The Greatest Musicals of the 20th
Century
Louise Gold starred on Volume 4, Track 5 as Reno
Sweeney from Anything Goes, Readers Digest Recording
Catalogue number: (CD) Readers Digest
0350915, (Cassette) Readers Digest
0370915 issued in 2001.
Cast
Featured
Joan
Baxter (as Eva
Peron from Evita, Sally Bowles from Cabaret and other assorted
characters)
Andy
Brown
Julie
Bryant (as Nellie
Forbush from South Pacific)
Betty
Buckley (as
Grizalbella from Cats, and, Norma Desmond from Sunset
Boulevard)
Clare
Burt (as Simon
Pistache from Can Can)
Steve
Butler
Mary
Carewe (as Mary
Magdalene from Jesus Christ Superstar, Vera Simpson from Pal
Joey and other assorted characters)
Petula
Clark
Judy
Collins (as Desirie
from A Little Night Music)
Jess
Conrad
Gemma
Craven (as Nellie
Forbush from South Pacific and other assorted characters)
Kim
Criswell
Lorna
Dallas (as Marsinah
from Kismet and other assorted characters)
Julie
Dawn (as Dolly
Winslow from Leave It To Me)
Michael
Dennison (as
Colonel Pickering from My Fair Lady)
Barbara
Dickson (as
John
Dulieu (as assorted
characters)
Ivor
Emmanuel (as Curly
from
John
Farlow
Ethan
Freeman
Fiona
Fullerton (as
Guinevere from Camelot)
Louise
Gold (as
Brian
Greene (as First
Gangster from Kiss Me Kate)
Richard
Harris (as King
Arthur from Camelot)
Rex
Harrison (as
Professor Higgins from My Fair Lady, and, Gaston Lachille from Gigi)
Fiona
Hendley (as
Christine from The Phantom Of The Opera, and, Fanny Brice from Funny
Girl)
Marilyn
Hill-Smith (as
Eliza Dolittle from My Fair Lady)
Edmund
Hockridge (as
Francois Durnet from Can Can)
Tricia
Holliday
Doreen
Hume (as Anna
Leonowens from The King And I, Maria from The Sound Of
Music, and Lilli Vanessi from Kiss Me Kate)
Bryan
Johnson (as Fred
Graham from Kiss Me Kate)
Paul
Jones (as Mr
Mistoffelees from Cats, The Phantom from The Phantom Of The
Opera, and other assorted characters)
Sylvia
King (as Maria from
Darryll
Knock (as Francois
Durnet from Can Can)
Helen
Landis (as Carrie
from Carousel)
Stephanie
Lawrence (as Eva
Peron from Evita)
Adele
Leigh (as Anna
Leonowens from The King And I)
Fred
Lucas
Michael
Maguire (as The
Phantom from The Phantom Of The Opera, Freddy Eynsford-Hill from My
Fair Lady, Tony from West Side Story and other assorted
characters)
Robert
Mandell (as Curly
from
Simon
Masterson-Smith
Alec
McCowen (as
Professor Higgins from My Fair Lady)
Julia
Mckenzie (as Anna
Lia Owens from The King And I)
Anna
Moffo (as Julie
Laverne from Showboat, and other assorted characters)
Ron Moody (as Alfred P Dolittle from My
Fair Lady)
Stella
Moray (as Charity
Hope Valentine from Sweet Charity)
Margot
Moser (as Laurey
from
Johnny
Nichols
Les
Nichols (as Joseph
in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
Marni
Nixon (as Maria
from The Sound Of Music)
Tinuke
Olafimihan (as
Eliza Dolittle from My Fair Lady)
Oliver aka William
Oliver Swofford
Rosalind
Page (as assorted
characters)
Sheila
Parker (as Fanny
Brice from Funny Girl)
Mike
Pearn (as assorted
characters)
Robert
Peterson (as Curly
from
Nigel
Planer (as The M.C.
