Merrily We Roll Along (1981 Original Broadway Cast)
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Edition: Music CDFormat: Cast Recording, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2007-03-20
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
- Overture
- The Hills of Tomorrow / Merrily We Roll Along (1980) / Rich And Happy
- Merrily We Roll Along (1979-1975) / Old Friends / Like It Was
- Merrily We Roll Along (1974-1973) / Franklin Shepard, Inc.
- Old Friends
- Not A Day Goes By
- Now You Know
- It's A Hit!
- Merrily We Roll Along (1964-1962) / Good Thing Going
- Merrily We Roll Along (1961-1960) / Bobby And Jackie And Jack
- Not A Day Goes By
- Opening Doors
- Our Time
- The Hills Of Tomorrow
- It's A Hit (Bonus track) [*]
- Not A Day Goes By (Bonus track) [*]
Free Music Notes for Merrily We Roll Along (1981 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: An Outstanding Score
Hit: 5 Stars
"Merrily We Roll Along" is the infamous 16 performance flop that ended the Sondheim-Prince collaboration and almost drove the composer to abadon the theatre altogether. Having not seen a production of the show, I can only guess why the show did so poorly with critics and audiences during its premiere. However, from listening to this cast album I can testify that it is an AMAZING score.
The show tells the story of successful songwriter/producer Franklin Shepard and his not so successful relationships with friends Charley and Mary. It tells this story in reverse order, beginning in 1980 and ending around 1960, using deceptively upbeat songs to explore themes of lost dreams and bitter resentment (although it also has its share of beautifully melacholy songs, as well). It is a lot to wrap your head around, and may have been the reason for the show's quick failure.
But the depth, both emotionally and musically, of this score makes it well worth the extra brain power needed to fully comprehend the show. Sondheim expertly plays with musical motifs and themes, gradually developing them in increasingly sophisticated and thought provoking ways. Many early songs contain snippets of melodies that will become the basis for full songs later in the show, such as the few phrases of "Our Time" (the second to last number in the show) buried within "Rich and Happy" (part of the opening). His lyrics are as outstanding as always, seemingly effortless in their complex rhyme schemes and revelatory turns of phrase.
Sondheim has often been aided by longtime collaborator Jonathan Tunick, but the orchestrator's work deserves special recognition here. His brassy and full orchestrations provide the disc with a life and energy virtually unrivaled in the musical theatre. The horn blasts that proceed each iteration of the title song are one of many thrilling orchestral sections, which include some ingenious transitions and gorgeous musical swells during the more emotional numbers. Much enjoyment could be had just from listening the orchestra, without the voices (even though the voices are uniformly excellent).
Highlights include the labyrithine opening number, which seemlessly seques between three very distinct songs while setting up the show's main question, "How did you get here from there, Mr. Shepard?" Anyone who thinks Sondheim incapable of writing catchy music should just try and get the melodic hook of "Old Friends" out of their heads. "Franklin Shepard, Inc." is absolutely brilliant, the bright, bouncy music masking the growing cracks in Charley's facade before exploding in a torrent of rage and bitterness. And "Good Thing Going" is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful songs Sondheim has ever written.
My only complaint with this release is the anemic CD booklet, which lacks a plot synopsis or any written lyrics. Both should be mandatory in any Sondheim release, as his songs are best understood in context and every word is essential to a song's meaning; they are especially needed on a release such as this, which is not one of his most popular or well known works.
But the score is absolutely amazing, one of the greatest Sondheim has every written, and deserves to be enjoyed by musical theatre enthusiast everywhere. Buy this disc now.
Merrily We Roll Along (1981 Original Broadway Cast) Poster
A Classic Stephen Sondheim Musical Available Now at a New Low Price!Features bonus tracks, digitally remastered and new liner notes.
It's a shame that Merrily We Roll Along was such a flop on Broadway, for it contains some of Stephen Sondheim's best, brightest, and brassiest music. The reasons have been well documented: a youthful, inexperienced cast; cheesy sets and costumes; and, most of all, a confusing plot structure that starts in 1980 with bitter, cynical characters and winds its way backward to 1955, when a high school graduating class is dreaming of making its mark on the world. The main focus is on three friends (Jim Walton, Ann Morrison, and Lonny Price) who share musical ambitions but are gradually driven apart by the turbulence and fragmentation of their lives and the America around them. (You'll also hear a pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander, and even a young chorus girl named Liz Callaway.) Sondheim almost imperceptibly reworks his themes as his characters develop, and the score includes the infectious "Old Friends," the driving title tune, the ballad "Not a Day Goes By," and "Our Time," an uplifting anthem of hope when performed out of the show's context, but emotionally devastating within it. And if the backward structure--inherited from George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1934 version of the show--really bothers you, you can run it almost completely chronologically by reprogramming the CD. --David Horiuchi
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