3 comments about Second City Divas-Women of Chicago Musical Theatre.

1. I enjoyed this recording even better than their LIVE AT THE MERCURY THEATRE. Great selection of material, great arrangements, and producing. I'm crazy about Susan Moniz and Kathy Santen. These women do Chicago proud!



2. This is a great recording. There is such a wonderful spirit to the LIVE event. The performances are all strong, and are captured well. Special kudos to Hollis Resnick, and the "3 Ingenues 3". The producer of this concert/album is to be commended.



3. This collection of 15 songs by some of Chicago's greatest divas is well-worth the purchase. Standouts include Hollis Resnick's "I'll Imagine you a Song" (Lutvak/Hall) and Kathy Taylor's "Losing My Mind" (Sondheim). Cabaret lovers will certainly want to add this to their collection.

1 comments about The American Songbook Series: Jule Styne.

1. Jule Styne is one of America's great composers and his melodies will continue to bring happiness whenever they are heard. He collaborated with some of the very best lyricists including Stephen Sondheim, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Frank Loesser, Bob Merrill, Sammy Cahn, Leo Robin, and 'Yip' E.Y. Harburg. This collection has many marvelous songs from some of the movies and Broadway musicals Jule wrote.

5 comments about Evita (1980 Spanish Cast).

1. I paid $49.99 for the Spanish version but it is not worth the money. For $50 bucks I was disappointed. It's not bad it's just not very good either. Stick with the Madonna Antonio Banderas version.



2. I couldn't agree more with the other reviewers - this is the ultimate Evita recording. I love Patti and Mandy but the softness and beauty of these arrangements make this the best version of this show. I would have died to have seen it!!! Hang the expense! If you love Evita, you will love this.



3. Since the first moment it was adapted from the English version, its genuine Latin sounds as a result and the powerful interpretation of all artists involved, has made this the best Evita interpretation so far. Superior by far...and a classic.



4. Hacia tiempo que llevaba buscando este disco y por fin lo encontré. Me encanta.



5. This version was the first that I heared of this opera. Later I heared some other versions and no one of them sounds like that. Paloma San Basilio gives a extreme energy to the character of Evita. The instrumental arrangements are fine too. If you don't understand the spanish, you'll enjoy the music. I recommend it.

3 comments about Some Like It Hot (1992 London Cast).

1. Someone else called this album a "mixed bag," and I would definitely agree. While the movie "Some Like It Hot" seems perfect to be converted to a musical, this treatment has some major flaws that kept it from being a total success. Second-rate lyrics, forgettable tunes, and a really annoying lead man really cripple the whole thing, but there are a few highlights that may make this worth purchase.
   
   Let's start with Tommy Steele as Joe. While the original movie seemed like a vehicle for Marilyn Monroe, this comes across as a vehicle for Mr. Steele, as Joe gets most the solos. This would be perfectly fine, and suited to the character, if it weren't for the fact that something about his smarmy personality makes you want to kick him in the teeth every time he sings. Especially when he is playing "Junior" and his speech impediment comes and goes. ("What do you give to a man who has evweything?") Please give me back the bad Cary Grant accent!
   
   However, this recording is not completely without merit. Sugar does a serviceable job at being sweet and innocent and slightly dim. Unfortunately she doesn't get many good songs. "Man From Chicago" is both badly thought-out and pointless to the plot. Her other song "I'm Naive" is much better, but still not great.
   
   For me, the saving grace is the performances from Jerry and Osgood (They changed his last name for unknown reasons, but I recovered from that shock quickly enough) who both give spot-on vocal performances. Jerry, like Sugar, takes second fiddle to Joe, but once his "Romance" with Osgood starts up he gets a couple of good songs. Despite containing some of the worst lyrics ever ("Life's an Omelette, and both the eggs are him") "Magic Nights" is one of the better songs, and "Beautiful Through and Through" is so generic that you could stick it in something like "Guys and Doll's" and not notice, so the humor in it is great. Osgood gets another really good song in "Dirty Old Men" which is catchy and funny. However, it too has some more stupid lyrics that keep it from being great. (Random reference to Hiawatha. That's all I'm saying on that.)
   
   Most the other songs aren't too bad. "Beauty That Drives a Man Mad" is a great song, though it should be noted that this version has a "Naughty Bits" reference which seems a little gratuitous. "Sun on My Face" is fun, if annoying and "Penniless Bums" has some good bits to it. The Finale is pretty solid registers no complaints.
   
   Overall, I would only recommend this if your a huge geek for obscure musicals or the movie "Some Like It Hot." I personally enjoyed most of it, and there are several songs I really like. I've ordered the original version of this musical, called "Sugar" and will post a review of it, and which I think was the better buy, at a later date.



2. This is the London production of the Jule Styne musical "Sugar".
   
   The story was taken from the 1959 Marilyn Munroe Movie, with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon - but the songs were all original Styne/Merrill numbers.
   
   "Sugar" (the character played by Munroe in the original movie) is a musician who encounters two fellow female musicians. The catch is that they are really men, who have adopted female disguises in a desperate attempt to escape gangsters who want to eliminate them because they have witnessed a gangland slaying.
   
   Much of the appeal of the original movie comes from Miss Munroe's "sexy innocence" - and the fine score by Adolph Deutsch. The musical is frankly not really Jule Styne at his best, although the score does have its moments. Tommy Steele is a bit of an acquired taste too.
   
   One for collectors who want to have their Jule Styne complete (especially if you can't find a copy of the Broadway Version - "Sugar") rather than something you'd rush out to buy, really, but enjoyable enough if you can put Marilyn Munroe and the original (and infinitely better) movie out of your mind.



