Readers
Digest Presents: The Great Musicals:
Laughter
& Tears
Louise Gold starred on Disc 2, Track 2, as Reno
Sweeney from Anything Goes, The
Readers Digest 2005
Catalogue number: CD
RDCD4991-2
Cast
The Alan Copeland Chorus
George Lee Andrews as H. C. Curry (from 110 In The Shade)
Shirley Banks
David Bardsley
Judy Blazer as Suzy (from Pipe Dream)
Sally Burgess as Helen Chao (from Flower Drum Song)
Clare Burt as Rizzo (from Grease)
Martin Callaghan
Mary Carewe as Shirley Sheridan (from The Cat And The Fiddle)
Marcus Allen Cooper
Ben Cramer
Gemma Craven as Sonia (from They’re Playing Our Song)
Kim Criswell – as Mrs Sally Adams (from Call
Me Madam), and, Aldonza (from Man Of La Mancha)
Lorna Dallas
Jacqueline Dankworth as Charity Hope Valentine (from Sweet
Charity)
Barbara Dickson as Mrs Johnson (from Blood Brothers)
Gregg Edelman as Billy Crocker (from Anything Goes)
The Foursome as The Boys Chorus (from The Most Happy Fella)
Christina Fry
Louise Gold as Reno Sweeney (from Anything Goes)
The Gordon Lorenz Singers
James Graeme as Valjean (from Les Miserables)
Stanley Grover
Alexander Hanson
Fiona Hendley as Annie Oakley (from Annie Get Your Gun), and
others
Ria Jones
David Kernan
Daryll Knock
Doug LaBrecque as Marius (from Les Miserables)
Diane Langton as Mrs Blitztein (from Blitz!)
Emily Losser as Rosabella (from The Most Happy Fella)
Ian Lynn as Herbie (from Gypsy)
Valerie Masterson
The Michael Westlake Singers
Anthony Newley as Fagin (from Oliver!)
Sheila Parker as Louise Hovick/Gypsy Rose Lee (from Gypsy)
Sheryl Parker as Mama Rose (from Gypsy)
Catherine Porter as Sunny Peters (from Sunny)
Ron Raines as Gabey (from On The Town)
Roger Rees as Alfie (from A Man Of No Importance)
Liz Robertson
Randy Rogel – as Cosmo (from Singin’ In The Rain)
Summer Rognlie
David Sandler
Martin Smith
Issy Van Randwyck as Sheila (from Hair)
Elizabeth Welsch as Shirley (from The Cat And The Fiddle),
and, Adeline (from Sweet Adeline), and others
Karen Ziemba as Lizzie Curry (from 110 In The Shade)
Production Team
Produced
by – The Readers Digest, 2005
Conductors - Richard
Balcombe, Craig Barna, Bruce Baxter, Bob Berman, Stephen Brooker,
Alan Copeland, Matthew Freeman, Douglas
Gamley, Grant Hossack, Gordon Langford, John Owen Edwards, Michael
Reed, Roland Shaw, Wally Stott, Chris Walker, Martin Yates
Orchestras
– The
Alan Copeland Orchestra, The Douglas
Gamley Orchestra, The National
Symphony Orchestra, The New Sadler’s
Wells Orchestra, The Wally Stott
Orchestra
Compilation
Created By - Andrew Humphries
Assistant
Editor – Daniel Sankey
Technical
Manager – Jon Archer
Print And
Production By – Claudette Bramble,
and, Richard Pankhurst
Booklet
Notes By – Stephen Barnard – The Write Line
Copy Edited
By – Richard Lutterloch
Designed By
– Andrew Briffett
Studio
Designer – Pauline Austin
Picture
Credits – Arena Pictures
Track Listing
Programme 1
1. Make ‘Em Laugh (from Singin’ In The Rain) – Randy Rogel, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Craig Barna
2. Something To Dance About (from Call
Me Madam) – Kim Criswell,
with The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Richard Balcombe
3. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from Roberta) – Lorna Dallas, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
4. Who? (from Sunny) – Alexander Hanson, and, Catherine
Porter, with The National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
5. Try To Forget (from The Cat And The Fiddle) –
Elisabeth Welsch, with orchestra
conducted by Gordon Langford
6. What Does He Want Of Me? (from Man Of La Mancha) – Kim Criswell, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
7. Where Am I Going? (from Sweet Charity) – Jacqueline Dankworth, with The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Martin Yates
8. Bring Him Home (from Les Miserables) – James Graeme, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
9. Love Who You Love (from A Man Of No Importance) –
Roger Rees, with orchestra conducted
by Rob Berman
10. The Touch Of Your Hand (from Roberta)- Daryll Knock, and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
11. Empty Chairs At Empty Tables (from Les
Miserables) – Doug LeBrecque,
with The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Martin Yates
12. Lonely Town (from On The Town) – Ron Raines, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
13. Everybody’s Got A Home But Me (from Pipe
Dream) – Judy Blazer, with The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Craig Barna