from Cabaret)
Tom Saffery (as Littlechap from Stop The
World I Want To Get Off)
Mike
Sammes (as Alfred P
Dolittle from My Fair Lady)
Mark
Sellers
Jim
Smilie (as The
Caliph from Kismet, Honore Lachaille from Gigi and
other assorted characters)
Rosemary
Squires (as Julie
Laverne from Showboat, Annie Oakley from Annie Get Your Gun,
Maria from The Sound Of Music, Fanny Brice from Funny Girl,
and, Nancy from Oliver)
Tommy
Steele
Topol (as Tervye from Fiddler On
The Roof)
Ian
Wallace (as Mr
Bumble from Oliver)
Carl
Wayne (as Jesus from
Jesus Christ Superstar and other assorted characters)
Dave
Willets (as Joseph
in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)
Gary
Williams
Gary
Wilmot
Matt
Zimmerman (as
Second Gangster from Kiss Me Kate)
Orchestras
and choruses
The Alan Braden
Orchestra
The
Broadway Choir
The Frank
Devol Orchestra
The Gerry
Allison Orchestra
The
Gordon Langford Orchestra
The
Gordon Lorenz Singers
The Hill
Bowen Orchestra
The James
Walker Chorus
The James
Walker Orchestra
The Ken
Thorne Orchestra
The Lee Roberts
Orchestra
The
Lehman Engel Orchestra
The
Michael Westlake Orchestra
The
Michael Westlake Singers
The Mike
Sammes Choir
The Mike
Sammes Chorus
The Mike
Sammes Girls Chorus
The Mike
Sammes Orchestra
National
Symphony Choir
National
Symphony Orchestra
NSO
Ensemble
The New
York Theatre Orchestra
The Nick
Ingman Orchestra
The
The Paul
Clayton Orchestra
The Peter
Night Chorus
The Peter
Night Orchestra
The Reg
Owen Orchestra
The
Richard Benson Orchestra
The Robert
Mandell Chorus
The
Robert Mandell Orchestra
The
Roland Shaw Orchestra
Sinfonia
Of
The Wally
Stott Orchestra
The
West End
Theatre Orchestra
Production Team
Conductors -
Gerry Allison,
Compiled by
- Henri Heymans
Annotated by
- John Comber
Producer - The
Readers Digest Ltd
Executive
Producer - Dermot Hoy
Designed by
- Deborah Hau
Track Listing
Volume 1: The Magic Of Andrew Lloyd
Webber 0350915-1
1. Superstar (from
Jesus Christ Superstar) - Carl Wayne and the Gordon Lorenz
Singers
2. I Don’t Know How To Love Him
(from Jesus Christ Superstar) - Mary Carewe, with
3. Any Dream Will Do
(from Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) - Les
Nichols
4. Close Every Door
(from Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) - Dave
Willets
5. Half A Moment (from
Jeeves) - Carl Wayne
6. Don’t Cry For Me
7. High Flying Adored
(from Evita) - Dave Willets
8. Another Suitcase In Another Hall
(from Evita) - Stephanie Lawrence
9. On This Night Of A Thousand Stars
(from Evita) - Carl Wayne
10. Oh What A Circus
(from Evita) - Jess Conrad
11. Nothing Like You’ve Ever Known
(from Song And Dance) - Johnny Nichols
12. Memory (from Cats)
- Betty Buckley
13. Mr Mistoffelees
(from Cats) - Paul Jones
14. Starlight Express
(from Starlight Express) - Mark Sellers, John Farlow,
and, Tricia Holliday
15. The Phantom Of The Opera
(from The Phantom Of The Opera) - Paul Jones and Fiona
Hendley
16. The Music Of The Night
(from The Phantom of The Opera) - Michael Maguire with the
17. Love Changes Everything
(from Aspects Of Love) - John Dulieu
18. As If We Never Said Goodbye
(from Sunset Boulevard) - Betty Buckley
19. No Matter What
(from Whistle Down The Wind) - Steve Butler with The
West End Theatre Orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman
Volume 2: Broadway Classics 035015-2
1. Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’
(from
2. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
(from
3. People Will Say We’re In Love
(from
4.
5. Ol’
6. Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man
(from Showboat) - Rosemary Squires with Ken Thorne
and his Orchestra
7. Bill (from Showboat)
- Anna Moffo with Lehman Engel and his Orchestra
8. The Girl That I Marry
(from Annie Get Your Gun) - Ivor Emmanuel with Richard
Benson and his Orchestra
9. There’s No Business Like Show Business
(from Annie Get Your Gun) - Robert Mandell, his Chorus and
Orchestra
10. They Say It’s Wonderful
(from Annie Get Your Gun) - Rosemary Squires and Stanley
Grover with Robert Mandell and his Orchestra
11. What Kind Of Fool Am I?
(from Stop The World I Want To Get Off) - Tom Saffery with
Mike Sammes, his Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Gordon Langford
12. C’est Manifique
(from Can Can) - Edmund Hockridge with the West End
Theatre Orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman
13. It’s Alright With Me
(from Can Can) - Darryll Knock with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
14. I Love Paris
(from Can Can) - Clare Burt with the NSO Ensemble
conducted by Martin Yates
15. Bewitched (from Pal
Joey) - Mary Carewe and Mike Penn with the Sinfonia of
London conducted by Charles Gerhardt
16. Tea For Two
(from No, No, Nanette) - Margot Moser and
17. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
(from Roberta) - Anna Moffo with Lehman Engel and his Orchestra
18. Hello Young Lovers
(from The King And I) - Julia McKenzie with Orchestra
19. March Of The Siamese Children
(from The King And I) - James Walker and his Orchestra
20. Getting To Know You
(from The King And I) - Adele Leigh with Richard Benson
and his Orchestra
21. We Kiss In A Shadow
(from The King And I) - Lorna Dallas and Jim Smile
with Gordon Langford and his Orchestra
22. Shall We Dance
(from The King And I) - Doreen Hume with Hill Bowen
and his Orchestra
Volume 3: Musical Movie Favourites
0350915-3
1. The Rain In
2. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?
(from My Fair Lady) - Tinuke Olafimihan with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen-Edwards
3. With A Little Bit Of Luck
(from My Fair Lady) - Ron Moody with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
4. I Could Have Danced All Night (from
My Fair Lady) - Marilyn Hill Smith with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
5. Get Me To The Church On Time
(from My Fair Lady) - Mike Sammes with Roland Shaw
and his Orchestra
6. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face
(from My Fair Lady) - Rex Harrison
7. On The Street Where You Live
(from My Fair Lady) - Michael Maguire with the
8. Thank Heaven For Little Girls
(from Gigi) - Jim Smile with Gordon Langford and his
Orchestra
9. Gigi (from Gigi)
- Rex Harrison
10. The Sound Of Music (from
The Sound Of Music) - Rosalind Page, Robert Mandell
his Chorus and Orchestra
11. My Favourite Things
(from The Sound Of Music) - Rosemary Squires with Lee
Roberts and his Orchestra
12. Do-Re-Mi (from The
Sound Of Music) - Doreen Hume with Hill Bowen and his
Orchestra
13. Climb Ev’ry Mountain
(from The Sound Of Music) - Marnie Nixon with Frank
Devol and his Orchestra
14. Edelweiss (from The
Sound Of Music) - Mary Carewe with
15. People (from Funny
Girl) - Rosemary Squires with Ken Thorne and his
Orchestra
16. You Are Woman (I Am Man)
(from Funny Girl) - Fiona Hendley and Paul Jones
with Ensemble conducted by Ian Lynn
17. Don’t Rain On My Parade
(from Funny Girl) - Sheila Parker with orchestra conducted
by Del Newman
18. Supercalifragilisticespialidocious
(from Mary Poppins) - The Broadway Choir and the New
York Theatre Orchestra
19. Maria (from West
Side Story) - Michael Maguire with the
20. Tonight (from
21.
22. I Feel Pretty
(from
23. Somewhere (from
24. Beauty And The Beast
(from Beauty And The Beast) - Gemma Craven with the West
End Theatre Orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman
Volume 4: Showtime! 0350915-4
1. Hello Dolly
(from Hello Dolly) - The Robert Mandell Chorus and
Orchestra
2. Wonderful
3. Mame (from Mame)
- Fred Lucas and the Mike Sammes Choir with Alan Braden
and his Orchestra
4. Night And Day
(from The Gay Divorce) - Robert Peterson with Wally
Stott and his Orchestra
5. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(from Anything Goes) - Louise Gold with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
6. The Lady Is A Tramp
(from Babes In Arms) -
7. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
(from Leave It To Me) - Julie Dawn with Roland Shaw
and his Orchestra
8. Prologue: The Carousel Waltz
(from Carousel) - Reg
Owen and his Orchestra
9. If I Loved You
(from Carousel) - Margot Moser and Robert Peterson
with Robert Mandell and his Orchestra
10. You’ll Never Walk Alone
(from Carousel) - Helen Landis and the Mike Sammes
Choir with Roland Shaw and his Orchestra
11.
12. Guys And Dolls
(from Guys And Dolls) - Gary Wilmot, Gary Williams,
and, Andy Brown, with orchestra conducted by Bruce Baxter
13. Wunderbar (from Kiss
Me Kate) - Bryan Johnson and Doreen Hume with Hill
Bowen and his Orchestra
14. Brush Up Your Shakespeare
(from Kiss Me Kate) - Brian Greene and Matt Zimmerman
with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
15. What I did For Love
(from A Chorus Line) - Joan Baxter and the Mike Sammes
Choir with Nick Ingman and his Orchestra
16. If My Friends Could See Me Now
(from Sweet Charity) - Stella
Moray with Roland Shaw and his Orchestra
17. Hey Big Spender
(from Sweet Charity) - Joan
Baxter and the Mike Sammes Choir with Nick Ingman and his
Orchestra
18. Aquarius (from Hair)
- Joan Baxter and the Mike Sammes Choir with Alan Braden
and his Orchestra
19. Good Morning Sunshine (from Hair) – Oliver (aka William Oliver Swofford)
Volume 5: The World Of The Musical
0350915-5
1. Willkommen (from Cabaret)
- Nigel Planer with orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman
2. Cabaret (from Cabaret)
- Joan Baxter with Nick Ingman his Chorus and Orchestra
3. The Money Song (Money Makes The World
Go Round)(from Cabaret) - The Broadway Choir with
the New York Theatre Orchestra
4. If I Were A Rich Man
(from Fiddler On The Roof) - Topol
5. Sunrise, Sunset
(from Fiddler On The Roof) - Robert Peterson with Robert
Mandell his Chorus and Orchestra
6. Some Enchanted Evening
(from South Pacific) - Ivor Emmanuel with Richard
Benson and his Orchestra
7. I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My
Hair (from South Pacific) - Julie Bryant
with Michael Westlake Orchestra and Singers
8. I’m In Love With A Wonderful Guy
(from South Pacific) - Gemma Craven with the West End Concert
Orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman
9. I Talk To The Trees
(from Paint Your Wagon) - Ethan Freeman with the National
Symphony Choir conducted by Martin Yates
10. Wandrin’ Star
(from Paint Your Wagon) - Simon Masterson-Smith with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
11. I wonder What The King Is Doing
Tonight (from Camelot) - Richard Harris
with Gerry Allison and his Orchestra
12. Camelot (from Camelot)
- Richard Harris and Fiona Fullerton with Gerry Allison
and his Orchestra
13. How To Handle A Woman
(from Camelot) - Richard Harris with Gerry Allison
and his Orchestra
14. If Ever I Would Leave
You (from Camelot) - Michael Maguire with the New York
Pops
15. Stranger In Paradise
(from Kismet) - Lorna
Dallas and Jim Smilie with Gordon Langford and his Orchestra
16. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
(from Kismet) - Lorna Dallas with Nick Ingman and
his Orchestra
17. Oliver! (from Oliver!)
- Ian Wallace with the West End Concert Orchestra and Chorus
conducted by Matthew Freeman
18. As Long As He Needs Me
(from Oliver!) - Rosemary Squires with Wally Stott
and his Orchestra
19. Send In The Clowns
(from A Little Night Music) - Judy Collins with orchestra
conducted by Jonathan Tunick
20. I Dreamed A Dream
(from Les Miserables) - Petula Clark with Paul Clayton
and his Orchestra
21. The Last Night Of The World
(from Miss Saigon) - Kim Criswell and Carl Wayne
The Cassettes follow the same track listing as the CDs
with: the first cassette containing CD1 Tracks 1 to 10 on Side 1 and Tracks 11 to
19 on Side 2, the second cassette containing CD2 Tracks 1 to 11 on Side 1 and
Tracks 12 to 22 on Side 2, the third cassette containing CD3 Tracks 1 to 12 on
Side 1 and Tracks 13 to 24 on Side 2, the fourth cassette containing CD4 Tracks
1 to 10 on Side 1 and Tracks 11 to 19 on Side 2, and the fifth cassette
containing CD5 Tracks 1 to 10 on Side 1 and Tracks 11 to 21 on Side 2.
The track I Get A Kick Out Of You on
this album is from the JAY/TER recording of Anything Goes - Website
Recommended album. An album which also includes the singing talents of Brian
Green, Simon Masterson-Smith, and, Matt Zimmerman, with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards.
Louise Gold
has also sung a parody of I Get A Kick
Out Of You, as I Get A Kick
Out Of U on Sesame Street
Louise Gold, Clare Burt, Brian
Green, Darryl Knock, Simon Masterson-Smith, and, Matt
Zimmerman, along with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John
Owen Edwards and Martin Yates can also be heard on another Readers
Digest album, Cole Porter - Night
And Day, as can the recordings of I Get A Kick Out Of You, I
Love Paris, It’s Alright With Me, and, Brush Up
Your Shakespeare on this album.
Clare Burt along with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards can also be heard
on Cabaret.
Clare Burt, Kim Criswell, Ethan
Freeman, Richard Harris, and, Tinuke Olafimihan along with
the National Symphony Orchestra, and the conducting talents of John
Owen Edwards, Martin Yates, and Gerry Allison can also be
heard on Encore The Very
Best From The Musicals, as can the versions of Wouldn’t It Be Loverly
and How To Handle A Woman on this album.
Clare Burt, Kim Criswell, Michael
Maguire, and, Tinuke Olafimihan along with the National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates can
also be heard on Simply Musicals.
Mary Carewe, and, Lorna Dallas
appeared in Broadway To Brighton.
Mary Carewe, and, Dave Willets
appeared in Chicago & Company.
Mary Carewe, Petula Clarke, Paul
Jones, and, Julia McKenzie appeared in A Time To Start Living, which
Lorna Dallas appeared in Kids At Heart, which Petula Clarke and Stephanie
Lawrence may have appeared in, and which
Kim Criswell, and, Matt Zimmerman
appeared in Let ‘Em Eat Cake.
Kim Criswell, Ethan Freeman, Simon
Masterson-Smith, Tinuke Olafimihan, and, Matt Zimmerman along
with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
can also be heard on On The Town.
Kim Criswell appeared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Louise Gold, Kim Criswell, Ethan
Freeman, Brian Green, Ron Moody, and, Tinuke Olafimihan,
along with the conducting talents of Lehman Engel, John Owen Edwards,
and, Martin Yates as well as the National Symphony Orchestra can also
be heard on The History Of The Musical,
as can an excerpt from the versions of I Get A Kick Out Of You,
and, Brush Up Your Shakespeare that are heard on this album.
Lorna Dallas, Richard Harris, Topol,
and, Matt Zimmerman may have appeared in The Royal Variety Performance
(1982).
Lorna Dallas, and, Julia McKenzie
appeared on Let’s Do The Show Right
Here, and, in the Side By Side By Sondheim 25th
Anniversary Gala.
Ethan Freeman appeared in One Touch Of Venus (2000 Production).
Louise Gold, Ethan Freeman,
and Alec McCowen along with the National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates can be heard on The Best Of Broadway Musicals, as
can the version of I Get A Kick Out Of You heard on this album.
Ethan Freeman, Ron Moody, and, Tinuke
Olafimihan along with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John
Owen Edwards and Martin Yates can be heard on Great Duets From The Musicals.
Paul Jones starred in Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Touring Production).
Alec McCowen has appeared in The Cherry Orchard.
Julia McKenzie starred on stage in Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary
Gala; on television in Julia And Company,
and appeared on the radio in Ned Sherrin’s Review
Of Revue.
Nigel Planer can also be heard on Utterly Utterly Live Comic Relief,
and appeared in Man Of La Mancha.
Jim Smile appeared on Sondheim At The Barbican.
