"I'm not a legitimate theatrical composer like Steve Sondheim, that sort of thing," insisted Elizabeth Swados to New York in 1980. "I'm not such a good musician, but I do have an excellent ear. People say I don't write melodic music. I was talking to a Broadway producer who told me I could learn to write melodies. But my orientation is different; I'm writing music that can't be dissociated from a theatrical piece, from the event itself." In fairness, one should note that the same affront - "he
The Year in Review: The 2019 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2020 and welcome to The Second Disc's 10th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! It's time once again to recognize this year's cream of the crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding products for music lovers worldwide. There was no shortage of great reissue titles in 2019; in fact, by our count, we covered over 700 releases in all! And after much deliberation, we're excited to unveil our favorites. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Top 10,
Earwig Music Unearths Trove of Chicago Blues and Soul on “Cadillac Baby’s Bea & Baby Records: The Definitive Collection”
Chicago in the '50s was overflowing with skilled bluesmen, vocal groups, gospel singers, not to mention the mom-and-pop labels eager to make a hit off the artists. There are the now-famous labels - Chess, Delmark, and Vee-Jay among them. But the Windy City was so teeming with talent (and entrepreneurial hucksters trying to launch their own careers) that small, independent labels were plentiful. Earwig Music Company celebrates one such label in its ambitious new box set, Cadillac Baby's Bea
Review: Expanded Reissues of Renaissance’s “Live at Carnegie Hall” and “Novella”
Esoteric Recordings, the progressive rock arm of Cherry Red, has built a reputation for excellent reissues of prog classics, some once-overlooked and others legendary favorites. Among those landmark recordings that have received the Esoteric treatment is Renaissance's Live at Carnegie Hall. The 1976 release became one of the defining live albums of the decade and has recently been newly remastered and expanded to a 3-CD set as part of the label's ongoing Renaissance reissue series. Live at
Holiday Gift Guide Review: “In The Heights” and “Be More Chill” Original Cast Albums [Vinyl Editions]
For the Broadway fan on your holiday list this year we thought we would take a look at a couple of vinyl cast albums recently released by Ghostlight Records: In The Heights and Be More Chill. Seven years before he rose to superstardom with Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda premiered his first musical on Broadway with In The Heights in 2008. Miranda, who also starred, wrote the music and lyrics with the book written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The production was directed by Thomas Kail and
Say Hello to Yesterday: Mark Wynter Anthology Traces Career From Pop Hits to Rare Showtunes
Mark Wynter scored his first hit pop single at the age of seventeen in 1960 with "Image of a Girl" on the Decca label, paving the way for future U.K. smashes like "Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl." By the end of the decade, he had taken his first steps towards an enduring theatrical career with a lead role in the musical Phil the Fluter. Flash-forward to 2016, and after decades onstage in such diverse musicals as Robert and Elizabeth, Cats, On the Twentieth Century, and Phantom
Coming Up Roses: Analog Spark Reissues Classic Musicals From Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, More
Analog Spark kicked off 2016 with a trio of cast recordings - Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story - on deluxe 180-gram vinyl LPs, and now, the label is welcoming this spring with another three landmark titles from the Sony vaults: Columbia Records' original Broadway cast recordings of South Pacific (1949), Gypsy (1959), and Company (1970) - each one representing a classic period of American musical theatre. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's South Pacific, the
With A “Z”: Cherry Red Reissues Two Columbia Albums From Liza Minnelli, Plans “Results” Box
When Columbia Records released Liza Minnelli's The Singer in March 1973, the album's understated title wasn't nearly enough to encapsulate her many facets. The singer-dancer-actress had, in fact, already received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress - the second one of which, for Cabaret, would result in a win that very same month. Just two months later, in May, her television variety special Liza with a Z would win multiple Emmy Awards. The Singer inaugurated the third major-label
Circus Of Voices: JAY Records Remasters “Charlotte Sweet,” Premieres “Tales of Tinseltown”
Charlotte Sweet is one of that increasingly rare breed: an original musical. And this "madcap musical," as it was billed, sure is original. Lyricist/librettist Michael Colby and composer Gerald Jay Markoe delivered the unexpected with their delightfully unusual show which premiered at New York's intimate Westside Arts Theatre on August 12, 1982 and ran for over 100 performances. JAY Records has recently brought the complete Original Cast Recording to 2 CDs for the first time; a previous CD
