Losing My Mind

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Alternative Folk Rock With A Touch Of Blues Performed By A Diverce International Cast Of Musicians.

Tracks:

Send In The Clowns (From 'A Little Night Music') - Cleo Laine
Losing My Mind (From 'Follies') - Barbara Cook
I Remember (From 'Evening Primrose') - David Korman
Liasons (From 'A Little Night Music') - Hermione Gingold
With So Little To Be Sure Of (From 'Anyone Can Whistle') - Jerry Hadley
Not A Day Goes By (From 'Merrily We Roll Along') - Bernadette Peters
Pretty Women (From 'Sweeney Todd') - Michael Rupert
In Buddy's Eyes (From 'Follies') - Barbara Cook
No One Is Alone (From 'Into The Woods') - Cleo Laine
Johanna (From 'Sweeney Todd') - Victor Garber
So Many People (From 'Saturday Night') - Suzanne Henry
Sorry-Grateful (From 'Company') - Stephen Collins
Too Many Mornings (From 'Follies) - Barbara Cook
Finishing The Hat (From 'Sunday In The Park With George') - Mandy Patinkin
Not While I'm Around (From 'Sweeney Todd') - Angela Lansbury
Like It Was (From 'Merrily We Roll Along') - Julie Andrews
Unworthy Of Your Love (From 'Assassins') - Annie Golden
Anyone Can Whistle (From 'Anyone Can Whistle') - Cleo Laine

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful songs.......2003-02-07

If you're a Sondheim ballad fan, this a must-have. While there are a few renditions that aren't great (Not a Day Goes By is way overdone), the selections from Follies sung by Barbara Cook are outstanding. The Cleo Laine version of "Send in the Clowns" is lovely and Stephen Collins does an amazing good job on "Sorry-Grateful" from Company. Still, it's the Follies songs that truly shine!

Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1992 Concert Cast)

Average customer rating:

Great CD
Simply the Best
Inconsistent, but mostly excellent
"Celebration" is not strong enough a word
A maginificent evening, a magnificent album

Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1992 Concert Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Betty Buckley , Paul Gemignani , Patti LuPone , Liza Minnelli , and Bernadette Peters
Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast)
Side By Side By Sondheim (1976 Original London Cast)
Send in the Clowns: The Ballads of Stephen Sondheim
Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall / Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close
Sondheim, Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall

ASIN: B000003FDW
Release Date: 1993-02-23

Tracks:

Symphonic Sondheim: Sweeney Todd--orchestra, Jerry Hadley ("Johanna"), Eugene Perry,Herbert Perry ("Pretty Women")
Evening Introduction--Bill Irwin
Loveland/Getting Married Today--Ensemble, Jeanne Lehman, Mark Jacoby, Madeline Kahn
Waiting for the Girls Upstairs--George Lee Andrews, Michael Jeter, James Naughton/Love, I Hear--Michael Jeter/Live Alone and Like It--James Naughton
Someone Is Waiting--Richard Muenz/Symphonic Sondheim: Barcelona--orchestra
Being Alive--Patti LuPone
Good Thing Going--The Tonics
Losing My Mind/You Could Drive a Person Crazy--Dorothy Loudon
Our Time--Boys Choir of Harlem/Children Will Listen--Betty Buckley
Anyone Can Whistle--Billy Stritch
Water Under the Bridge--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch
Back in Business--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch, Ensemble

Tracks:

Symphonic Sondheim: Comedy Tonight--Bill Irwin, orchestra
Sooner or Later--Karen Ziemba
Pretty Lady--Mark Jacoby, Eugene Perry, Herbert Perry
Green Finch and Linnet Bird--Harolyn Blackwell
The Ballad of Booth--Patrick Cassidy, Victor Garber
Broadway Baby--Daisy Eagan
I Never Do Anything Twice--BETTY
With So Little to Be Sure Of--Jerry Hadley, Carolann Page
Not a Day Goes By--Bernadette Peters
Remember?--Ron Baker, Peter Blanchet, Carol Meyer, Bronwyn Thomas, Blythe Walker (Quintet)/A Weekend in the Country--Kevin Anderson, George Lee Andrews, Mark Jacoby, Beverly Lambert, Maureen Moore, Susan Terry, Quintet
Send in the Clowns--Glenn Close
Old Friends--Liza Minnelli
Sunday--Bernadette Peters, Broadway Chorus

Customer Reviews:

Great CD.......2006-08-06

This is a wonderful double CD of fabulous musical numbers performed by theatre greats and directed by a legandary musical director.

Simply the Best.......2005-06-29

First, to the person who criticizes the recording b/c of "Broadway Baby." Daisy Egan (who sings in in this recording) sounds like she's 10 becuase she IS young. She had just appeared on Braodway in Secret Garden and won a Tony for it. It's a joke...Broadway BABY...hello, it's a joke.