3. This is one of those hidden treasures, a great soundtrack, buy it, it's great!

5 comments about Avenue Q.

1. If you think the Muppets were cute then this show will provide you with a look at the uncensored side. The music all by itself is an enjoyable romp even if you are unfamiliar with the Braodway production. A must have for all Theater fans.



2. Avenue Q is hilarious. It's definitely deserving of it's praise. I saw it when it came into town. Definitely not for the kids, but neither are R rated movies.



3. I just saw the touring company. VERY talented cast! I thought that the concept of the show was a great idea, I couldn't help but feel that the writers weren't skilled enough to bring the show to its full potential. The program struck me as an exuberant performance of a sitcom-level script. Rather than reach for the second, third or fourth word, punchline or plot twist, the writers seemed to stop with the first one that entered their minds. (Sheltered suburban writers contriving something for a sheltered suburban audience in an effort to push the proverbial envelope and merit that vague descriptor 'edgy.') The end result, I felt, was a lineup of stereotypical characters, a series of juvenile wisecracks (with some smug raunchiness tossed in for effect) and a pre-digested series of truisms used as a replacement for actual character or plot arc. The score was filled with palatable, but totally forgettable songs. The show was clever, but never went beyond the gimmicky or obvious. The talented cast in the touring company, however, were worth the price of admission. Their performances were extraordinary. Nobody but a remarkably talented and resourceful cast could pull this off.



4. First, I'll tell you all about the weaknessess.
   
   Puerile? Yep. And I don't care much for puerile. I especially hate bathroom humor. Cliched? Yes it is, in many places. Self-pitying? Yeah, my generation has kind of perfected self-pity, haven't we? So yes, I am well aware that this is not perfection. However...
   
   Oh my God, I LOVE this!!! I love this passonately. I am just the right age to have watched Sesame Street fanatically through my entire early childhood (there was no cable in the city I grew up in until I was 14...Philly got cable VERY late). The songs have a sound sort of like songs I remember Sesame Street characters singing, but bigger.
   
   This is why with everything in Avenue Q that I didn't like, I'll give it five stars and recommend it to anyone that will listen: For all of the puerile humor, the cliches, for all of the assumed irony and even cynicism, there is genuine warmth in Avenue Q. This show actually loves it's stumbing along, trying-to-figure-out-how-life-is-supposed-to-work characters. Avenue Q, at it's heart, has no real cynicisim. If you're a member of a generation that truly (for the most part) has no desire to emulate its parents (Which part shall we reject first? The divorces? The materialism? The custody issues?), you kind of have no model to build your life on. If this is you, you have to find your own way and make your own rules. Avenue Q captures what this feels like better than anything else I've ever seen.



5. I first heard this back in 2004 and just recently began listening to it again. It was hilarious back then and it's still the funniest musical I've ever listened to. I'm not a huge fan of many musicals (Rocky Horror and Little Shop of Horrors are good in my book), but this one is just too much fun. As many may have heard, it has a fair amount of swearing, sexual references (and puppet sex in the live show apparently), and like one drug reference. But, if you aren't a total prude and want a good laugh, then take a listen or, better yet, go see the show on/off Broadway (I still haven't... sad face).
   
   It seems geared towards the post-college crowd (which is apparent in the second song). Then it gets into a variety of subjects such as failure, homosexuality, racism, love, purpose, and ends on a cheery number that reminds everyone that things can always get better. There's a lot of honesty that you get with this musical. The puppets say things that people might be thinking, but wouldn't admit to themselves *broad generalization*
   
   Of course, there's all sorts of silliness that is spliced into the mix with songs like "the Internet is for Porn," "My Girlfriend, who Lives in Canada," and "There is Life Outside Your Apartment." These are just as lewd, but a bit more playful than some of the other tracks, in my opinion.
   
   It's all in fun. I don't see how it could get a negative review, but of course my bias shows some since I love it so much. Just know that it's definitely racy and is not your typical musical.
   
   The other listing for Avenue Q has the tracks so you can listen.

1 comments about Cavalcade (1931 Original London Cast Members).

1. Sir Noel DID have the brilliant foresight to have this original recorded - and here it is in it's original splendor.

   NOW all of this might seems just slightly archaic to the 'modern'; listener - BUT give this one a try - you will applaude!!

   Quite, quite brilliant compared to today's bland fare .....

No comments about 15 Christmas Favorites.

No comments about Songs by Bobby Short.

2 comments about Dinah Shore - Greatest Hits.

1. No yelling, shouting, vulgar or rap-[junk] here. This CD is great enjoyable down to earth singing and a wonderful variety of songs to show how a refined voice can sound. The songs bring you through several years. I remembered Dinah Shore's TV show many years back and this CD brought back those memories. Also songs I became familar with during World War 2. It is a real pleasure to listen to her singing and those of you who are aware of her will certainly enjoy this CD. I would recomend this to anyone who wants to settle down in a quiet reflective moode. I found this to be very relaxing. I have played this CD about 12 times sence I received it.I just keep coming back to it.



2. If for no other reason you should buy this disc, Dinah's STUNNING rendition of "Once Upon a Summertime" would be well worth the small price! Contained here are some of her "greatest hits". All were recorded in the 60s and early 70s; capping off a great recording career for Shore. The newer renditions of her early hits as "I'll Walk Alone" and "Jim" have an even greater poignancy with the newer renditions. "Once Upon a Summertime" is recorded in the seasoned, reflective vocal style Dinah possessed during this period. A rare and wonderful glimpse at a songbird in her Autumn years.

No comments about Music of a People/Spirit of a People.