close as we're likely to get. The sound is very VERY good, especially for a live recording, but as such there is quite a bit of applause on this disc. Producer Thomas Shephard originally taped the dress rehearsal so he would have quiet endings for all the numbers but when the audience nearly tore the roof off Avery Fisher Hall, he decided that eliminating applause would negate the event that led to the album. So, he comprmised and used applause after the "follies" numbers but not after plot songs. If you didn't know this you might wonder why "Beautiful Gilrs' gets such a huge hand and the next song "don't Look at me" seems to be met with stoney silence.
The cast is sensational. Perhaps not in the same league as the originals but a fine "revival" cast. Lee Remick and Barbara Cook are ideal as leading ladies Phyllis and Sally and its a joy to hear Cook's glorious voice in "Losing My Mind." Mandy Patinkin effectively uses his energy to put a new spin on "Buddy's Blues. " I know some object to his over-the-top style but it was effective on stage. Elaine Stritch has fun singing "Broadway Baby" and Carol Burnet makes the most of "I'm Still Here." Really, there isn't one bad track in the whole package.
Completists may quibble with the slight cuts here and there..the last bit of the Overture (including a segment of "Can That Boy Foxtrot") has been cut, as has "Bolero D'amour." The original montage ending of "Rain on the Roof/Ahh Paris/Broadway Baby" was dumped, and the spoken interludes in "Loveland" have been re-arranged. NONE of this will impair your enjoyment of this wonderful show.
As a bonus RCA has filled out the second CD with the soundtrack of Sondheim's score for STAVISKY. Many cut songs from FOLLIES were used in this film score, so its a natural tie-in.
The booklet has all the lyrics but no synopsis to place the songs within the context of the story. It is a minor flaw in an otherwise first rate package.