In a compilation of songs like this you're always going to have tracks that you prefer over others, but the majority of the renditions in this CD are great. This is simply one of the best collections of Sondheim out there. You get interpretations that span from "classical" (Green Finch), to bordering on insane (Anything Twice). This is to demonstrate how versatile this composer really is.

In my opinion, some of the best renditions are "Not a Day Goes By," "Anyone Can Whistle", "Girls Upstairs Medley," "Losing My Mind/Drive a Person Crazy," and "Weekend inthe Country." Makes me wish I had been there to witness it first hand.

If you love Sondheim and enjoy hearing Broadway performers, get this CD. A great recording.

Inconsistent, but mostly excellent.......2004-03-21

I am sure no knowledgeable person would deny how absolutely perfect all these songs are. However, the performances on this album are extremely inconsistent. It will go from an excellent rendition (Waiting for the Girls medley, Sunday, With So Little To Be Sure Of, Sooner or Later, Green Finch, Send in the Clowns, Pretty Lady) to the weird (I never Do Anything Twice), to the bad (Broadway Baby, Our Time). I still have absolutely no idea how they managed to butcher one of the best songs ever written--Good Thing Going--and turn it into smooth jazz elevator music. Why would they give Broadway Baby to someone who sounds like she's 10? That said, Liza Minelli, Glenn Close, Karen Ziemba, Dorothy Laudon and the "Waiting for the Girls" performers are all very good. And ending with Bernadette Peters and "Sunday" ends the set on a absolutley fabulous note.

"Celebration" is not strong enough a word.......2003-04-30

This review is by Crosley.

I have been a major Sondheim fan for quite some time, and I finally obtained a copy of this album. I was blown away by the excellent cast and phenomenal selection of music. It is obvious how much work went into this production, considering that this is the live recording of a one time show, and it's flawless. The songs cover all of his shows with the exception of "Passion," which was released 3 years after this show. Also, the shows for which he wrote only lyrics are ommited, like West Side Story, Gypsy, etc. Thus, you can find material from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Merrily we Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins.

There are two striking things about this CD (besides the music and performers themselves). First of all, some of the songs are completely stylistically reworked. The most obvious are "Good Thing Going" and "I Never do Anything Twice." Both are traditionally very ballady with a piano accompaniment, but here they have been redone as jazzy tunes. The result is excellent. Such reworkings demonstrate that Sondheim writes music for virtually any style, and in these cases, across several styles. It's a great example of his variety. The other interesting thing is how many songs have overlapping melodies of songs from different shows. Case in point, "Our Time" and "No one is Alone" are sung seperately by the Harlem Boys Choir and Betty Buckley (the original Grizabella in Webber's atrocious "CATS," although Buckley was excellent) respectively, and then combined. Putting these two songs together offer different meanings to each, and the music is only enhanced. Another example, the trio of "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Love, I Hear," and "Live Alone and Like It" are sung in that order, and then the latter two are combined. Again, the meanings of the songs change, this time in an almost narrative style, and offering different takes on love in the same montage. Lastly (at least for this review, there are more), Dorothy Laudon's (the original Ms. Hannigan in Annie) combination of "Losing my Mind" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" is brilliant. Those who are familiar with these songs will wonder how exactly they fit, but trust me, they do. She swtiches back and forth between melodies to create a number that starts poignant and beautiful, and soon moves to become uproariously funny. Both the song reworkings and overlapping melodies of unrelated songs are all for the better.

I recommend this recording to anyone wanting to get better acquainted with some of Sondheim's best work, or those already familiar who want to hear a tour de force of phenomenal music. It has been said that Sondheim is a masterful lyricist (which he is), but lacks real talent for music. This CD is the final proof that such critics are wrong. His music may take a few listenings to get into, contrary to Webber or Wildhorn, but unlike those two, he doesn't cater to the audience. He challenges them to think outside of traditional musical theater in a glorious repertoise of shows that reach for a smarter, more sophisticated form.

A maginificent evening, a magnificent album.......2001-12-16

There's something to be said for the first concert you ever see at Carnegie Hall. I was fortunate enough to have this be my first. This entire evening was devoted to his genius and the performers did not disappoint.

This wonderful double CD shows off the best and brightest of the musical theatre composer and it is, as one person put it, "an embarassment of riches." With songs from his finest works done in amazing arrangements (listen to that harmony in "We Had a Good Thing Going"!) combined with fabulous performers this is a Sondheim lovers delight.

