Cowgirls–Very cute studio recording (I don’t think it’s ever been performed). A Country & Western bar owner, weeks before the mortgage is due hires some new musicians to get some interest in her bar. It’ll either make or break her. She hires the “Cowgirl Trio”…um…oops: there was a typo–she’s hired a classical trio that’s the “Coghill Trio”. Their demo piece for her? “Three Little Maids”. She’s not happy but since there’s not enough time to get a new group, she proceeds to teach these three Boston(?) Ivy League types what it means to be country. Anyone who liked “Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” will like this.
Like “Batboy: The Musical”? Find a copy of Eating Raoul (the musical, not the soundtrack to the movie). Hysterical lyrics, catchy songs and absolutely true to the movie too.
Once On This Island is a nifty Carribean folkloric story, and has some great music.
A New Brain–Willam Finn (Falsettoland)–really, really weird. As far as I can tell, our hero has a stroke in the first song and much of the rest of the musical takes place in his head as he’s getting operated on.
Flora-The Red Menace-By Kander and Ebb (“Cabaret”)–get the non Liza Minnelli version (Minelli is a better singer than the other woman, but there’s like 3 times as many tracks on the non-Minnelli version…it’s also got a much more minimalist orchestration that works better, IMO). A young woman is kinda recruited into the Communist Party during the Depression. And how that affects her love-life. “One Good Break” and “Unafraid” are both excellent songs.
Sondheim’s Assassins a musical depiction of the people who tried (soetimes successfully) to kill US presidents.
Boy George’s Taboo which I heard briefly last year. It is a big favourite among a particular group of guys but is otherwise unheard of.
Similarly I know some women who love Inside Out which sounds pretty good and is apparently about a group of women in therapy.
P F Sorrow by the Pretty Things has claims to being the first rock musical (pre Tommy in fact many elements of Tommy are very similar to P F Sorrow.) I believe it was remade a few years ago as a stage show.
It was written by Meredith Wilson who also wrote Music Man
Based on the movie, "Miracle on 34th Street " it featured that song people try to get out of their heads after hearing it once, Pine Cones And Holly Berries-better known as It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
I love William Finn’s “Marvin” trilogy (In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, and Falsettoland). You’ll especially like it if you like Sondheim, I think. These are short, one-act off-Broadway musicals. Most people are familiar with the last two, which were combined as one show (Falsettos) on Broadway, but the first one seems to be pretty obscure, although I know it still gets performed from time to time. The last song on the In Trousers CD, by the way, is a song that was later performed in March of the Falsettos (but isn’t on that show’s CD) and isn’t actually part of In Trousers.
I’ve heard really good things about Kristina Fran Duvemala, but haven’t been able to afford it yet (that’s quite a price they’ve got on it, even if it is a three-disc set). It’s written by the composers of Chess (the two men from ABBA). It’s not in English (sorry), but from what I’ve heard, it’s so wonderful that it doesn’t matter what language they’re singing in.
And of course, I have to mention Hedwig and the Angry Inch, one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite.
Again, I know you said you were looking for English-language recordings, but I want to recommend the original French-language recording of Les Misérables. It was recorded before Cameron Mackintosh ever thought of turning it into an (extended) English-language show. In fact, it was this recording that made him decide to do so.
I know there are more recordings I want to recommend. I just can’t think of them right now.
I’ve got to disagree with you there. I thought it stank.
Finding a copy of the original CD is very hard. Most of them were snatched up by collectors. It’s one of the few times I’ve called Footlight Records and made sure they held something for me. Usually, they do it automatically.
You might get a copy on ebay, but be prepared to pay big bucks. And I understand some sell burned copies on ebay, so you’re taking a chance.
About Fenris and his thoughts on the daughter’s marriages: You’re missing the point. The first three daughters made their own matches and lived with their decisions. Who says Chava and Hodel were miserable? That’s your judgement.
In the stories, the fourth daughter is fixed up with a very rich, non-observant Jewish man who ignores her to the point where she throws herself into the river and drowns. Can’t image whey they left that out of the musical.
