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As we say hello to 2010, it’s time to look back at 2009 and do the usual “best of” lists. In 2009 there were plenty of cast recordings to keep us entertained and there was something for everyone. New musicals, the usual reissues, new recordings of old musicals and even several cast albums that were never released on CD. |
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Let’s start with the new musicals, the more difficult category for me. I’ll explain why. As some of you know, I love the conventional Broadway sound and I can hardly relate to rock or pop scores. Although some of these work on stage, I don’t enjoy listening to them; the biggest example of this is RENT. The show was great, but I hated the score. This year, many people loved NEXT TO NORMAL, but after listening to some samples on the net I decided against buying it; its score is decidedly not for me. But there were two new musical scores that catch my fancy. One was the uplifting SISTER ACT, which delivers my favorite song of the year “Bless Our Show”. The other was the funny SHREK, where Sutton Foster give us “Morning Person” and Christopher Sieber made my day with “What’s Up, Duloc?”. |
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As for reissues, there were plenty to choose. Among them some out of the print CDs like GYPSY with Ethel Merman, the movie soundtrack of Barbra Streisand’s FUNNY LADY (how I miss Streisand’s funny side in her recent recordings), Gwen Verdon in NEW GIRL IN TOWN,, Lucille Ball in WILDCAT, Irving Berlin’s MR. PRESIDENT and Cole Porter’s SILK STOCKINGS. |  |
For cast recordings collectors like me, this was a great year. Musicals like CRY FOR US ALL, ANYA, ILLYA DARLING, SHOW GIRL and MAGGIE FLYNN, were finally released on CD. For me, the best of these was the delightful studio cast of ROSE MARIE starring Julie Andrews and I also had a good time with JIMMY. But the best of the year were two studio cast recordings of old shows. One, KITTY’S KISSES, is the world premiere, with an all-star cast, of an almost forgotten musical of the 20s and it’s a delicious treat for all musical lovers. The other is the complete recording of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein’s ALLEGRO; a musical that when it opened in 1947 wasn’t a big success like other shows by the same team and that finally gets the attention it deserves. |
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On the “easy listening” or related CDs category, THE POWER OF TWO, which puts Michael Feinstein and Cheyenne Jackson in a very romantic mood, was a nice surprise and Kate Baldwin had a good time singing songs by Burton Lane & E. Y. Harburg in LET’S SEE WHAT HAPPENS. |  |
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I can’t finish this without saying a word about John McGlinn. He passed away last February and, for the few of you who may not know his name, he was “a conductor and musical archivist who devoted himself to finding and recording the restored scores of early works of the American musical theatre“. Among the wonderful musical legacy that he left us, there’s the complete studio cast recording of SHOW BOAT, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, KISS ME KATE, SITTING PRETTY, THE BUSBY BERKELEY ALBUM and BROADWAY SHOWSTOPPERS. Before dying he worked in studio cast recordings of Victor Herbert’s BABES IN TOYLAND and several Jerome Kern musicals: LEAVE IT TO JANE, OH, BOY!, HAVE A HEART and OH, LADY! LADY!. Let’s hope that in 2010 those recording will finally be released. It’ll be a tribute to his memory and his amazing work. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. |
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In preference order here they are (I didn't include reissues): THE TOP SIX Cast Recordings and Related CDs of 2009 KITTY'S KISSES (2009 Studio Cast) ALLEGRO (2009 Studio Cast) ROSE MARIE (1958 Studio Cast) SISTER ACT (2009 Original London Cast) MICHAEL FEINSTEIN & CHEYENNE JACKSON: THE POWER OF TWO KATE BALDWIN: LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS |
