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Thomas:
Loved Michael Ball in the "Aspects of Love" original recording. When it was released, I would walk the 3 miles to my job at the Los Angeles Times, listening to it on my Sony Discman, and it was such a complete recording experience. So when they were bringing a touring production of it to Southern California, I bought tickets for myself and my 4 best friends, as well as a single ticket for myself for an earlier performance. Well, when I saw it alone I just hated it -- how could something that sounded so wonderful on the recording be so dull in person? So I cringed at the thought of exposing my friends to such a dull show, and, alas, it was just as dull when we all went that second time and I was embarrassed that I had dragged them out to see it. And yet I'm NEVER bored with the recording! I have continued buying most of Michael's albums, a favorite being "Centre Stage" (and his recording of "The Boy From Nowhere," despite my love for John Barrowman's version, is the best I've ever heard).
Surprised you weren't aware of that original Broadway cast recording of Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" I think that it was my long familiarity with it (and the amazing Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill) that made Mike Nichol's film version with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton practically unwatchable for me. So what a joy it is to hear it properly!
Been drizzling here in Los Angeles since last night. Kinda reminds me of London -- the month I spent there in April and May of 1969, it rained every day but one!
And to Bob DiMucci, I remain a longtime fan of Harry Secombe and played his "If I Ruled The World" (from "Pickweick") yesterday on a compilation playlist of favorite theatre songs.
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Thomas:
Re "Aspects of Love" on stage (as opposed to the original cast recording, which so many of us love), I don't understand why it was so boring on stage, but it certainly was. But we'll always have the double CD original cast recording.
TO GLYNIS JOHNS FANS: I have been trying to help a nearly 80 year old stroke victim friend sort through a lifetime of accumulated books and records, and he was recently moved from the hospital to a care facility on the western edge of Hollywood. When I went to visit him there yesterday, he told me that actress Glynis Johns (whom we all loved in the original "A Little Night Music") is living there too. He saw her when he finally took a meal in the dining hall, and sat and chatted with her, and she spoke of growing up in South Africa. But Tom is an incorrigible and unapologetic non-stop talker -- mention a word like "sauerkraut" to him and he'll spend the next 10 minutes giving you the history of each of the 2 parts of that word and when it was first combined (I think he likes to hear himself talk) -- and Johns had apparently asked them to NOT seat him at her table the next time he tried, and, frankly, I don't blame her. It's a place where people go to die, so it doesn't look good for her. She's now 90.
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I just want to add something to what I wrote above. I had decided to not write more about Glynis Johns because I wanted to respect her privacy at this trying time of her life, but had told friends in private emails that I had seen how frail she looked. Today she and I and one of her caretakers shared an elevator and I leaned over and whispered that I was a fan. There was a sad beauty in her face, and, after a very long pause, she whispered back "Thank you." A few nights ago they showed "The Sundowners" and an old man next to her piped up that it was filmed in Australia. "I know," she said, "I'm in it!"
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Thomas:
Is that Richard Attenborough? Yes, it has been reported that he has been ailing terribly. Sometimes end-of-life medical bills, if one isn't prepared, can practically bankrupt one.
Incidentally, when they were showing "The Sundowners" a couple of nights ago, as soon as Glynis appeared on the screen, the room burst into applause. Getting old is no fun, and there's been a lot on the news lately that, in the U.S., 1 in 5 American women will get Alzheimer's, compared to 1 in 11 men. My mother, a teensie bit older than Glynis Johns, has been losing her memory for a few years and has to use a walker and has had some very nasty falls when she didn't use it. Yes, no fun.
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Just a few great quotes about aging I like to pass along this morning. There is only one cure for old age and most of us don't want to take that step unless they really have to.--------The funny but sad thing about old age is most of the people you know are gone. When you are old, no matter what condition you are in smile for a little while when you see a young kid go by.WHY, because you made it, will they?When you are old live by the adage, just live a day at a time, who knows what will happen in the future- look at GEORGE BURNS AND JOHN DENVER[while shooting OH GOD] no matter what your age is -Tomorrow is promise to no one.
And what in the world does the above have to do with original cast recordings? Looks like dan is exercising his all too familiar "look-at-me-here's-my-opinion-on-things-I-know-very-little-about." Yes, I'm a few days late to this, but happen to have a life outside of FSM and most of the time just make brief stops here.