14. Who’s This Geezer Hitler? (from Blitz!)
– Diane Langton, and Chorus, with The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Martin Yates
15. Old Maid (from 110 In The Shade) – Karen Ziemba, and, George Lee Andrews, with The NSO Ensemble conducted by John Owen Edwards
16. Love Look Away (from Flower Drum Song) – Sally Burgess, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Craig Barna
17. Somebody Somewhere (from The Most Happy Fella) – Emily Losser, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
18. I’d Rather Dance Alone (from Personals) – David Bardsley, Martin Callaghan, Marcus
Allen Cooper, Christina Fry, Ria Jones, and, Summer Rognlie, with orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman
19. There Are Worse Things I Could Do (from Grease)
– Clare Burt, with The NSO Ensemble conducted by Martin Yates
20. Easy To Be Hard (from Hair) – Issy Van Randwyck, with The NSO Ensemble conducted by Stephen Brooker
21. I Still Believe In Love (from They’re Playing Our Song)
– Gemma Craven, with orchestra
conducted by Grant Hossack
22. Old Friend (from I’m Getting My Act Together And
Taking It On The Road) – Liz
Robertson, with Orchestra conducted by Chris
Walker
Programme 2
1. Pick A Pocket Or Two (from Oliver!) – Anthony Newley
2. You’re The Top (from Anything Goes) – Gregg Edelman, and, Louise Gold, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
3. Together Wherever We Go (from Gypsy) – Sheryl Parker, Sheila Parker, and, Ian Lynn,
with orchestra conducted by Bruce Baxter
4. Standing On The Corner (from The Most Happy Fella) – The Foursome, with orchestra conducted
by Roland Shaw
5. She Didn’t Say ‘Yes’ (from The Cat And The Fiddle) –
Mary Carewe, with Douglas Gamley and his orchestra
6. September In The Rain (from Melody For Two) – The Alan Copeland Chorus and Orchestra
7. I’ll See You Again (from Bitter Sweet) – Valerie Masterson, and, Martin Smith, with The New Sadler’s Wells Orchestra conducted by Michael Reed
8. I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan (from The
Band Wagon) – Stanley Grover,
with Wally Stott and his Orchestra
9. Let’s Begin (from Roberta) – Lorna Dallas. with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
10. Why Was I Born? (from Sweet Adeline) – Elisabeth Welsch and orchestra
conducted by Gordon Langford
11. Don’t Ever Leave Me (from Sweet Adeline) – Elisabeth Welsch and orchestra
conducted by Gordon Langford
12. Leaning On A Lamppost (from Me And My Girl) – David Kernan
13. Can I Forget You? (from High, Wide And Handsome)
– Elisabeth Welsch and orchestra
conducted by Gordon Langford
14. Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly (from Annie
Get Your Gun) – Fiona Hendley
15. The Last Man In My Life (from Song And Dance) – Shirley Banks
16. Take That Look Off Your Face (from Song
And Dance) – Fiona Hendley
17. Tell Me It’s Not True (from Blood Brothers) – Barbara Dickson and Company
18. A Boy From Nowhere (from Matador) – Ben Cramer
19. The Last Supper (from Jesus Christ Superstar)
– The Michael Westlake Singers
20. Manchester, England (from Hair) – The Gordon Lorenz Singers
21. One More Angel In Heaven (from Joseph
And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) – David Sandler, with The
Michael Westlake Singers
The song There Are Worse Things I Could Do is
actually credited on the album sleeve notes as There Are Worse Things I Can Do.