Topol appeared in Ziegfeld
(Stage Show).
Carl Wayne did voices on Spitting Image (or at least he was a backing singer
on some of their musical numbers).
Gary Wilmot appeared in Regents Park 70th Anniversary Gala,
and, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Matt Zimmerman appeared in Anything Goes (Stage Show), along with Louise
Gold.
Matthew Freeman was Musical Director for Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It, and played on a few
tracks on Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It
(Recording).
John Owen Edwards was the conductor on the Metropolitan Mikado and a concert of
highlights from the Ratepayers
Iolanthe & Metropolitan Mikado.
Jonathan Tunick did the orchestrations for
the Leicester Haymarket’s Merrily We
Roll Along (Stage Production) which were of course used for Merrily We Roll Along (Recording).
As well as being a conductor, Martin Yates is
also a composer who wrote the score for The Soap
Opera.
The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin
Yates can be heard on Stop
The World I Want To Get Off
Lorna Dallas has appeared
in Happily Ever After.
Clare Burt has gone on to
appear in A Love Letter To Dan.
Gordon Langford has gone on to
take part in Hubert Gregg’s Memorial
Service.
Andy
Brown, Steve Butler, Kim Criswell, Ethan Freeman, The Gordon
Lorenz Singers, Richard Harris, Anna Moffo, Ron Moody, and, Tinuke
Olafimihan, along with the Lehman Engel
Orchestra, and, the National
Symphony Orchestra, and the conducting talents of Gerry Allison, Lehman Engel,
Ian Lynn, Del Newman, John Owen
Edwards, and, Martin Yates can
also be heard on The Great Musicals -
Wonderful Tales, which was also produced by The Reader’s Digest.
Kim Criswell, Lorna Dallas, Louise Gold, The Gordon
Lorenz Singers, Stanley Grover, Richard Harris, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Doreen
Hume, Alec McCowan, Carl Wayne, and, Dave Willets’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Glamour And Majesty,
which Anne Moffo may have sung on.
This also involved The Hill Bowen
Orchestra, The Lehman Engel
Orchestra, The National Symphony
Orchestra, The Nick Ingman Orchestra,
and The Robert Mandell Orchestra;
with the maestros Gerry Allison, Hill Bowen, Lehman Engel, Nick Ingman,
Robert Mandell, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin
Yates. This was also produced by The
Readers Digest, and includes the same recordings of: I Wonder What The King Is Doing
Tonight, Superstar, I Get A Kick Out Of You, and, Shall
We Dance. It also has the same version of Baubles, Bangles and Beads.
Clare Burt, Richard Harris, and, Tinuke Olafimihan’s recording credits
include Centre Stage Showtime!, which
also features The National Symphony
Orchestra; along with maestros Gerry
Allison, John Owen Edwards, and,
Martin Yates. This includes the same
recordings of Wouldn’t It Be Loverly, and, How To Handle A Woman.
Mary Carewe, Lorna Dallas, Ivor Emmanuel, Ethan Freeman,
Stanley Grover, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Edmund
Hockridge, Stephanie Lawrence, Adele Leigh, Carl Wayne, and, Dave
Willets’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Dashing Heroes,
Blushing Maidens, which Anne Moffo,
and, Margaret Moser may have sung
on; This also involved The Gordon
Langford Orchestra, The Lehman Engel
Orchestra, The National Symphony
Orchestra, The Richard Benson
Orchestra, The Robert Mandell Orchestra, and, The West End Theatre Orchestra; with maestros Gerry Allison, Richard
Benson, Lehman Engel, Matthew Freeman, Gordon Langford, Robert
Mandell, John Owen Edwards, James Walker, and, Martin Yates. This was also produced by The Readers Digest. It
also includes the same recordings of Half A Moment, and, C’est
Manifique.
Besides Anything
Goes (Recording) - Website recommended album, Louise
Gold has herself appeared either in productions or on recordings of several
of the greatest 20th Century musicals profiled on this album,
namely: Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (York Production) , Joseph And The
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Touring Production) & Joseph And The
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Norwich Production)), Stop The World I Want To Get Off,
My Fair Lady, Anything
Goes (Stage Production), Kiss Me Kate, Hair, Cabaret, and, Mary Poppins.
