[.ca] Follies--In Concert

From Amazon.com:
Since the original Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim's Follies was a truncated affair that turned out to be both a disappointment and a disservice to a brilliant show with a brilliant cast, this 1985 concert performance from New York's Avery Fisher Hall set out to record the whole score, a set of pastiches of old songs and songwriters as performed by a cast of faded stars and the visions of their younger selves. The result was a star-studded roster backed by the New York Philharmonic led by Paul Gemignani, with principals Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin, Lee Remick, and George Hearn, supported by the likes of Carol Burnett, Liliane Montevecchi, and Liz Callaway. Even these stars can't quite match the original cast, and the results are somewhat uneven--from Cook's yearning "Losing My Mind" to Patinkin's you-love-it-or-you-hate-it schizophrenia in "Buddy's Blues." Other highlights include Elaine Stritch's wry "Broadway Baby," the two young couples' interplay in "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through," and the electrifying audience reactions to "Beautiful Girls" and "Who's That Woman?" (A documentary video was released, but unfortunately, it did not contain the complete show.) As a bonus, this two-CD set includes 45 minutes of instrumental music Sondheim composed for the 1974 French film Stavisky, including two melodies that had been cut from the original production of Follies. --David Horiuchi

The most famous concert recording of a musical probably ever:
This allstar concert version of Sondheim's most loved (and probably most sophisticated, and even perhaps his best) musical just knocked people out when it was performed onstage in 1985, and many of the casting choices seem brilliant: Carol Burnett using her (by then) all-too-rarely-heard stentorian voice to sing a spectacular "I'm Still Here," Comden and Green singing a very endearing "Rain on the Roof," and Licia Albanese breaking hearts with her fragile version of "One Last Kiss" (beautifully assumed midway through by Erie Mills). The best reasons to hear this recording is the superb starring performance of Lee Remick as Phyllis (her rendition of "Could I Leave You? is memorably acerbic) and, best of all, Barbara Cook singing Sally abnout as beautifully as one could imagine. On the other hand, there are some definite downsides to this production, particularly with Mandy Patinkin and George Hearn in the lead male roles of Buddy and Ben. Though both men have memorable and distinctive voices, the two of them seem to egg one another on to greater histrionics, which may be forgiveable for Ben's character but seems ludicrous for Buddy's (this performance marks a low for Patinkin among his begging-for-applause phoneybaloney performances). So you get what you pay for.

My Favorite Follies:
This is, in my opinion, the best recording of Follies you can buy. The quality of the recording isn't the best for reasons of staging and the lack of wireless mics back then, but who cares? Take a look at the list of famous singers in this cast. A big plus of this recording is the complete overature that wasn't on original. Barbra Cook is absolutely wonderful. Her voice doesn't age! I like the fact that they raised the key of a few of Sally's songs for Barbra since Sally is supposed to be the soprano of the two female leads anyway. Babra sings every single song with feeling and vocal perfection. I feel that her rendition of Losing My Mind is the definitive version of that song. Her final, "you said you loved me," is gorgeous and really shows the pain that Sally is feeling in her dramatically perfect interpreation of the song. Lee Remick is wonderful as Phyllis. She has the icy beauty that really makes her song, Story of Lucy and Jessie really make sense. Her version of Could I Leave You? Is great! She is just really great. George Hearn is absolutely wonderful! He sings every song like a god and it's nice to hear him sing something other then Sweeney Todd, which he tended to scream a lot in. I adore his voice and think he is perfect for the character of Ben. Mandy Patinkin is so annoying. He emphasizes things that aren't supposed to be emphasized and he's just ridiculous in all of his songs. His voice isn't the problem, it's his high voltage, uneccasary dramtization that turns me off. The supporting cast is wonderful. One More Kiss sounds so much better when it's sung by Opera singers, and these two are amazing. I mean look at their names and you'll go, Oh my god! Elaine Strich's interpreatation of Broadway Baby is very different for she truly sees the true irony of the song and portrays it very well. Everyone else is wonderful also. This CD is a must buy!

FOLLIES - the best recording ...so far:
If any one album makes a case for FOLLIES is is this set of FOLLIES IN CONCERT. It is not the definitive FOLLIES, but about as close as we're likely to get. The sound is very VERY good, especially for a live recording, but as such there is quite a bit of applause on this disc. Producer Thomas Shephard originally taped the dress rehearsal so he would have quiet endings for all the numbers but when the audience nearly tore the roof off Avery Fisher Hall, he decided that eliminating applause would negate the event that led to the album. So, he comprmised and used applause after the "follies" numbers but not after plot songs. If you didn't know this you might wonder why "Beautiful Gilrs' gets such a huge hand and the next song "don't Look at me" seems to be met with stoney silence. The cast is sensational. Perhaps not in the same league as the originals but a fine "revival" cast. Lee Remick and Barbara Cook are ideal as leading ladies Phyllis and Sally and its a joy to hear Cook's glorious voice in "Losing My Mind." Mandy Patinkin effectively uses his energy to put a new spin on "Buddy's Blues. " I know some object to his over-the-top style but it was effective on stage. Elaine Stritch has fun singing "Broadway Baby" and Carol Burnet makes the most of "I'm Still Here." Really, there isn't one bad track in the whole package. Completists may quibble with the slight cuts here and there..the last bit of the Overture (including a segment of "Can That Boy Foxtrot") has been cut, as has "Bolero D'amour." The original montage ending of "Rain on the Roof/Ahh Paris/Broadway Baby" was dumped, and the spoken interludes in "Loveland" have been re-arranged. NONE of this will impair your enjoyment of this wonderful show. As a bonus RCA has filled out the second CD with the soundtrack of Sondheim's score for STAVISKY. Many cut songs from FOLLIES were used in this film score, so its a natural tie-in. The booklet has all the lyrics but no synopsis to place the songs within the context of the story. It is a minor flaw in an otherwise first rate package.