The track You’re The Top on this album is from
the JAY/TER recording of Anything Goes (recording) – Website Recommended Album on which...
this also features The National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by John Owen
Edwards.
Sally Burgess, Gregg Edelman, Louise Gold, Darryl Knock,
Diane Langton, Liz Robertson, Issy Van
Randwyck, and, Elizabeth Welch’s
recording credits include Cole Porter –
Night And Day. This also involved The
National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros John Owen Edwards, Chris
Walker, and, Martin Yates. This
was also produced by The Readers Digest.
This includes the same recording of You’re The Top.
Clare Burt, Marcus Allen Cooper, Jacqueline Dankworth, Gregg Edelman, and, Louise Gold’s recording credits include
Cabaret. This also features The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards.
Clare Burt, Kim Criswell, James Graeme, Valerie
Masterson, and, Issy Van Randwyck’s
recording credits include Encore
The Very Best From The Musicals. This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros Craig Barna, John Owen
Edwards, and, Martin Yates. This
includes the same recording of There Are
Worse Things I Could Do.
Clare Burt, Kim Criswell, Gregg Edelman, James Graeme,
Doug Labrecque, Emily Losser, Catherine
Porter, and, Randy Rogel’s
recording credits include Simply Musicals.
This also involved The National Symphony
Orchestra; with maestros Craig Barna,
John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
Clare Burt, Mary Carewe, Gemma Craven, Kim Criswell,
Lorna Dallas, Barbara Dickson, The Gordon
Lorenz Singers, Stanley Grover, Fiona Hendley, Darryl Knock, Ian Lynn, The Michael Westlake Singers, and, Sheila Parker’s recording credits
include The Greatest
Musicals Of The 20th Century. This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra, and, The Wally Stott Orchestra; with
maestros Bruce Baxter, Matthew Freeman, Douglas Gamley, Gordon
Langford, John Owen Edwards, Roland Shaw, Wally Stott, and, Martin
Yates. This was also produced by The
Readers Digest.
Clare Burt appeared in A Love Letter To Dan, for which Michael Reed played the piano.
Clare Burt, Jacqueline Dankworth, and, Valerie Masterson’s recording credits
include Centre Stage Showtime! This
also involved The National Symphony
Orchestra; with the maestros John
Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
Mary Carewe, James Graeme, David Kernan, Diane Langton,
and, Liz Robertson appeared in Chicago & Company.
Mary Carewe, Lorna Dallas, James Graeme, David Kernan,
and, Martin Smith appeared in Broadway To Brighton.
Mary Carewe, David Kernan, Liz Robertson, Martin Smith,
and, Elizabeth Welch appeared in A Time To Start Living, which James Graeme may have appeared in.
Mary Carewe, Ben Cramer, Lorna Dallas, Stanley Grover,
Alexander Hanson, Doug LaBrecque, Emily Losser, Catherine
Porter, Ron Raines, and, Elizabeth Welch’s recording credits
include The Great Musicals -
Dashing Heroes, Blushing Maidens. This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros Richard Balcombe, Matthew
Freeman, Gordon Langford, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates. This was also produced by
The Readers Digest, and production
team members: Andrew Humphries, Daniel Sankey, Jon Archer, Claudette
Bramble, Stephen Barnard of The
Write Line, Richard Lutterloch,
Andrew Briffett, Pauline Austin, and, Arena Pictures were also involved.
Ben Cramer, Kim Criswell, The Gordon Lorenz Singers, James
Graeme, Diane Langton, Ian Lynn, Valerie Masterson, and, Martin
Smith’s recording credits include The Great
Musicals – Wonderful Tales. This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra, and, The New Sadler’s Wells Orchestra; with maestros Richard Balcombe, John Owen Edwards, Michael
Reed, and, Martin Yates. This
was also produced by The Readers Digest,
and production team members: Andrew
Humphries, Daniel Sankey, Jon Archer, Claudette Bramble, Stephen
Barnard of The Write Line, Andrew
Briffett, Pauline Austin, and, Arena Pictures were also involved.
Kim Criswell, Gregg Edelman, and, Valerie Masterson’s recording credits
include On The Town. This also featured The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by John Owen Edwards.