Analog Spark Breathes New Life Into Three Classic Broadway Cast Recordings
Curtain up! Analog Spark, the audiophile imprint of Razor and Tie, has brought back the luster of yesteryear with a trio of reissues from the days when people dressed up to go to the theatre. The label has given the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of My Fair Lady, West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof the deluxe treatment on 180-gram vinyl, and indeed, one would be hard-pressed to think of three titles more worthy of the presentation. Fair Lady, Fiddler and West Side all reveal
Hey, Look Me Over! Harbinger Celebrates The Music of Cy Coleman On New Collection
When Bob Dylan released his first collection of standards earlier this year, the venerable singer-songwriter took umbrage at the notion that he was "covering" classic songs. "I don't see myself as covering these songs in any way," he reflected. "They've been covered enough. Buried, as a matter a fact. What me and my band are basically doing is uncovering them." Among the songs uncovered by Dylan was Cy Coleman and Joseph McCarthy's "Why Try to Change Me Now," first recorded by Frank Sinatra
Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? Two Julie Andrews Classics Return to CD
By anyone's estimation, Julie Andrews was one of Columbia Records' leading lights by 1962. Her Tony-nominated performances onstage in My Fair Lady and Camelot had both led to chart-topping, record-breaking original cast recordings on the Columbia label; in fact, it was under the leadership of president Goddard Lieberson that the record label underwrote the original Broadway production cost of My Fair Lady - an investment that, needless to say, paid off many times over! So it was unsurprising
Review: “Follies: Original 1971 Broadway Cast Recording” (Remixed and Remastered Edition)
Though the former showgirls and stage-door Johnnies of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s Follies reunited in the 1971 musical for “one last look at where it all began,” it’s been rather difficult for those under the musical’s spell to take one last look (or listen, as it were) at the original production of Follies. Those who saw it routinely recall it as the grandest of all musicals; those who didn’t have had to make do with still photographs, grainy YouTube footage, talk show appearances,
Review: Hugh Martin, “Hidden Treasures: Songs for Stage and Screen 1941-2010”
Did a cork pop? Did the world stop? Am I just in love…with the music and lyrics of Hugh Martin? Even if you don’t know the name of the late Mr. Martin, you certainly know his songs: “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “The Trolley Song,” and a little song heard every season, year after year, by the name of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” But these songs from the MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis are just the tip of the iceberg of Hugh Martin’s catalogue, a few highlights of a career that lasted
Review: “Godspell: 40th Anniversary Celebration”
When Hair ushered in the Age of Aquarius on April 29, 1968, it heralded the arrival of the rock revolution on Broadway. The New York Times' influential critic Clive Barnes didn't mince his words, declaring that the musical was a "long-term joust against Broadway's world of Sigmund Romberg [the composer of such operettas as The Student Prince]" and more importantly, "the first Broadway musical in some time to have the authentic voice of today rather than the day before yesterday." And while the
Review: Original Cast, “Half-Past Wednesday”
Anyone have a little love for Rumpelstiltskin? The Brothers Grimm popularized the story of the mischievous imp in the early part of the 19th century, but he has never received the same kind of commercial fame as many of the Grimms’ other creations. No wonder, then, that Rumpelstiltskin was so ornery when he appeared as the villain of Shrek Forever After. And how many indignities did he survive as the titular character of a 1996 grade B horror film! Rumpelstiltskin has had a few moments in
Review: Two By Richard Rodgers, “On Your Toes” (1952) and “Carousel” (1955)
June is busting out all over, and so is the music of Richard Rodgers. Then again, the work of the composer (1902-1979) is always busting out all over. Even in 2010, Rodgers had the third most-covered song of the year, according to ASCAP. The song was "My Funny Valentine," with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and it was written in 1937, proving that Richard Rodgers' music is, indeed, timeless. Masterworks Broadway, drawing from Sony Music Entertainment's Columbia and RCA Victor vaults, has been a leading
Review: “Promises, Promises: Original MGM Broadway Cast Recording”
The Fourth of July isn’t usually a holiday known for gifts. But your humble reviewer felt as if he got a gift, and what a gift!, on July 3 when Kritzerland’s limited edition deluxe 2-CD reissue of the original cast album of Promises, Promises (KR 20015-9) arrived in the mail. As a result, much of the weekend was spent listening to an album I’ve known for years, but hearing it as if for the first time. For background on this release, see The Second Disc’s post of June 14 and join us after