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Thomas:
OK -- I stand corrected. I had forgotten that I had mentioned Glynnis Johns and her being in the same care facility near Hollywood with my friend Tom Bratter. So dan's comment, as much as I hate to admit it, was appropriate after all.
I rarely stop by here anymore. First, I grew weary of some of the know-it-alls as well as some who seem to make FSM the focus of their lives. It's NOT the focus of my life and, frankly, I'll go 2 or 3 days without even logging onto the internet. There was a point where I might spend several hours here, mainly when it was such a delight exchanging comments with knowledgeable soundtrack lovers. But I was buying far more new and old soundtracks than I had time to play (many are still in their shrink wrap), so I've been staying away.
Today I gathered five "Cats"-related albums at my friend's apartment -- the London and Broadway recordings, one in German (on DG) and another in Japanese, as well as one in which T.S. Eliot reads his poems that inspired Lloyd Webber's show. And 2 copies of Eliot's original book, one with his own drawings and another by a professional artist. My friend is hoping I can bundle all those things and sell them to someone. Don't hold your breath.
I've been appalled at how Glynis Johns is looking these days, although, at 90, what do I expect? On Sunday there was a little Easter gathering at a table in one of the TV rooms, and at one point she kind of exploded "I ... CAN'T ... HEAR ... YOU!!!!" Last week there was an elderly lady playing the violin, and I had requested she play the famous variation from Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," which she did nicely, and later I asked her to play "Send In The Clowns," which she also played nicely. Afterwards I went over to Glynnis and told her that that was dedicated to HER, and she said very loudly "THANK you!" This isn't a good time for her.
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Posted: |
Apr 24, 2014 - 4:06 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Here's another interesting theater-related item from Masterworks Broadway.
In 1959, the release of an album entitled “Marriage Type Love” was announced with great fanfare. This was to be the third collaboration between “the very much married-and-in-love” Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy. The album cover was prepared and all of the audio was recorded and mixed. Yet, for reasons that still remain unclear, the album was never released and the master tapes have resided in the vaults ever since. Now, after more than fifty years, fans can hear this album for the first time. “Marriage Type Love” features Marty Gold and His Orchestra backing up the singing couple with jazzy, brassy arrangements of a collection of songs that form what might be called a concept album built around the themes of love and marriage. Most of the songs come from Broadway shows or films.
1. Marriage Type Love (from "Me and Juliet")
2. A Lovely Way To Spend an Evening (from "Higher and Higher")
3. It's So Nice To Have a Man Around the House
4. Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)
5. You'll Never Know
6. Love and Marriage (from "Our Town")
7. Love is Here to Stay (from "An American in Paris")
8. My Darling, My Darling (from "Where's Charley?")
9. Love is the Reason (from "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn")
10. I Married an Angel (from "I Married an Angel")
11. I Love You (from "Mexican Hayride")
12. Two Sleepy People
For now, the CD-R is available exclusively on the Masterworks Broadway site, but should be more widely available after May 12.
http://www.myplaydirect.com/masterworks-broadway?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=masterworksbroadway.com&cid=lg:q5r
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Bob:
Already ordered it and it's been shipped. Looks like it'll be fun -- chose the CD rather than the download.
Of course many of us old timers remember Jack Cassidy from the original Broadway cast recording of "She Loves Me" from the folks who brought us "Fiddler On The Roof," and Shirley Jones needs no introduction. I'll let you know what I think of it.
Incidentally, as I've already reported here, I jumped at the chance when MASTERWORKS BROADWAY released the complete Broadway recording of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" with the great Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill, and I've played it more than once and know I'll play it again. It's a monumental recording and I played my LPs of it many times back in the early to mid 1960s. My only complaint about the new release is that they repeat a line at the end of one part and the start of another, and I think they should have realized that in the Digital Age there's no need to repeat that line -- it's jarring and annoying and, again, my only complaint about the CDs.
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Thomas:
I immediately bought the original cast "Mame" as soon as it was released on CD decades ago. I think my favorite Jerry Herman show, on records, is "Dear World." And, as you probably noticed, my copy of the newly released MASTERWORKS BROADWAY Shirley Jones/Jack Cassidy collection is on its way to me.
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