Kim Criswell appeared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Her radio
credits include Let ‘Em Eat Cake.
Kim Criswell, Valerie Masterson, Catherine Porter, and, Ron
Raines’s recording credits include The
History Of The Musical. This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros Craig Barna, John Owen
Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
Kim Criswell, Lorna Dallas, The Gordon Lorenz Singers, Stanley
Grover, Valerie Masterson, and, Martin Smith’s recording credits
include The Great Musicals – Glamour And
Majesty. This also involved The
National Symphony Orchestra, and, The
New Sadler’s Wells Orchestra; with maestros Richard Balcombe, Craig
Barna, John Owen Edwards, Michael Reed, and, Martin Yates. This was also produced by The Readers Digest, and production team members Andrew Humphries, Daniel Sankey, Jon Archer,
Claudette Bramble, Richard Pankhurst, Stephen Barnard of The Write Line, Richard Lutterloch, Andrew
Briffett, Pauline Austin, and, Arena Pictures were also involved. This
included the same recording of I’ll See You Again.
Lorna Dallas, Diane Langton, and, Liz Robertson appeared in The Royal Variety Performance
(1982).
Lorna Dallas, David Kernan, and, Martin Smith appeared in Kids At Heart,
which Elizabeth Welch may have
appeared in.
Lorna Dallas was a guest on
Let’s Do The Show Right Here.
Lorna Dallas, David Kernan, and, Liz Robertson appeared in the Side By
Side By Sondheim 25th Anniversary Gala.
Lorna Dallas, and, Liz Robertson appeared in Happily Ever After.
Jacqueline
Dankworth appeared in Merrily We Roll
Along (Stage Production), and on that production’s album Merrily We Roll Along (Recording).
Gregg Edelman, Louise Gold, Alexander Hanson, Emily
Losser, Valerie Masterson, and, Catherine Porter’s recoding credits
include Great Duets From The
Musicals. This also involved The
National Symphony Orchestra, and, The
New Sadler’s Wells Orchestra; with the maestros John Owen Edwards, Michael
Reed, and, Martin Yates. This
album includes the same recordings of You’re The Top, and, I’ll
See You Again.
David Kernan, and, Liz Robertson appeared in Will-Aid, Side
By Side By Sondheim, and, in the Side By Side
By Sondheim 30th Anniversary Gala.
David Kernan’s radio
credits include Sondheim At The Barbican;
where the orchestra was conducted by Michael
Reed.
David Kernan, and, Liz Robertson appeared in Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It, and on that
production’s album Noel/Cole:
Let’s Do It (Recording). Matthew
Freeman also worked on both the show and the album.
David Kernan, Diane Langton, and, Martin Smith appeared in Comedy Tonight.
Diane Langton appeared in Follies. Her recording credits include Defiant Dames.
Valerie
Masterson’s recording credits include The
Best Of Broadway Musicals. This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra; with maestros Craig Barna, John Owen
Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
The National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin
Yates’s recording credits include for Stop The World I Want To Get Off,
for which Anthony Newley has written
lyrics.
Liz Robertson, and, Issy Van Randwyck appeared in the Regent’s Park 70th Anniversary
Gala.
Martin Smith, as well as Louise Gold had appeared in The Metropolitan Mikado, and in a concert of
highlights from the Ratepayer’s
Iolanthe & Metropolitan Mikado. Both of which were conducted by John Owen Edwards.
Issy Van
Randwyck appeared in Love Life, By Jupiter, Kiss Me Kate,
Hot ‘n’ Spicy 2, and at Dress Circle Grand Reopening.
Richard
Balcombe has conducted The Gondoliers.
Gordon Langford played the
piano at Hubert Gregg’s Memorial
Service.
Michael Reed conducted Ziegfeld (Stage Show), and on it’s album Ziegfeld (Recording).
Chris Walker did
orchestrations for Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang.
Martin Yates has written
the score for his own musical The Soap Opera.
Diane
Langton appeared in Mary
Poppins, for which Stephan
Brooker was Musical Supervisor.
Review
by Emma Shane, 6
November 2007
This
is another of those very mixed bunch Readers Digest compilations pulled
out of the JAY/TER back catalogue. As usual it has some very interesting
interpretations or well known songs, some fine performances, and some rather
less good ones. Some of the songs are well known, some comparatively little
known. The more I listen to this particular series of compilations there more I
wonder at the advisability of the title choices. This particular album is
characteristic of the problem, do a mixture of laughter and tears actually sit
well together? Sometimes the laughter numbers are so upbeat and energetic that
following them with a tears number could have the danger that people aren’t
going to pay the latter much attention. An example of this is Lorna Dallas’s performance of Smoke
Gets In Your Eyes coming right after Kim Criswell’s showstopping Something To Dance About.
The
album gets off to a rousing start Make ‘Em Laugh, during which Randy Rogel proves himself to be a
worthy successor to Donald O’Connor, and incidentally his diction is very good.
This is followed by something even better, Kim
Criswell’s Something To Dance About. Although I think The International Rag is
even better, it’s always a joy to hear Kim sing Irving Berlin, especially Irving
Berlin numbers associated with Ethel
Merman. Lorna Dallas, while
doing a passably decent Smoke Gets In Your Eyes just can’t
quite follow on from that. To be honest if this had to be followed by Smoke
Gets In Yours Eyes, I think only Kathryn
Grayson’s rendition could have done it. Back to the laughter, Alexander Hanson and Catherine Porter also manage a reasonable
job with Who? But they don’t quite make it their own in the way that Judy Garland did in the MGM
film; and I couldn’t forget the very funny Muppet
version originally sung on television allegedly by Abby Hadfield (and later recorded by Louise Gold).
After
a number of passable background music, but nothing sensational numbers, it’s Kim Criswell who ups the standard of
performance, with her version of What Does He Want Of Me? which
proves to be just the kind of performance we want to hear (never mind whatever Mitch
Leigh things about having redheads in this role). This is followed by a
surprising performance of Where Am I Going? ion which Jacqueline Dankworth manages to turn in
a performance of Charity Hope Valentine that is all her own, quite different to
Gwen Verdon or Shirley Maclaine, vocally, however, there is a distinct uncanny
resemblance to a certain legendary jazz singer. After that display of skill, James Graeme’s Bring Him Home is
something of a come down. There is nothing actually wrong with it, but Bournbill and Schonberg seems to be
difficult to sing with much melody, and very few singers can really make it
accessible to people who aren’t too keen on Bournbill and Schonberg. Howard
Keel for example could put this song across very effectively. But James Graeme isn’t bad, and I’m sure
for those who do like Borunbill And
Schonberg it was probably fine.
Daryll Knock’s Touch Of Your Hand
doesn’t work too brilliantly, mainly because he just isn’t quite a strong
enough singer, the song needs someone like, Howard Keel, Ivor Emmanual,
Jason Howard or Hugh Jackman to do it effectively. Meanwhile Doug LaBreque’s Empty Chairs At Empty Tables is again
fine for the Borunbill and Schonberg
fans, but doesn’t really sell it to anyone else, but could anyone sell that
song to people who aren’t keen on that kind of music? Similarly Ron Raines does a reasonable job with Lonely
Town. Not all the songs on this album are well known, some are quite
forgotten. A new one to me was Everybody’s Got A Home But Me. This
lively number, given a delightful performance by Judy Blazer, is instantly recognisable as Rogers And Hammerstein,
and surely deserves to be better known. Another new one was Who’s
This Geezer Hitler? As soon as I heard it, I knew, just knew it had to
be Lionel Bart. It’s rather jolly
and upbeat, and well very entertaining, sung with a good deal of enthusiasm.
It’s only flaw is poor diction. Diane
Langton is one of those performers (Louise
Gold is another, although not quite to the same extent)) whose diction is
apt to go AWOL at inconvenient times, it’s probably due to tiredness, and can
slightly mar an otherwise fine recording. 110 In The Shade has been something
of a forgotten show. I felt that Karen
Ziemba’s performance of Old Maid was a little lacking in
passion, and possibly power, although her diction was clear. However, my
criticism of this is probably more due to having seen a truly unforgettably
sensational performance of this number at The Fortune Theatre in 1999, where
it was sung with so much vocal power and passion I don’t think any version
could quite compare to that tour de force. Sally
Burgess’s Love Look Away is satisfactory, if a little dull. While
Somebody Somewhere from Most Happy Fella is given what must
surely be a standard setting performance, by it’s composer’s daughter who seems
to be becoming, perhaps not surprisingly, very much the interpreter of Frank
Losser’s work. I’d Rather Dance Alone from Personals sounds
remarkably like it could have been written by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, even though
it wasn’t. Clare Burt comes up
trumps for sincerity with There Are Worse Things I Can Do.
