Customer Reviews

Annie: The 30th Anniversary Cast Recordings

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I bought this recording the first day it was released in New York City and was fortunate enough to attend the CD signing with some of the cast members who are heard on this album. Upon first listening to it, I was thoroughly impressed by how full the orchestra sounded. While no one is able to replace Andrea McArdle as Annie and Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan, the performers on this disc still do a great job. I love the fact that the first disc has all the reprises and is as complete a recording of ANNIE as it can possibly be.

As a huge fan of flop musicals, when I heard that this recording was also going to include songs from ANNIE 2; MISS HANNIGAN'S REVENGE, I couldn't wait for it to be released. Well, some of these songs are fantastic. I am thrilled that they were recorded, and they all sound wonderful. I also love the commentary in between songs made by Carol Burnett and Martin Charnin...priceless.

Thank you so much to Time Life records for giving us this 30th anniversary recording of ANNIE. It is defintiely worth buying.

This two-disc CD set is a joy! I was not in the market for another recording of ANNIE, but when I saw that it was a "complete recording" and it had songs from ANNIE 2, I got it. And I was thrilled with it from the very beginning. The CD brought ANNIE to life again right in front of my ears. The orchestra sounds full, rich and bright, and while I haven't seen the 30th Anniversary production, the performers are all very entertaining on this CD. "NYC" is particularly good.

The second CD is ANNIE 2, the sequel to ANNIE that closed out of town. There are not too many of the traditional musical theatre composers like Charles Strouse working today, so it's a treat to be able to hear "new" old songs from him and Martin Charnin. Some of them are wonderful - "Coney Island" being the show-stopping standout. Plus, the three bonus songs at the end of disc 2 that were written for other productions of ANNIE and the ANNIE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL are really terrific.

And one more note - the whole package with the booklet with illustrations of the real performers and scenes from the show in the style of the ANNIE cartoon strip is very well and cleverly done and show the same care that went into this recording.

I, for one, miss the old-fashioned, big Broadway musicals. We're lucky that this season we are getting a number of rich sounding, well-produced CD's of revivals - SOUTH PACIFIC and hopefully GYPSY (due this summer and if it's anything like the show I saw on Broadway it will have dazzling performances and sound). This 30th Anniversary CD of ANNIE will be right up there on my shelf with the best of these revival recordings.

I couldn't wait to hear the 30th Anniversary recording of Annie. This has been a favorite show of mine for many years and I was thrilled to hear the many different things added for this recording. It's so nice to hear "Easy Street" finally added into the Overture and of course all of the dialogue leading in to some of the songs. I don't know what the previous reviewer was saying about no one being able to sing. I thought the performers were all very well suited to their roles, especially Rooster and Miss Hannigan. I could just hear the fun these actors must have been having when they performed these roles on stage. "Little Girls" is pure gold and "Easy Street" is terrific. It's nice to hear bits of things that were not previously recorded on the Original Cast Album. John Schuck as Warbucks is very charming and although Andrea McArdle will always be the only Annie for me, the 30th Anniversary Annie should be very pleased with her performance. She's very good. Order this CD as soon as you can so you can enjoy memories of a fun childhood musical.

I loved this CD. It brought back memories of myy daughters that would sing the songs everyday. I bought this for everyone in the family and they loved it. Now their kids are singing with it in the car!
This CD has just the right balance of Music to Vocals. From Carol Burnett, Sally Struthers, Kathy Lee. Andrea, Mirissa and everyone in the casts this is the best recording yet. I would recommend this to all my friends. Bravo to all the hard work that went in to a Great Work of Show Business History!

This is a great recording!!!!!!!!! It's more like re-living SEEING the production than an over-produced version.
Alene Robertson as Miss Hannigan is especially effective in telling the story.and she can SING!!!!
Except for the Album Cover art........this is a TOP NOTCH Birthday Celebration of this great musical!

wow! i was thrilled with this purchase. the kids voices are absolutely terrific...esp the little girl playing Molly in Annie. A must!!!!

There have been many recordings of the "Annie" score released throughout the years, but none put together with the same level of love and affection as this package. Featuring the cast of the 30th Anniversary touring production, the main drawcard for this release is the extensive bonus disc, containing the score for "Annie 2", the ill-fated Off-Broadway sequel; plus additional, never-before-available gems from the "Annie" vaults.

Under the musical direction of Keith Levenson and a full-sized pit orchestra, "Annie"'s legendary Overture springs to thrilling, spine-tingling life as you've never heard it before. Marissa O'Donnell is a most competant Annie, restrained and tender when she needs to be (a thankful thing indeed, given that most girls tend to belt the hell out of this role, triggering untold vocal issues for themselves in the future). Warbucks is played by the perrennial Conrad John Schuck--who must have appreciated the chance to finally cement his performance on record--and Alene Robertson is the slatternly orphanage proprietress Miss Hannigan.

It's the most complete album of the "Annie" score to date, including the previously-unavailable Entr'acte, the Act 1 reprise of "Maybe", plus snippets from the incidental music.