Tracks:

Overture (from Gypsy) - London Cast Recording
Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote) - Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ernie Sabella
Run, Freedom, Run! - Hunter Foster
Your Daddy's Son - Ted Sperling, Ragtime Orchestra
Music Of The Night (From The Phantom Of The Opera) - Colm Wilkinson
All That Jazz (from "Chicago") - Bebe Neuwirth
Gimme Gimme - Michael Rafter
La boh; Act I; O soave fanciulla - Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Montserrat Caball
Next Best Thing To Love - Randy Graff
Cabaret - Natasha Richardson
Springtime For Hitler (From "The Producers") - John Morris, Mel Brooks
Losing My Mind - Barbara Cook
Time Warp - Raparza
Oklahoma!; Oklahoma - Finale: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (Reprise) - Musical Cast Recording
Breeze Off the River - Patrick Wilson
Big Spender - Jane Lanier, Valarie Pettiford, Shannon Lewis, Kim Greene, Kim Morgan, Dana Moore, Rachelle Rak, Elizbeth Parkinson, Dede LaBarre, Mary Ann Lamb, Mary McLeod
Gee Officer Krupke - Cast
Agony - Paul Gemignani
Bring Him Home (from Les Miserables) - Colm Wilkinson, Colm
Lullaby of Broadway (from "42nd Street") - John Lesko, Jerry Orbach

Customer Reviews:

redux.......2007-07-06

Four of the songs on this CD (Oklahoma, Music of the Night, Cabaret, and All That Jazz) were on the earlier Ultimate Broadway. Of all the shows that have been on Broadway over the past 70+ years, including the ones that are currently running, there is no excuse for repeats!

Moderate Quality.......2003-06-20

I believe that the show selection for this CD was excellent. However the song selection and song order were not. Why pick "Your Daddy's Son" from Ragtime when you can have the amazing and fantastic "Prologue" from the same show. Also I believe that a mistake was made by slecting "I Don Quixote" from Man of La Mancha instead of the much more listenable "Impossible Dream." Also the overture from Gypsy is not the proper song to start out a CD. Perhaps the "Overture" from The Phantom of the Opera.

This is however an excellent example of showtunes for inexperienced members of the theatrical world.

POOR EXCUSE FOR SOME GOOD THEATER MUSIC.......2003-05-20

The best of Broadway? Sure, if you consider the best of Broadway only those songs taken only from RCA Victor cast recordings. Expect the expected: Tracks from "Ragtime," "Chicago," "42nd Street" and "Man of La Mancha," sung by the likes of Audra
McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Jerry Orbach and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Including a live recording of Barbara Cook warbling "Losing My Mind" from her "Mostly Sondheim" CD isn't exactly kosher. But then again, neither is this gimmick-riddled release. Curtain up?
Half-way, maybe. Light the lights? Dim them, please.

Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim (Live at Carnegie Hall 2001)

Average customer rating:

Wow!
Everyone Should Whistle
An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master
Beautiful, moving concert
... and I love Barbara Cook

Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim (Live at Carnegie Hall 2001)

Manufacturer: Drg
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Barbara Cook's Broadway!
Barbara Cook at the Met with Special Guests
Tribute
It's Better with a Band
The Champion Season: Live at the Cafe Carlyle

ASIN: B000059LFF
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

Everybody Says Don't
I Wonder What Became of Me?
The Eagle and Me
I Had Myself a True Love
Into the Woods / Giants in the Sky (Malcolm Gets)
Another Hundred People / So Many People (Malcolm Gets)
Let's Face the Music and Dance / The Song Is You (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Happiness
Loving You
You Could Drive a Person Crazy
Not A Day Goes By / Losing My Mind

Tracks:

Buds Won't Bud
I Got Lost in His Arms
West Side Story Segment: Something's Coming / Tonight (Malcolm Gets)
Move On (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Medley: Hard Hearted Hannah / Waiting for the Robert E. Lee / San Francisco
Ice Cream
Send in the Clowns
The Trolley Song
Not While I'm Around (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Anyone Can Whistle

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Barbara Cook is one of today's most accomplished song stylists, and if you don't believe us, just listen to this live album. It's a master class in the art of singing. It documents an evening at Carnegie Hall during which Cook proved that she can dissect and extract the substance out of the simplest of lyrics. One of the best surprises is "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (from Company), which is taken at an amiable trot and allows the singer to display its humor. Cook is not a swinging singer and uptempo is not her pace; give her a ballad, though, and she'll wring the last drop of emotion out of it. Her version of "Losing My Mind" (here paired with "Not a Day Goes By") is simply astonishing. The singer also performs songs that Sondheim has said he wished he had written, an awful lot of them by Harold Arlen. No complaints here. Guest Malcolm Gets solos on a few songs and duets with Cook on others, including "Let's Face the Music and Dance." This is classic material done masterfully by a classic singer. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2004-02-20

Having read the other reviews there is little more for me to add. I have been a Barbara Cook fan for a longtime and for me, this is one of her best concerts ever. I do, however, prefer the DVD. As with some other reviewers, I do not want to hear Malcolm Gets (as much as I like him) when I want to listen to Barbara. Her flawless interpretation of music is a hard act to follow for any singer! I managed to see this concert 4 times over a year and a half. Each time I saw her the voice was stronger and more assured (I would not have thought that possible). I can't help but think we will have the pleasure of hearing Ms Cook for many years to come. For those people who enjoyed his CD I strongly recommend purchasing the DVD. Barabara's rendition of So Many People is breathtaking (literally, I don't think I breathed once during the entire song). If you ever have opportunity to see her live - go! She has an ability to make you feel as if every song she sings and every word she speaks is directed to you alone. She can take a large venue and make it feel as intimate as your own living room. Having had the pleasure of meeting her I can say she is as youthful and pleasurable in person as she is in her performance.