Ever reliable Issy Van Randwyck
manages to make something of Easy To Be Hard. Gemma Craven contrives a passable
version of I Still Believe In Love, however, I think there are performers
who could do a better job with this style of song. One such, surprisingly is
found on the next track, namely Liz
Robertson. Hitherto, I think one tends to associate Liz Robertson with songs by Jerome
Kern, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and of course Lerner & Lowe. One doesn’t usually
associate her so much with such songwriters as say Hamlish & Bayer-Sager, or Ulvaelus
& Andersson; yet having heard what she has done with Ford & Cryer’s Old Friend perhaps people
should consider what she could do with other songs in a similar style, she’d
make a fine rock chic.
Anthony Newley’s performance of You’ve
Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two seems a little camped up, although that
could be just the effect of being used to hearing Ron Moody. It is perhaps sort of appropriate to have a Bart classic
followed immediately by the loud distinctive voice of a lady who just happens
to be the daughter’s of two of Bart’s Unity Theatre colleagues. With that
mazilk of a muppet, Louise Gold to
sing it (along with Gregg Edelman) You’re
The Top is full of laughter. There is the rather odd juxtaposition of
following it with Together Wherever We Go. This doesn’t work too well. Sheryl Parker isn’t so much of a
belter, (well not in the league of Louise
Gold and Kim Criswell), and this
number was originally written for Ethel
Merman. The version of it done here is rather removed from that, which is a
wise thing to do if you have anything less than a major vocal powerhouse
singing it. But putting it immediately after Louise Gold doing a Merman number does rather show it up. The Foursome have rather more success
with Frank Losser’s Novello-style effort the catchy Standing
On The Corner. A lovely song, although I can’t quite get the delightful
memory of Gavin Creel & co’s
late night version of it out of my mind. Mary
Carewe scores a true triumph with She Didn’t Say Yes. Carewe may not
be quite as powerful as Criswell and Gold, but nevertheless she’s a pretty
decent belter.
After
a bunch of pleasant background, but not particularly outstanding numbers, David Kernan’s Leaning On A Lamppost is
refreshingly different to anyone else’s version that classic song.
Fiona Hendly’s Doin’ What Comes Nat’urally
doesn’t seem all that natural. Of course using the tamer ‘film’ or broadcast
lyrics doesn’t help (as only Judy
Garland really managed to put that version across well). But then once
you’ve heard Kim Criswell sing that
song, it’s hard to be satisfied by anyone else’s version of it. Fiona Hendly does a better job with Take
That Look Off Your Face, so perhaps she is better suited to more
pop-like musical theatre numbers, rather than popular. Barbara Dickson does a pretty magnificent Tell Me It’s Not True,
which really opened my eyes to just how good that song actually is (I only wish
someone could get Louise Plowright
to sing this, because I think it could really suit her voice).
Another
surprising number, which I wasn’t familiar with is Manchester, England. It
is one of Galt McDermot’s more
tuneful pieces. In fact it really is rather a decent tune, for a rock musical.
Finally the album ends with more tears, a fairly convention version of One
More Angel In Heaven, hear clearly sounding like a recognisably Andrew Lloyd-Webber piece (as opposed
to the time Jason Carr managed to
arrange it so that it sounded like it was Adam
Guettel!)
There
are certainly some reasonably well known songs on this album which I felt they
could have tried to find a better performance of. Some songs I wasn’t familiar
with and am glad to have heard. By and large the usual sort of Readers
Digest mixture. Mostly pleasant background music, with a few numbers
that are something more, and two absolute highlights, namely Kim Criwell and Louise Gold at their Mermanesque best.
Critics Comments
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Links about The
Great Musicals: Laughter And Tears