I’m probably going to catch some flak for this, but the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! contains some new orchestrations and performances that makes Abba a lot easier, and actually pleasant to listen to. One that particularly stands out is a nice slow ballad version of The Winner Takes It All that, unlike the original, does not suffer from a crappy 80’s drum beat in the second half of the song.
That one aside, I’ll parrot everyone else and recommend Chess.
WHOO HOO! As I big fan of Benny&Bjorn musicals, I am doing my Happy Dance that other people mentioned three of their musicals: Chess, Kristina fran Duvemala, and Mamma Mia! I wish B&B would get the respect as musical composers, instead of being saddled as “the two guys from ABBA.”
Kristina has been “being translated into English” for the past four years, Hell, I could have done a translation in that time!
The fourth “ABBA” musical is “ABBACADABRA,” based on music from their songs with new “fairy tale” lyrics. It’s a pleasant little show, with some good lyrics and singing. There are French & Dutch LPS of the show, as well as bootlegs of the English & Portugese shows.
Kristina is really wonderful, and worth the hefty price. There is a “highlights” CD if you just want a taste of it, but I’d recommend the three CD total set. This is the first musical done as a musical entirely by Benny&Bjorn, and it is wonderful. Everybody I know loves it and people want to see it in English on Broadway.
I think B&B might be scared–if Kristina doesn’t make it in English, that will be a huge setback for their musical composing career. It could even kill it.
I’m not saying that the U.S. version is better ( :eek: ) or anything, just that it has some of its own merit. For example, I find Someone Else’s Story to be quite listenable, even if the lyrics bug me a little. And I’m intrigued by things like the Russian singing “maybe he’s scared, but he didn’t seem scared in the game” instead of “maybe he’s scared, just as scared as he was in the game” during Mountain Duet.
By “not bad” I meant “worth listening to”…but of course I completely agree that the ‘real’ version is superior!
Well, I’ll agree that the American cast recording of Chess isn’t completely without worth, but I could never recommend that someone spend actual money on a copy. I’d suggest instead that they check it out from their local library and give it a listen if they’re curious.
My big problem is that they “Broadway-ized” the score and cast performers with more traditional music-theatre voices as opposed to pop voices. I mean, Judy Kuhn is fine in Pocahontas and Sunset Boulevard and stuff like that, but I really don’t think she had any business being in Chess. A lot of the songs felt somehow neutered in comparison to their counterparts on the original recording. They also gave it a happy-- well, a happier (and more resolved) ending and let the American win the final game. All-in-all, it just seemed dumbed down and, like I said, neutered.
I will admit, though, that “Someone Else’s Story” is a beautiful song. I’m curious – what is it about that song’s lyics that bug you?
Which is why I linked to --and specified-- the UK version.
It may be a nit, but the last line is what bugs me: “…the trouble is, the girl is me/the story is, the girl is me.” It is pretty clear from the start that she’s singing about herself, but with that last line it’s like the writers believe they are some how surprising the audience. Like they were trying for a twist, but forgot that they already told us the ‘secret.’ I haven’t thought about it enough to be able to suggest an alternate last line, but I think they could have come up with something better if they’d tried a little harder. At least, that’s how it feels to me. But on the whole, I like the song quite a bit (right up to those last 14 words ). I remember being very impressed with it the first time I heard it, when I had just been introduced to the UK recording and didn’t even know there was another version. Also, it’s a great song to sing, and I include it on every musical theatre mix CD that I create for myself.
I personally love the 1995 concert version of Anyone Can Whistle, the 9-show-run Sondheim flop, with the late Madeleine Kahn in the Angela Lansbury role (Lansbury narrates the “plot” in the concert version). But if you hate Scott Bakula, this isn’t for you. Also features an amusing Bernadette Peters. The plot of course is bizarre, but I think the characters are great.
Already mentioned Assassins is really good.
For older shows, I’m partial to Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s Lady in the Dark but I am at loss as to tell you which recording to pick; there are several, all with their good points and their bad points.
Finally, it’s hardly obscure but Sweet Charity (the OBC) is marvelous.
I second How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. (Though, I don’t mind the Matthew Broderick version – love the Walter Cronkite voiceovers.) I also recommend The Scarlet Pimpernel.