Everyone Should Whistle.......2003-10-11

After being privileged to attend this concert, I had to own the CD. Once a lyric coloratura and the original Cunegonde in Bernstein's Candide, Ms. Cook has become (in her 70s) a true diva, blessed with a velvety, warm sound. Every note has meaning. Her high B-flat on "Ice Cream" is still the envy of any soprano today. Everyone should whistle after hearing the superb performances on this CD. Even better, though, is the experience of having been in the concert hall for the live performance. Brava, Ms. Cook!

An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master.......2003-06-16

When I first bought tickets for the 'Mostly Sondheim' show on tour (in San Francisco) I figured it couldn't be too bad. Besides, I had only been exposed to a few of his songs (Anyone Can Whistle, Losing My Mind...) and had only seen "A Little Night Music". On the way out of the theater I immediately picked up this recording of the program. It is truly amazing. I immediately began listening to it and have barely put it down in the last few months. Furthermore, my Sondheim CD collection increased in size from an unflattering zero to five (and it's still growing)! This is an amazing introduction to the works of Stephen Sondheim, who is now my favorite modern musical composer). Buy this now if you don't already have it!

Beautiful, moving concert.......2003-04-13

This is a wonderful CD set with a great selection of songs. I do want to express a slight reservation, however. Barbara Cook has been one of my favorite singers for a number of years and the way her voice defies time is extraordinary -- for her to be singing with such bright, beautiful tone in her mid-70s with no wobble or beat in the voice is an amazing achievment.

I do have to say that by 2001, when this concert was recorded, Cook seemed to have a lost a little bit of power and intensity in her singing. This is only natural for someone of her age. Her voice is still lovely, but you can sense her keeping it in reserve a bit. She's as expressive as ever, but compare the rendition of "I got lost in his arms" on this album to the one on her previous album recorded in 1999, "The Champion Season", and there's less urgency and vocal depth in her singing here. That said, the high B at the end of "Ice Cream" is sensational.

So, despite that caveat, this is, again, a wonderful album, a must for Cook fans, especially for the gorgeous renditions of songs I'd never thought I'd get to hear her perform: "Not a Day Goes By", "Happiness/Loving You", "San Francisco", etc. Buy it!

... and I love Barbara Cook.......2003-02-11

This recording is a disappointment for me. It is not her best work, and Malcolm Gets is uninspired. My biggest complaint however is the engineering of the recording. Throughout the speaking was to soft, the singing volumes uneven, and the applause deafening. I will be passing this CD on to friends, and will later donate it to my local library.

Average customer rating:

if you like female jazz vocalists you'll love this album
Everyone does it, and seldom as well...
Everyone does it, and seldom as well...
Oh Yeah
Great voice, great music

Play It Cool
Lea DeLaria
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Double Standards
Bulldyke in a Chinashop
Lea's Book of Rules for the World
Box Lunch
Very Best of Lea DeLaria

ASIN: B00005J9X2
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Tracks:

Sweeney Todd: The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd
West Side Story: Cool
Little Me: I've Got Your Number
City Of Angels: With Every Breath I Take
Chicago: All That Jazz
Faust: Life Has Been Good To Me
The Wild Party: Welcome To My Party
The Wild Party: Lowdown-Down
Stop The World I Want To Get Off: Once In A Lifetime
Follies: Losing My Mind
Franks Wild Years: Straight To The Top

Amazon.com

Standup comedian, actress, and singer Lea DeLaria presents a less confrontational image here than she did on 1994's Bulldyke in a China Shop, adopting the role of seductive, witty, confident, and heterosexual jazz chanteuse to perfection. Her voice ranges from little-girl-lost innocence to harder-edged tones, both suited to the opening "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd." With stylings from Billie Holiday to Judy Garland, "I've Got Your Number" heads straight for the heart of 1950s big-band balladry, improvised scat vocals proving DeLaria can swing with the best. "Cool" is anything but, the accompaniment understated, that voice dripping with the promise of sex. In "With Every Breath I Take," we get to imagine every late night smoky bar in every old Hollywood film we've ever seen--while it is pastiche, the characterization is startlingly evocative.