Besides I Get A Kick Out Of You (in Anything Goes (Stage Production) & on Anything Goes (Recording)), she has also
sung such songs as It’s Alright With Me (in LOUISE GOLD...By Appointment), Wunderbar
(in Kiss Me Kate), Brush Up Your
Shakespeare (in Noel/Cole: Let’s Do
It), Aquarius ( in Hair), Good
Morning Sunshine ( in Hair), Wilkommen
(on Cabaret), Money Makes The World Go Round
(on Cabaret), Send In The Clowns (in Side By Side By Sondheim) and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
(in Mary
Poppins – admittedly an end of show reprise version).
Louise Gold has appeared in six and a
half Cole Porter shows (and one of those she’s done twice), namely the
five shows he wrote for Ethel Merman: Anything
Goes, Red Hot & Blue, Du Barry
Was A Lady (see: Du Barry Was A
Lady (1993 Production), and, Du Barry
Was A Lady (2001 Production)), Panama Hattie,
and Something For The Boys, as well as
Kiss Me Kate, the half being Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It (since it is half by
Cole Porter and half by Noel Coward).
The Readers Digest, besides a variety of
mentions in a diverse array of musicals, was itself the inspiration for one Cole
Porter musical, Something For The Boys
Review
by Emma Shane, 7
September 2005
This
is one of those compilations that one would probably only get for one of two
reasons. Either because you found it by chance cheaply (say in a charity shop, or
a friend’s throw out) and liking this kind thing would take a chance on it, or
you make the effort of getting it on online auction because you are one of
those collectors who trying to get “everything” (say by a particular performer
or composer). This is a very mixed musicals album, and many of the best tracks
on it are probably more easily available elsewhere. The album comprises five
broadly themed CD’s, referred to as volumes.
Volume One: The Magic Of Andrew Lloyd-Webber, is to my mind the least satisfactory,
but then I am none too fond of Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s music. And this
album seems to consist largely of some rather mediocre recordings of his work.
The performances on the more readily available Simply Musicals
compilation album’s Andrew Lloyd-Webber disc were far superior to this.
That said, I did enjoy Betty Buckley’s performance on the album, I don’t
think she is quite as good as Kim Criswell with either song, but that
could be because I am more familiar with the way Ms Criswell does those two. Anyway Betty Buckley’s renditions of Memory
and As If We Never Said Goodbye are the highlight of the volume.
The latter is one of my favourite ALW songs anyway.
Volume Two: Broadway Classics, is to my mind a huge improvement on Volume
One, not least because the songs (involving work by the likes of Richard
Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II etc) are so great. Some of the
arrangements may be a little odd, most notably Surrey With The Fringe On
Top, but by and large there are some pretty good performances, from
some less well-known performers. Clare Burt is as reliable as ever with I
Love Paris, and Mary Carewe makes a pretty good job of another
classic Bewitched. However, one singer who really stands out on this
volume is the Welsh baritone Ivor Emmanuel. (Whom I had never heard of
before) He was of the same era and very much in the fine tradition of the great
American musical theatre baritones: Howard Keel, John Raitt and Gordon
Macrae. (Indeed he actually took-over from Howard Keel in the
Original London Cast of
Volume Three: Musical Movie Favourites is a
rather mixed bunch. It almost seems a shame that except for Rex Harrison’s
classic I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face, none of
the other songs are actually sung by the people who sang them on the films.
That said some of the substitutes are fairly good, such as those from the JAY/.TER
studio cast recording of My Fair Lady. Others
like Jim Smilie and Mary Carewe are entirely reliable. There are
also two surprising treats. Rex Harrison making a pretty decent job of
the title song from Gigi; and that great
underrated singing star of film musicals, Marnie Nixon singing Climb Every Mountain from The Sound Of Music.