Electrifying performance; Maybe Sondheim's most complex work:
Relistening to Follies again recently I came to the conclusion that this may be Sondheim's single greatest work, and that is saying something. Follies is multi-layered, sophisticated, mature, and runs the gamut of emotions. The lyrics are, along with Night Music and Pacific Overtures, the most complex he's ever written. The premise is unique and powerful, and deals with Sondheim's signature theme--the road not taken. Many of SS's works deal with time as a dramatic element, either in terms of it aging and changing people or in it allowing us a window on a past that is very different than we believe. This story does both. Despite the durability and popularity of Sweeney Todd, I think Follies has a depth and richness that SW lacks. The performance is actually a concert, or a "staged oratorio" as director Herb Ross called it. The actual work would be too expensive to stage today--and was in 1985 as well. But at least they had a truly all-star cast to bring this rendition of Follies to life. Nearly everyone sings their role as though they were born to it. But some standout performances are Elaine Stritch's in her boozy rendition of "Broadway Baby," Barbara Cook sining "Losing My Mind," and George Hearn's polished, man-of-the-world "Live Love and Laugh." Easy to overlook is Carol Burnette, who has only one song, but it's a doozy. The only performer I find a little below par is Mandy Patinkin, who never really gets below the surface of his character, opting to whoop and yell in his usual Jolsonesque manner. The producers originally planned to release this version of Follies without the ambient concert sounds--applause and such--but the thunderous ovations from the audience at the beginning made this impossible. Unfortunately, however, that means things were extremely closely miked, and the sound is somewhat overwhelming and almost shrill at times. Also, the New York Philharmonic is not at their best in this kind of music: not only are they stiff, especially in the numbers where the rhythm has to swing, but they also are not really involved emotionally, just "phoning in" the performance. (And the brass, closely miked to begin with, seems to think that you play "Broadway style" by being loud and shrill.) Paul Gemignani was displeased with their effort, and actually said so publically at another concert in the same hall years later. The rest of the set is filled out with Sondheim's music to the motion picture Stavisky. It's fine, servicible, but not really memorable and rather derivative. Sondheim is many things, but a brilliant film composer is not among them. This is one of the most important CDs in Sondheim's discography. For many years Follies was available--when it was available at all--only as a severely-edited single LP that cut many of the songs. The purpose of this concert was to rectify the omission. But it not only did that, it also gave us one of the most memorable concerts ever. Broadway was already considered to be "in an intensive care unit," as the liner notes put it, even then. By today's standards, it looked positively golden on the night of September 6th, 1985.

A Good recording.:
The original is my perferred version, even though it is very watered down. Here, all the songs are complete, but it comes out uneven somehow. The really great performers here are Carol Burnett and Barbra Cook. They really shine. The rest do mediocre performances. Out of the rest, Lee Remick, and Elaine Strich do a great job. Buy this you want the "complete" version and four stellar performances, but the original is the one to get performance wise.

• Overture - New York Philharmonic
• Beautiful Girls - Andre Gregory, New York Philharmonic
• Don't Look at Me - Barbara Cook, Howard McGillin
• Waiting for the Girls Upstairs - Liz Callaway, George Hearn, Howard McGillin, Daisy Prince, Lee Remick, Jim Walton
• Rain on the Roof - Betty Comden, Adolph Green
• Ah Paree - Liliane Montevecchi
• Broadway Baby - Elaine Stritch
• Road You Didn't Take - George Hearn
• In Buddy's Eyes - Barbara Cook
• Who's That Woman? - Betty Comden, Barbara Cook, Liliane Montevecchi, , Lee Remick, Elaine Stritch,
• I'm Still Here - Carol Burnett
• Too Many Mornings - Barbara Cook, George Hearn
• Right Girl - Mandy Patinkin
• One More Kiss - Licia Albanese, Elaine Stritch
• Could I Leave You? - Lee Remick
• Love Land - Cast
• You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through - Howard McGillin, Daisy Prince
• Buddy's Blues
• Losing My Mind
• The Story of Lucy and Jessie
• Live, Laugh, Love
• Finale: Waiting for the Girls Upstairs and Beautiful Girls (reprises)
• Stavisky: Theme from "Stavisky"
• Salon at the Claridge #1
• Arlette by Day
• Auto Show
• Easy Life
• Secret of Night
• Erna
• Distant Past
• Arlette by Night
• Airport at Biarritz
• Trotsky at Saint-Palais
• Montalvo at Biarritz
• Operetta
• Arlette and Stavisky
• Recent Past
• Salon at the Claridge #2
• Suite at the Claridge
• Old House
• Goodbye Arlette
• Hideout at Chamonix
• Erna Remembered
• The Future
• Women and Death
• Theme from "Stavisky"
• Hideout at Chamonix - New York Philharmonic
• Erna Remembered - New York Philharmonic
• Future - New York Philharmonic
• Women and Death - New York Philharmonic
• Theme from Stavisky - New York Philharmonic