DeLaria sums it up with "All That Jazz," confidently suggesting, following her recent twin roles in the lavishly acclaimed 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, that this girl just wants to have fun playing bad. When she sings "Life Has Been Good to Me," she has such an upbeat twinkle, you suspect she means every word. --Gary S. Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

if you like female jazz vocalists you'll love this album.......2004-07-27

I wish Delaria would put out more albums like this one. Her voice and interpretation of the songs on the album are really great and withstand lots of repeat plays. Highly recommended. Many of the cuts are worth 5 stars, but I didn't really like all of her song choices, so that's why I rated the album 4 stars.

Everyone does it, and seldom as well..........2004-04-10

All I can say is...WOW.
When my partner and I saw Lea perform her routine in P-town, she wowed us with a stunning version of one of my all-time favorites, "The Ballad of Sweeny Todd." We bought her CD on the spot and it stayed in my car's CD player for weeks on end (and then I only took it out because I had to switch cars).
I enjoyed the whole album, but I found myself playing the first track over and over, and even singing it in the shower. I must disagree with the "Cigar" review on all counts, at least regarding this track. The song lends itself so beautifully to swingin' jazz I can't believe nobody thought of it before. But I'm glad no one has, because Lea DeLaria knocks it out of the park. The smooth delivery is perfect for the dry humor of the lyrics, her belts are such a perfect blend of head and chest it sends chills up my spine, and the arrangement is spot-on. The best part - it stands up beautifully to repeat listenings; I just can't grow tired of this rendition. The opening track alone is worth twice the price of this CD.

Everyone does it, and seldom as well..........2004-04-10

All I can say is...WOW.
When my partner and I saw Lea perform her routine in P-town, she wowed us with a stunning version of one of my all-time favorites, "The Ballad of Sweeny Todd." We bought her CD on the spot and it stayed in my car's CD player for weeks on end (and then I only took it out because I had to switch cars).
I enjoyed the whole album, but I found myself playing the first track over and over, and even singing it in the shower. I must disagree with the "Cigar" review on all counts, at least regarding this track. The song lends itself so beautifully to swingin' jazz I can't believe nobody thought of it before. But I'm glad no one has, because Lea Dellaria knocks it out of the park. The smooth delivery is perfect for the dry humor of the lyrics, her belts are such a perfect blend of head and chest it sends chills up my spine, and the arrangement is spot-on. The best part - it stands up beautifully to repeat listenings; I just can't grow tired of this rendition. The opening track alone is worth twice the price of this CD.

Oh Yeah.......2003-01-05

...This bull... in a china closet just flat kills.. you like your jazz delivered with power, style, and class.. Lea delivers. You want your jazz to swing? It does that too. My highest rating. It won't leave your cd player anytime soon. Did I mention the musicians helping Lea are just as hot?

Great voice, great music.......2002-08-10

If you're looking for a modern jazz singer with a lesbian edge, this CD is it!

Average customer rating:

Broadway Divas
Love the choices
coulda been a contender
Two words: Julia Murney

Broadway Divas
Liza Minnelli , Mandy Patinkin , Bernadette Peters , Mary Martin , Patti LuPone , Jeanne Lehman , Mark Jacoby , Madeline Kahn , Marin Mazzie , Barbara Cook , Angela Lansbury , and Julia Murney
Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Lady With The Torch
Patti LuPone Live! (Highlights)
I'm Not Waiting
Legends of Broadway
Sondheim Etc. Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall (The Rest of It)

ASIN: B00005LN5V
Release Date: 2001-08-07

Tracks:

I Got The Sun In The Morning - Ethel Merman
Sing Happy - Liza Minnelli
Mean To Me - Nell Carter
Children And Art - Bernadette Peters
Before I Kiss The World Goodbye - Mary Martin
Being Alive - Patti LuPone
Monotonous - Eartha Kitt
Shy - Sarah Jessica Parker
All That Jazz - Bebe Neuwirth
Raise The Roof - Julia Murney
Getting Married Today - MADELINE KAHN
Back To Before - Marin Mazzie
Losing My Mind - Barbara Cook
What Did I Have That I Don't Have? - Barbara Harris
Everything's Coming Up Roses - Angela Lansbury

Customer Reviews:

Broadway Divas.......2007-01-22

Wonderful selection of classic singers and songs. Special favorites are Ethel Merman and Barbara Cook.

Love the choices.......2006-08-11

This is great. Anything with Ethel, Bernadette, Barbara (both of them), Mary, and Marin is beyond words. Any one of them by themselves is awesome but these ladies together are mind blowing. All of the women sound amazing but they made a mistake on the list of songs and composers. "Raise the Roof" sung by Julia Murney (I love her)was written by Andrew Lippa, not LaChusia.

coulda been a contender.......2006-03-15

The divas are indeed divine, but the choice of music sung left me wondering why, with so many other great music selection contenders.

Two words: Julia Murney.......2001-09-03

OK, so it sounds crazy to review an album with Ethel Merman and Bernadette Peters on it and not mention them. But...tough. I've read enough about them to know how good they are.

