Roger Miller - Big River: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1985 Original Broadway Cast)
|
List Price: Our Price: $10.99 You Save: $0.99 (8%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $5.98 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Big River: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1985 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: Amazing!
Hit: 5 Stars
I recently saw this show starring one of my old tv favorites! I now own the CD and it is always in my CD player. My favorite song is "Leavin's not the only way to go" I feel sad for Huck becuse he had to chose between a friend (a real good one at that) and the girl he is in Love with.The song is so moving! It always makes me tear up! My next favorite song would have to "Hand For A Hog" it's so funny! I wish I could find sheet music so I could play the songs on my piano! I played this CD at my friend's party and at first they didn't like it but by the time we hit number 3 "The boys" they were so totally in to it and I'm talking about 15 year olds! That has got to say something about this CD!Free Music Review: A perfect pair: Mark Twain's story & Roger Miller's music
Hit: 5 Stars
If you are going to be audacious enough to try and make a musical of Huckleberry Finn, then choosing Roger Miller of "King of the Road" fame to write the songs is certainly an inspired move. "Big River," the Tony Award winning musical, owes as much to Miller as it does to Mark Twain for writing the classic story in the first place. Of course when you are talking Roger Miller you are talking fun songs, from John Goodman's ripping diatribe on "Guv'ment" as Huck's Pappy and Tom Sawyer's (John Short) "Hand for the Hog" to the two songs by the King (Bob Gunton) and the Duke (Rene Auberjonois), "When the Sun Goes Down in the South" and "The Royal Nonesuch" ("She's got one big breast in the middle of her chest/And an eye in the middle of her nose/So says I, if you look her in the eye/You're better off looking up her nose"). Even when Miller offers us the tender country ballad, "You Oughta Be Here with Me," Mary Jane Wilkes (Patti Cohenour, who later went on to play Christine in "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway) sings the song to her father's coffin. "The Crossing" is a nice spiritual, but clearly the best songs are reserved for the Huck (Daniel Jenkins) and Jim (Ron Richardson): "Muddy Water," as they shove off on a raft for Freedom, "River in the Rain" as they spend their last moments alone on the river, and "World's Apart" as the recognize the gulf that exists between them. They also do a trio with Mary Jane on "Leavin's Not the Only Way to Go." The only shortcoming of this musical comes at the end, when we get to the greatest passage in American Literature, when Huck declares he will help Jim to freedom even if it means going to hell; Miller offers a reprise of "Waitin' for the Light to Shine" rather than coming up with a new song to capture this epic moment. Similarly, Jim's "Free at Last" echoes too much of the old spiritual instead of offering something more unique. However, while this is somewhat disappointing it is not entirely unsatisfying, and I do not mean to downplay Miller's monumental success with this score. After all, Leonard Bernstein never came up with a final aria for Maria at the end of "West Side Story," and that did not take away from the greatness of that musical. At the end of "Big River" what stands out are the moments between Huck and Jim captured in song; those are the ones you are going to want to hear over and over. With his wide variety of songs for this show, Miller perfectly matched the breadth of Twain's writings. It is a monumental achievement and a lasting legacy for Miller, who proved himself to be a writer of much more than novelty hits.Free Music Review: I live for this production to show up again
Hit: 5 Stars
Simply put...Roger Miller Lives ON! My family and I catch ourselves singing or whistling these tunes all the time. If a producer out there is looking for a "revival hit" then this is the ONE.Free Music Review: big river
Hit: 5 Stars
wonderful cd even if you have not seen the play!Free Music Review: Excellant
Hit: 5 Stars
This show was one of the first that I had the pleasure to see on Broadway, I was 11 at the time. Now at 22, the music that I loved so much then has lost none of its luster. This CD is full of fantastic music for all types of listening moods, from fun to mellow to love song. I highly recommend this as a selection for any Broadway collection as well as for anyone looking into broadening their musical horizons.