Music » Musical Music

Release Date: 1995-10-17, Audio CD, Qwest / Wea

Seussical: the Musical, which is based on Dr. Seuss's beloved characters, made the news even before its Broadway opening, as tales of disastrous out-of-town tryouts multiplied and creative turmoil abounded. But the show has its fans--Rosie O'Donnell, for one, likes it so much that she jumped in to play the Cat in the Hat for a month while Roger Bart was on vacation. And guess what? As conceived by Ragtime's Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Seussical isn't nearly as bad as its reputation would suggest. While Junior digs the familiar characters, Mom and Dad will notice that "A Day for the Cat in the Hat" could be an outtake from Cabaret--if that show had been rated G, of course--while "It's Possible" suddenly turns into an Elton John-type romp midway through. Easy on the ear and very pop, this is a kid-friendly cast album that won't insult an adult's intelligence. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

They may have rationed meat, milk, canned goods, and gasoline, but there was no limit to the musical talent during World War II. Morale-boosting sounds on the home front and "over there" were one of the Allies' most potent weapons. WWII gave birth to many of the 1940s' most popular artists and songs, as well as many of the most important independent record labels. Songs That Got Us Through WWII is the first of a two-volume series collecting the hits that kept the home fires burning and brought a little bit of America to the G.I.s overseas. Compiled and developed by singer/songwriter/music historian Billy Vera, Vol. 1 features many of the era's biggest artists, including The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, Harry James, and many more.

Way back in 1991, many of us saw the single-handed salvation and revival of the old-fashioned American-style Broadway musical comedy. True, it was in the form of a feature-length Disney cartoon, but Beauty and the Beast had it all: a wonderful, tuneful score (including a huge hit title-song), off-the-wall choreography, a great opposites-attract love story with an ultimately happy ending, comic subplots, colorful period costumes, a romantic location in small-town France, and an irresistible cast, including Angela Lansbury as the voice of a teapot. Alan Menken's songs, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, literally introduced the characters ("Belle" and "Gaston") and carried them gracefully through the old fairy tale with its new animated twists. Disney understandably decided to transpose this cinematic miracle to the Broadway stage in 1992. Beauty and the Beast at the fabled Palace Theatre has done as much as anything to revive New York's theatre district; it led to a similar animated film-to-stage transfer of The Lion King, which allowed for the magnificent restoration of the 1902 New Amsterdam Theatre, which was the cornerstone of the cleanup of 42nd Street, which in turn transformed Times Square and "Broadway" into the world's number-one tourist destination. And we're all terribly grateful. But, on stage, Beauty and the Beast was flat, and most of that lack of fizz is, alas, captured on compact disc. The good songs are all here, such as "Be Our Guest," but the performances of them are mostly perfunctory--the exception being the vocal renderings of Susan Egan as Belle, the Beauty. Further, the Disneyfication of the Broadway musical seems to extend to faceless and interchangeable (read: cheap to hire) players, a practice that extends to The Lion King. The only "names" in the original Beauty and the Beast cast were Beth Howland as the teapot and Tom Bosley, a mere shadow of his former Fiorello, as Belle's father. Even worse, unlike The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast was not reinvented for the stage. It's my theory that the kids who made up the live audience (and many of their parents) were filling in the blanks from repeated viewings of the cartoon on video. If you're willing to do the same when only listening, this CD might do. But why, when the movie soundtrack album is available? --Robert Windeler

"America's First Tribal Love-Rock Musical," went the advertising, and nobody could argue with that. Hair opened on Broadway in 1968 and immediately became a smash, although no one could quite discern what it was about. Something like, "War is bad, drugs are good, racism bites the big one, and nudity is nice." Although all these sentiments are expressed on this album which, like the show, has not dated well, the quality of the music makes it forgiveable. The songs weren't really rock, but they accomplished what all good pop songs set out to do; stick in the craw. In fact, several of its tracks later became hits for pop acts, including "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (The Fifth Dimension), "Hair" (The Cowsills), and "Good Morning Starshine" (Oliver). --Dawn Eden

Release Date: 1998-06-30, Audio CD, Arista

This unjustly forgotten masterpiece was in many ways the last great creative gasp for the late, great country songwriter-singer Roger Miller, who died in 1992. After he wrote countless country gems like "Invitation to the Blues," "King of the Road," and "Dang Me" during the 1950s and '60s, Miller's creative muse ran dry in the early 1970s. The drought continued until he made a remarkable comeback by penning the 20-song score and contributing vocals to the soundtrack of this 1985 Broadway adaptation of Mark Twain's literary classic. Big River still stands as a dazzling, heartwarming slice of musical Americana and the final crowning achievement in one of country music's most celebrated careers. --Bob Allen

An Oscar win might suggest a score that would need a miracle to be bettered--but this colorful stage adaptation of Disney's The Lion King does so with flair. Composers Mark Mancina and Lebo M worked closely together to fuse the movie's many disparate elements. Where there was a veritable army exercising creative influences for the animated tale, this brings it all under the wings of a like-minded few. This is genuinely apparent as one track flows into the next. The African rhythms--both vocal and in instrumentation--come across as authentic and original all at once. No doubt this is largely through Mancina's passion for peculiar instruments and the possibilities suggested from nightly live performances. "Grasslands Chant" is a good place to hear this. The hit favorites are here of course, but both "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" are pleasingly unrecognizable with chorus and shifting beats. Better still is the likelihood they will now be eclipsed by some of the new numbers. Mancina's own "He Lives in You" being a strong contender. With a sound mix as crisp as you'd hope to find, this is rousing stuff. --Paul Tonks

Release Date: 1990-10-25, Audio CD, RCA Victor Broadway

No Description Available.
Genre: Original Cast Recordings
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 15-SEP-1992