Buy this album as a token of love to the producer who had the cajones to put Julia Murney on an album celebrating the last 100 years of Broadway divas.

Because SHE is one of the greatest voices of the decade!

Average customer rating:

Patinkin Live
Sondheim recital
Also a very dissapointed fan
Adequate performance; poor entertainment
a very disappointed fan

Sings Sondheim
Mandy Patinkin
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dress Casual
Mandy Patinkin
Experiment
Oscar & Steve
Kidults

ASIN: B00006JP2C
Release Date: 2002-10-29

Tracks:

Opening
Lesson #8
Another Hundred People
When?
Someone Is Waiting
Johanna
Green Finch and Linnet Bird
Pretty Women
Finishing the Hat
If You Can Find Me, I'm Here
Live, Laugh, Love
Live Alone and Like It
Everybody Says Don't
Rich and Happy, Part 1
Our Time
Broadway Baby
Rich and Happy, Part 2
Uptown, Downtown
Liaisons
Send in the Clowns
Live, Laugh, Love (reprise)
You Could Drive a Person Crazy

Tracks:

Free
Company
Waiting For The Girls Upstairs
Pleasant Little Kingdom/Too Many Mornings
Not While I'm Around
All Things Bright and Beautiful
It Takes Two
In Someone's Eyes
Beautiful
Losing My Mind
Take the Moment
Sunday

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Recorded live at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia, this double CD is one heck of an extensive tribute to Stephen Sondheim. Backed only by Paul Ford on piano, Mandy Patinkin gets through nearly three dozen songs penned by the Broadway master. Some are obvious (excerpts from Sunday in the Park with George, in which the singer created the title role), others less so ("If You Can Find Me I'm Here" from Evening Primrose). Patinkin is often mocked for his shivering falsetto, but here, it's actually when his voice explores a lower register that it falters. What's more interesting is when he tackles songs usually sung by women, such as Follies' "Broadway Baby" and Company's "Another Hundred People" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy"--the latter hammed up so much that you can hear the chewing of the scenery. A distinctively mannered interpreter, Patinkin remains an acquired taste, but fans of his will be in heaven with this set. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Patinkin Live.......2007-07-19

I am a huge Mandy Patinkin fan, and this is, without a doubt, one of the best CDs in my collection. The transitions between songs are excellent and seamless, plus the song selection was top-notch.

Sondheim recital.......2007-01-22

Probably the best way to approach these disks is to treat them like a recital in a concert hall. Rather as you would listen to a Schubert or Schumann song cycle. Taken together this way, we come to hear Sondheim as one of our finest composers, serious, comic, manic, depressive, always dead on target no matter what the subject matter. And Patinkin is perfect for these songs; he understands the meaning and value of every note and every word, just as a fine concert singer would do, and he makes his listeners understand, too. One of the most intriguing concept albums in recent memory, and a joy all the way through. Bob Finley, Palm Springs, CA.

Also a very dissapointed fan.......2003-08-22

I too LOVE Mandy and Stephen Sondheim and own just about everything both has ever made! I also have been to 6 of Mandy's live performances. This was truly a big dissapointment to me. Every concert I have seen Mandy in has been filled with emotion and his personality just grabs hold of you for an evening of wonderful escape-ism. This to me was very un-entertaining and I actually became irritated after awhile of listening to it. It seemed to drone on with out the wonderful feelings and emotions and soaring voice that Mandy typically puts into his music. I gave this as a gift too (since my friend and I had missed Mandy at his Sondheim review in DC last year) and felt badly that I had. There are so many other great recordings of Mandy...Kidults, Saturday in the Park with George, The Secret Garden, Mandy sings Rogers & Hammerstien and Sondheim. This one has just sat on my shelf after I played it through twice hoping to warm up to it...while my other recordings are very worn out with years of playing!

Adequate performance; poor entertainment.......2003-05-04

I received this disc the same day a "Philip Quast Live at the Donmar". The Quast disc has its own flaws (and I dont wish to compare the two performers) but it has been strung together in a more thoughtful manner, with witty imagination and using a more dangerous in the choice of songs, which is really where this disc fails. The songs here are generally enjoyable though rather standard, and the lack of cohesion (running the songs together doesnt count) means I just dip into the discs listening to a few favourites, rather than enjoying the whole show.

a very disappointed fan.......2003-02-05

I have every recording Patinkin appears on, even if he's only on one track; I adore his voice, his flair, his emotion, his ability to deliver a song.

But (much of) this recording is disappointing, mainly because Mr. Patinkin's voice in the lower range sounds muddled and forced, as though he's lost ability to control it (however, the more falsetto sounds are as clear and sharp as ever).

And I don't care for the format of this performance. Live recordings should have live audience reactions: one (often unrelated) song after another without applause had me wondering when--if ever--was the audience was going to be allowed to react.