However, some replacements on this volume are less satisfactory. While it is
nice to hear Jule Styne’s Don’t Rain On My Parade, and I
had no idea that Jule Styne could write something with such a pop-like
sound to it. (Somewhat akin to the work of such musical-comedy writers as Marvin
Hamlish & Carol Bayer-Singer or even Bjorn Ulvaeus & Benny
Anderson). Unfortunately Sheila Parker seems to lack the vocal power
to really do this song justice; and after hearing Louise Plowright sing
a parody of it in pantomime in
Volume Four: Showtime is
naturally my favourite. That said, it is not perfect. I didn’t exactly take to Good Morning Sunshine from Hair, sung by
someone billed only as Oliver, whoever that was; and I found Julie
Dawn’s My Heart Belongs To Daddy rather
unconvincing (not a patch on, for example, Liz Robertson’s version of
that song). I wasn’t too convinced by Joan Baxter either, though she
sang nicely. This volume does however contain some surprises which are well
worth discovering, such You’ll Never Walk Alone and Wunderbar. The latter is sung by Bryan Johnson and Doreen
Hume, and I was quite impressed by Doreen Hume’s voice. Although Wunderbar is one of less telling Kiss Me Kate numbers, her voice sounded good, at least on
a par with Marin Mazzie (I still think that the best I have ever heard
are Kathryn Grayson in the film, and, Louise Gold on stage). It
might be worth hearing how well Ms Hume could tackle the rest of that role in Kiss Me Kate. As for You’ll Never Walk
Alone, which is sung by Helen Landis, I found I was so moved that I
almost had tears in my eyes listening to that. I think her performance could
almost be comparable with Michael Ball (and I did have tears in my eyes
when I heard him sing that song - it’s
not often I’m moved to tears by a song). For me the icing on the cake with this
volume is two reliable Cole Porter performances both of which are from JAY/TER
studio cast recordings featuring the National Symphony Orchestra under
the reliable baton of John Owen-Edwards; these are of course I Get A Kick Out Of You sung by Louise Gold, and, Brush Up Your Shakespeare sung by Brian
Green and Matt Zimmerman. It is always such a joy to hear Louise
Gold sing Cole Porter, she has such a knack for performing his
material brilliantly; especially when it is a song written for Ethel Merman.
For Ms Gold has a wonderfully powerful voice, but she can be surprisingly
subtle even with all that power. This number does something to capture that
ability. Although I don’t think this number is the best example on record of
her singing a Merman-Porter song, it is nevertheless very good, proving as
usual that she is just so jolly good with such wonderful material as this.
Volume Five: The World Of The
Musical, is like Volume Three, a very mixed bunch. Some of
the tracks just aren’t exactly great, including a surprisingly unremarkable Miss Saigon contribution sung by Kim Criswell and
Carl Wayne, a forgettable Judy Collins rendition of Send In The Clowns, and Petula Clark tackling Les Miserables (On the whole I am not very keen on Bournbill
and Schonberg at the best of times). However, there are also some good
performances. Martin Yates conducts a couple of well performed excerpts
from Paint Your Wagon. Lorna
Dallas acquits herself satisfactorily with a couple of pieces from Kismet, Richard Harris is a passable as King
Arthur out of Camelot. However the best
performance on the volume is Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific, another fine performance from Ivor
Emmanuel (and another song associated with those great American Musical
Theatre Baritones). The volume also includes a few performances which are worth
hearing once, just to have heard them, such as Rosemary Squires’s As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver, and, Nigel
Planer’s Wilkommen from Cabaret, Mr Planer is not perhaps one of the best M.C.’s,
however, his performance is perfectly satisfactory, and rather funny.
So on the whole, perhaps not an album to go out of
ones way for (unless you like going out of your way collecting oddities). If
you chance to come across it, and its not too expensive, then maybe worth
considering. It is a very mixed bunch of performances. Some of them, I really
didn’t like, but I also came across some gems I had not hitherto known about.
One might be interested in the performances of: Mary Carewe, Tinuke
Olifimihan, Clare Burt, Lorna Dallas, Jim Smilie, Brian
Greene, Matt Zimmerman, Ethan Freeman, Nigel Planer
and Rosemary Squires; but these could well be more easily available
elsewhere. It is, perhaps worth looking out for the performances of: Betty
Buckley, Ivor Emmanuel, Doreen Hume, Louise Gold, and,
Helen Landis that are featured on this album, for those five are high
lights.
Critics Comments
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Links about The Greatest
Musicals Of The 20th Century