Disc 2 presents the score from the hallowed Off-Broadway production "Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge". To help link up the songs and explain the story, record producers pulled a major coo by getting Carol Burnett (who played Miss Hannigan in the 1981 movie version) to reprise her role! Burnett effortlessly slides back into her character and the years just fall away. "Annie 2" finds the characters a little older and wiser, though perhaps not Miss Hannigan, who, upon release from prison, decides to once again kidnap our little red-headed heroine, but with a little twist...

Extra treasures to be found include the trunk piece "Why Should I Change a Thing?", written as an extra number for Warbucks when Anthony Warlow starred in the 2000 Australian tour. "It's Christmas!" comes from the fondly-remembered 1977 TV special "The Annie Christmas Show". Finally, Broadway's original Annie, Andrea McArdle, sings "My Daddy" from the last revision of "Annie 2".

Combining the talents of "Annie" performers both past and present, this album stands as the ultimate tribute to this feel-good Broadway musical favourite. Recommended. [TIME-LIFE RECORDS M19538]

Cast album producers are usually ignored by the general public, but without many of these producers who take risks, we wouldn't see many rare shows worthy of a cast recording.

Robert Sher is one of those producers. From his OBC of Sugar Babies to the lost score of SHERRY! Sher is willing to gamble to bring musical theatre lovers items of interest. So, Why ANNIE? As divine as the Columbia OBC is, with benchmark performances by Andrea Mc Ardle and the incomparable Dorothy Loudon, The OBC has a very 1970's sound and feel that seems inescapable for a show that is set during the great depression. Ah, but this is more than a complete recording. This recording includes a second disc featuring songs from the 1992 mega disaster ANNIE 2 - Miss Hannigan's Revenge.

If you'd wonder why you'd want to hear songs from this flop, the answer is simple: Charles Strouse's tunes are always interesting and often unexpected. In fact, some of his best melodies have been featured in scores from flop shows - Nick and Nora is just one example. Secondly, this second disc is narrated by Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, who arguably was the best thing about the 1982 ANNIE feature film. Burnett lends her comic narrative to fill in the blanks around the score. Burnett,alas, doesn't sing Miss Hannigan in the ANNIE 2 Score, which is slightly disappointing, so you settle for Sally Struthers and Kathy Lee Gifford, who are both perfectly fine, but still leave you wondering what it would have been like if Burnett had performed the songs. Sadly, a lot of ANNIE 2's best melodies were recycled for the next ANNIE incarnation Annie Warbucks, albeit with different lyrics.Those songs were not included on this recording due to rights issues. The best three tracks on the second disc aren't from Annie 2 at all. They are the added songs for various productions of ANNIE. "Why Should I Change a Thing?", added for the 2004 Australian production is a welcome addition for Warbucks. "Don't Mess With Mother", added for the 30th Anniversary Production, is a revamped lyric of "You Make Me Happy", added for Nell Carter in the 20th anniversary production. Kathy Lee Gifford shines here and makes me regret not having caught her as Hannigan. The final song "It's Christmas" is from the 1977 NBC TV ANNIE Christmas Special, and features Andrea Mc Ardle reprising her role as Annie. This second disc is an oddity, but it is deserving of a place in any collector's library.

This 30th Anniversary recording sounds timeless and lush. No, the new cast won't erase your fond memories, but it's chock full of performances that are fresh and just as valid. The orchestrations have been updated, while staying relatively faithful to the original concept and structure.

Alene Robertson, who has made a cottage industry of playing Miss Hannigan, is delightful. Her voice is rich and deep.. and more than a tad butch.. but it works. The Divine Shelley Burch, plays Lily St. Regis on the 1st Disc, and on the Annie 2 disc, turns in a beautiful performance as Grace Farrell. I wish she'd played Grace on the first disc as well, as her voice is far superior to Elizabeth Broadhurst.

Conrad John Schuck is a fine Warbucks, but doesn't posess the vocal depth, range or power of either Reid Shelton nor Harve Presnell.

Of course ANNIE rises and falls on Annie herself. Marissa O' Donnell is perfectly lovely, but she still has to battle with the ghost of Andrea Mc Ardle's indelible performance. Mc Ardle's voice has always been something of an oddity: She had an adult belt from the time she was a baby, and she never sounded cutsey or sugary as Annie. Invariably, every subsequent Annie has that saccharine quality. That's simply no fault of O'Donnell's, she's just no Andrea Mc Ardle.. and who is?

Grab this CD. It's not going to ever replace your OBC, but you will give it repeated play, as you hear this classic score reinvented and "gussied up" for an entirely new generation.. and of course, the 40th anniversary production isn't too far away.

I like this recording very much. I collect recordings of musicals and feel this is the best and most complete recording of the musical Annie available today. Many of the selections contain dialog that help tell the story better. When listening to it I almost feel like I'm watching the play. The 2nd CD with songs from the sequel Miss Hannigan's Revenge is also very good. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Annie.

This is an amazing CD set, I was pleasantly surprised after getting this last weekend. I was glad that they included versions not available on the original cast version. The clarity and production were incredible and I felt like I was right there all over again!. I actually was lucky of enough to have seen the Ryan girls perform live and they were unbelievable, should be given extra stars, or at least extra portions of hot mush...