Also, while I've never had the privilege of attending a Patinkin concert, I imagined that--above all-- he would be passionate. Perhaps he was. But what (mostly) comes across on the CD is a somber--almost technical--performance.

Tracks:

In His Eyes
Someone Like You
Beautiful World
Unusual Way
Losing My Mind
Once Upon a Dream
Only Love
Send In The Clowns
Just In Time
Dream With Me
I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls
I Still Believe

Customer Reviews:

Bleah!.......2007-07-02

I like Sumi Jo. The music is drek. Sondheim! Before I knew how Clowns fit into the plot I thought it was mildly enigmatic and heartbreaking (sniff). Now that I do know, I think it's a maudlin, bad attempt to conform to the plot of the show. Mind is just stupid, and the tune is pallid. ("Or were you just being kind..."?????) So much for Sondheim. He'll be forgotten soon enough. He's hardly a household word now. The rest of the songs have that peculiar, unpleasant modern sound that so many new Bway songs have. Kind of weird. It's "in". Monkey see, monkey do. I'm glad I bought it used and only wasted $5 + shipping on it. If you like this kind of tuneless, affected music, go for it. She's wonderful. She doesn't sound like an opera singer at all. Though she is a wonderful one. The arrangement of the Styne is slow and soothing, not that jouncy bouncy upbeat thing, the way it was written. I don't like either version, but if I were forced to be subjected to one, I'd take the slow one. I'm very disappointed. I should have expected as much from 2 Sondheims and that Styne. I wish she'd sung a better selection of songs.

Sumi sings Broadway.......2006-12-26

Coloratura soprano Sumi Jo's album "Only Love" again demonstrates why she is undoubtedly one of the greatest voices of recent times. On this album, Sumi Jo concentrates her talents on songs from the musical theatre world. Many opera singers do have trouble adapting and manipulating their precision-trained voices into another style, but Sumi Jo sings in a fresh, appealing way that makes these songs come alive, almost like they were written yesterday.

The crown jewels of the album are "Unusual Way" (from Maury Yeston's NINE), and the title track, "Only Love" (one of the more distinguishable ballads from Frank Wildhorn's otherwise-dreadful SCARLET PIMPERNEL score). Sumi effortlessly transforms herself into a Broadway diva on this album; instantly she's at home with the material. I heartily recommend this surprising about-face from opera singer Sumi Jo.

[Erato/Warner Music 8573802412]

Much Better than I Expected.......2006-08-03

Let me start off by saying that I adore opera and I adore musical theater. That said, I can think of very few opera singers who I like singing showtunes. Actually Dawn Upshaw is the one who readily comes to mind... Somehow the greatest opera singers, people like Renee Fleming and Kiri Te Kinawa have trouble "toning it down" enough to successfully sing a musical repetoire. Sumi Jo is an exception. Her voice is light enough to sing these pieces with a nice tone and a sense of ease. We know her extraordinary operatic ability from her previous work, but she wisely doesn't feel the need to prove it to us on these songs.

Given my high opinions of Sumi Jo, you might be wondering why I didn't give this album 5 stars. That's because I think she could have chosen better songs. I commend her for going with contemporary composers as opposed to the usual repetoir of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Jules Styne, with a bit of Bernstein and Sondheim thrown in for flavor. However comtemporary musical theater has exciting new voices from the likes of Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, and Michael LaCuisa. Or, she could have gone with some Boubil and Schoenberg with some of Andrew Llyod Webber's better tunes thrown in. Instead, she went for a lot of Wildhorn. Thankfully she chose to embrace The Scarlet Pimpernel and Jekyll and Hyde- two of Wildhorn's best shows as opposed to total schlock. But songs like "In His Eyes" (a duet with herself) and "Only Love" aren't intersting. Her only nod to Boubil is "I Still Believe" from Miss Saigon (another duet). Duets usuallywork with two contrasting voices and viewpoints (especially duets like these- sung by two characters in love with the same man). Singing with yourself doesn't really create any tension o0r real interest. Sumi Jo is best on tracks like "Send In the Clowns" (A Little Might Music), "Losing My Mind" ("Follies") and other songs intended as solos.

I definately reccoment this disc to an opera fan interested in another side of Sumi Jo, or a musical theater fan in search of a good voice (or both). My only reservation is a few of the song choices.

Beautiful!.......2004-01-19

Proof that musicals can be sung without the "Belt-technique". Pure, beautiful and amazing! This is what I call crossover!

Unexpected voice.......2003-06-09

Anyone who knows Sumi Jo will be surprised at this album because she is not like an opera singer in this album. It is common that opera singers¡¯ cross-over albums sounds ridiculous because they do not give themselves up being the opera singer; they usually stick to their operatic way to sing. However, when one who has never heard Sumi Jo¡¯s other recordings listens to this cross-over album, he will not know that Sumi is an opera singer. It means that her interpretations are almost perfect. She knows how to sing cross-over songs and that the way to sing them is different from that of opera arias; but unfortunately some opera singers do not seem to know it. Maybe cross-over music is something that most opera singers want to try, but I have not seen one succeeded contentedly. Sumi¡¯s voice and her interpretations are almost perfect. All tracks are great, but particularly I recommend ¡°Unusual Way¡± and ¡°I still believe.¡± I remember Sumi Jo saying in an interview after finishing recording this album, that she finally made it. I agree with her that she eventually did a great job. I really pay a compliment on her impressive work. Very strongly recommend!

Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh

Average customer rating:

Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh
Martin Koch
Manufacturer: Polygram
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Irish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

Soul | Live Albums | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000023ZUQ
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

We Said We Wouldn't Look Back [Salad Days] - Martin Koch
Cats Overture [From Cats] - Martin Koch
Food Glorious Food [From Oliver!] - Workhouse Children
Wouldn't It Be Loverly [From My Fair Lady] - Gillian Lynne, Liz Robertson, Company
Quit Professor Higgins [From My Fair Lady] - Company
Rain in Spain [From My Fair Lady] - Jonathan Pryce, Liz Robertson,
Get Me to the Church on Time [From My Fair Lady] - Peter Bayliss, , Company
I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face [From My Fair Lady] - Jonathan Pryce, Liz Robertson
Introduction (Show Medeley) - Julie Andrews
One Two Three [The Fix] - John Barrowman
Little Shop of Horrors - Wendy Mae Brown, Dawn Hope, Femi Taylor
Somewhere That's Green [Little Shop of Horrors] - Ellen Greene
Suddenly Seymour [Little Shop of Horrors] - Ellen Greene, Teddy Kempner
Day by Day [Godspell] - Company
I Get a Kick Out of You [From Anything Goes] - Laurie Holloway, Marian Montgomery,
Variations [Song and Dance] - Julian Lloyd Webber, , Company
Unexpected Song [Song and Dance] - Bernadette Peters
Nicer in Nice [The Boyfriend] - Jasna Ivir, Company
I Love a Lassie [Lauder] - Scottish Power Pipe Band
Five Guys Named Moe/Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby? [Five Guys ...] - Trent Armand Kendall, , , ,
Pick a Pocket or Two - Russ Abbot, , ,
As Long as He Needs Me [From Oliver!] - Sonia Swaby
Introduction - Julie Andrews
I'm Martin Guerre - David Campbell
How Many Tears? [Martin Guerre] - Maria Friedman
Heat Is on in Saigon [From Miss Saigon] - David Campbell, , Lea Salonga, Company
Wedding [From Miss Saigon]
Last Night of the World [From Miss Saigon] - David Campbell, Lea Salonga
This Is the Hour [From Miss Saigon] - Company
American Dream [From Miss Saigon] - Jonathan Pryce, Company

Tracks:

Phantom of the Opera [From The Phantom of the Opera] - Lisa Vroman, Colm Wilkinson
Music of the Night [From Phantom of the Opera] - Colm Wilkinson
Broadway Baby [Follies] - Maria Friedman, Julia McKenzie
Oh, What a Beautiful Morning [From Oklahoma!] - Hugh Jackman
Carousel Waltz/Ballet [From Carousel] - Dana Stackpole, Company
Porch Scene [From Carousel] - Hal Fowler, Barbara King, Joanna Riding, Dana Stackpole
You'll Never Walk Alone [From Carousel] - Joanna Riding, Company
Introduction - Ned Sherrin
Side by Side [Company] - David Kernan, Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie, Ned Sherrin, Stephen Sondheim
You Could Drive a Person Crazy [Company] - Maria Friedman, Ruthie Henshall, Millicent Martin, Lea Salonga
Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music) - Judi Dench
Losing My Mind [Follies] - Michael Ball
Being Alive [Company] - Bernadette Peters
You've Gotta Have a Gimmick [From Gypsy] - Michael Ball, Judi Dench, Maria Friedman, Ruthie Henshall, David Kernan, , Dean Martin, Julia McKenzie, Bernadette Peters
Introduction - Stephen Sondheim
Duelling Pianos - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim,
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park [Tom Foolery] - Tom Lehrer
Jellicle Songs [From Cats] - Brian Blessed, , Paul Nicholas, Company
Memory [From Cats] - Elaine Paige
At the End of the Day [From Les Miserables] - Company
Stars [From Les Miserables] - Philip Quast
Do You Hear the People Sing? [From Les Miserables] - Hal Fowler, Company
On My Own [From Les Miserables] - Lea Salonga
Bring Him Home [From Les Miserables] - Colm Wilkinson
One Day More [From Les Miserables] - Michael Ball, Hal Fowler, Ruthie Henshall, Tammi Jacobs, Teddy Kempner, Philip Quast, Lea Salonga, Colm Wilkinson, Za
We Said We Wouldn't Look Back [From Les Miserables] - Cameron Mackintosh