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: Ex-tra-or-di-nary!
Hit: 4 Stars
Stephen Schwartz (best known for his religious musicals including Godspell) and Bob Fosse (best known for his sexual choreography in shows such as Damn Yankees, Cabaret and Chicago) are a duo you wouldn't expect to be compatable. Yet they are WONDERFUL together in Pippin. Schwartz retells the story of Peppen (I think that's how you spell the name), a young man who lived at the time of the Holy Roman Empire (son of Charlemagne) and his quest for fulfillment. And along that route he encounters everything from war to sex. (THAT'S where Fosse comes in ;)) However there is more than just sex and dancing. There are wonderful songs with beautiful messages in them. Take for instance No Time At All (sung by Irene Ryan, from the Beverly Hillbillies): "Oh it's time, time to start livin/Time to take a little from the world we're given/Time to take time for spring can turn to fall/In just no time at all" or Love Song (a duet by John Rubenstein and Jill Clayburgh): "They say the whole is greater than the sum of the parts it's made of/Well if it's true of anything, it's true of love." The style ranges from the moving and tear-inducing Morning Glow to the upbeat Extraordinary that will make you want to dance, to Corner of the Sky which leaves you longing to find your own niche. This CD is guaranteed to make you sing the songs in the shower. Pippin wants to be extraordinary, but along the way he ignores what really makes him happy. I prefer this edition because it is remastered and has better quality. However, I have to raise some hell over the 3 bonus tracks included. The Supremes performing "I Guess I'll Miss The Man"? The Jackson 5 performing "Corner of the Sky"? MICHAEL JACKSON performing "Morning Glow"? I think these three songs were truly butchered, particularly Morning Glow. It became upbeat and pop-ish, and that isn't what Morning Glos is about at all. Yet they can always be skipped over, well worth the quality offered.Free Music Review: BEN VEREENS MOMENT OF GLORY
Hit: 4 Stars
I saw Pippin on Broadway and fell in love with the show due principally to the fantastic staging of Bob Fosse. The show was faced with a financial shortfall and as a result some sets had to be down-sized and a cast of thirty cut in half. But Mr. Fosse applied his brand of razzle-dazzle and the show became a hit after a shaky start and ran for nearly 2,000 performances. Stephen Schwartz, the composer hated the way Bob Fosse altered his songs to suit his staging so he got his revenge and recorded the album with the songs sung "straight". That has always been my main disappointment with the CD. The songs I saw in the show are not on the album and technically it can't really be called an original cast recording.
Having said that, the album could have been gold but is silver--shiny silver. The album also boasts Ben Vereen a powerhouse of a performer and the glue that held the show together and it is a shame he was never offered a worthy project like this afterwards to showcase his formidable talent. Just listen to his glorious voice on "Glory"-shivers go up and down your spine. Another highlight of the show was Irene Ryan as Pippins Granny and her number "No Time at All" at least on stage was partly performed with the lyrics posted from the flies and she coaxed the audience to sing-a-long and follow the bouncing ball as it high-lighted the lyrics.
The cast was well chosen including John Rubinstein as Pippin and Leland Palmer as the treacherous Fastrada. One of the chorines was Ann Reinking who would later find fame on her own.
The Cd is very enjoyable but oh how I wish it had reflected the way it was performed 8 times a week at the theatre.
Free Music Review: Remastered CD a HUGE improvement over previous issues
Hit: 4 Stars
PIPPIN was a smash hit on Broadway in 1972, a triumph of Bob Fosse's unqique staging over a messy, incoherent book and a variable score.
The show starts off with a great openng number, "Magic to Do" followed by the characterful "Corner of the Sky." Then things start going downhill until Irene Ryan saves the first act with her sing-a-long "No Time At All." There are a few other highlights but the score never reaches the promsise of its opening moments. The music is very "pop" sounding and therefore anachronistic for the period of the story. But then, everything about PIPPIN is anachronistic. The lyrics are funtional but seldom clever.
Nevertheless, PIPPIN ran close to 4 years on Broadway and is frequently staged by high schools and community groups. Decca Broadway's CD is carefully remastered for fine sound quality. The booklet has good notes about the history of the show, a synopsis of how the songs related to the show. They don't. Also included are all the lyrics. If you are really curious, there is a video of the show taped years later at Hamilton Place in Ontario that is available on DVD.
Free Music Review: Definetly for the conneissiuer
Hit: 4 Stars
Why 4 instead of 5? I reserve 5 stars for something truly spectacular that leaves me unconcious & quivering with delight & fulfillment.Call me biased, having played in Pippin & the high school production being one of my fondest memories, but I love this music! Let's face it; more likely than not, if you're looking at this then you already wanted it. Pippin isn't exactly at the forefront of the American pop culture conciousness. Still, honesty compels me to admit that the recording quality is a bit shabby, but I always chalked that up to it happening in 1972, when the state of the art was considerably less sophisticated than we enjoy today. I still sing the music, I still love the show. My family forbade me to buy the karaoke issue! If for no other reason, you ought to buy this to hear Granny Clampet as Pippin's grandmother, singing about seducing men! Since you're less likely to get a copy of me singing these quirky, fun for the sake of themselves songs, go ahead & buy this one.
Free Music Review: One Of a Kind
Hit: 4 Stars
Saw Pippin on Broadway a couple times, and back then it was uncomparable. Fosse's staging, Vereen's performance, Tony Walton's sets and costumes and Schwartz's music were unique. It was a big old, dazzling carnival. Only wish I had seen Irene Ryan, but alas, she had passed away before I saw the show. Still, the CD preserves her performance as well as the rest of this highly imaginative and original piece. Skip the taped version, somehow the magic got lost, while it is mildy diverting, it nonetheless, misses the impact of the live performance.