Stephen Schwartz - Pippin (A Decca Broadway Original Cast Album)
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Free Music Notes for Pippin (A Decca Broadway Original Cast Album)
Free Music Review: Enchanting music for everyman's search for meaning ...
Hit: 5 Stars
Even if you have not seen "Pippin" the play, the musical soundtrack and CD holds up as an enchanting musical experience. The title character, the son of Charlemagne, seeks the meaning of life, pursuing various dead ends: university knowledge, military conquest, religion, political activist, ruler, etc. Disdaining the mundane ("Extraordinary"), he insists that his life's meaning must be found in a grand cause.
Right under his nose, he develops a relationship with a young widow and her child. Love blooms but even that does not seem to be enough. The show's interlocutor stages a grand finale, with Pippin immolating himself in flames. At the end, well .. you'll have to see and hear for yourself.
The soundtrack glows with multiple gems in this under-rated tale of everyman's search for the meaning of life. "Life is what happens when you're off making other plans," John Lennon once said. While Pippin plans for some over-sized Meaning of Life, he overlooks the lower-case meaning of life before achieving a redemptive epiphany.
Over thirty years after "Pippin" and its music burst on the Broadway scene, the tunes and their messages resonate powerfully. I see and hear the experience through different eyes and ears in my 50's than the ones which saw and heard in my 20's. Through tears of regret over misplaced priorities and mistakes made, we hear "Pippin" and and its music reminds us that it is not too late to look right around us for life's meaning, revealing the emptiness of grand gestures.
Free Music Review: A Journey of Self-Discovery.
Hit: 5 Stars
I've never seen the musical PIPPIN. However, after singing several of the songs in choirs in high school and playing portions of the soundtrack on the radio shows I have worked on over the years, I've become rather familiar with the soundtrack. I really enjoy the music on this album. Though the songs don't tell the complete story of what the musical is about, a person can get a sketchy outline about the plot of the show by listening to the album. More interesting than that, however, is that many of the songs can be taken out of the context of the show and used in other areas. For instance, "Corner of the Sky" is a great song for audition pieces and brilliantly expresses the struggle to find temperance that every person meets at some point in their life, "Love Song" could easily pass for a love duet song on the radio, "Kind of Woman" could be the theme song for just about any local woman's organization, "Glory" seems like a song out of a church play, etc.
My favorite songs on the album include:
"Corner of the Sky"
"Glory"
"Spread a Little Sunshine"
"No Time At All"
"With You"
"Extraordinary"
The only drawback about this album is that it doesn't include any liner notes or background about the musical. There's just a list of the songs and that's it. Still, PIPPIN has some great music and is a fine album to have in one's collection.
Free Music Review: OUTSTANDING...NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS...SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!
Hit: 5 Stars
Having seen and heard the original cast when Pippin first opened on Broadway in late 1972, I was delighted to find this CD. Having always loved this musical, I had it on vinyl, but needed a more updated version. I got it, played it, and the memories came flowing back. I was fortunate to have seen Ben Vereen's star making, show stopping, Tony award winning performance, as well as stellar performances by John Rubenstein, Irene Ryan, Leland Palmer, Eric Berry, and Jill Clayburgh. I loved this musical when I saw it and, after listening to this digitally remastered CD of the original cast recording, love it still. The music tells the story of Pippin, first born son of Charlemagne, and his quest to find his place in life. This is a timeless theme, told through a medieval tapestry of war, court intrigue, patricide, politics, art, religion, sex, and love. The story is melded through inventive use of the age old greek chorus, led by a character entitled the Leading Player (Ben Vereen), through whichPippin (John Rubenstein) segues from vignette to vignette in his age old quest of finding himself.
While Pippin does have a flower child feel to it, redolent of the Woodstock generation, the music and lyrics are gloriously charming with a superb orchestration, telling a timeless story which should continue to enchant young and old alike. Bravo!
Free Music Review: In my opinion one of the best musicals ever written
Hit: 5 Stars
Although I found the other cast members performances to be very good, Ben Vereen's performance as the "Leading player" in this show is phenomenal and you will be hard pressed to find a better performance anywhere.
In reaponse to another reviewer's worries about the "sexual content and a finally that premotes suicide" to be to scary and inappropriate for his/her seven year old child, I find it hard to believe that the child understood any of the show at all, with it's constant social commentary and fast paced plot. I suggest the Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, two excellent shows that might be a little more age apporpriate.
In conclusion, I advise any and all musical theatre fans to listen to this CD and if you get a chance see it live when your local theatre puts it on or any other chance. If you fear that the Music of Stephen Schwartz in this musical wont live up to his latest smash, "Wicked", you are sadly mistaken. In my opinion this music is exponentially better then wickeds feel good, hulabaloo sort of music that di no justice whatsoever to the wonderful book it was based on.
Free Music Review: an "extraordinary" musical
Hit: 5 Stars
I was not familiar with "Pippin" until it was chosen for my high school's annual spring musical and I was cast as Fastrada. I received this CD for Christmas and was captivated by it. I am relieved and thrilled that I discovered "Pippin" when I did. Ben Vereen, widely praised for his Tony-winning performance of the Leading Player, gives an amazing, intoxicating portrayal, especially with "On the Right Track". John Rubinstein is wonderful with the powerful "Corner of the Sky" and the upbeat "Extraordinary". Leland Palmer and Jill Clayburgh give solid performances on "Spread A Little Sunshine" and "Kind of Woman" respectively. But nothing can live up to Irene Ryan's smashing rendition of "No Time At All". Ryan, who died offstage during the Broadway run after completing this showstopper, is incredible. The ensemble exhibits its strength with "Magic To Do", "Morning Glow" and the chilling "Finale". 30 years later, Stephen Schwartz continues to strike gold with this coming-of-age story.