Customer Reviews

Anything Goes - The New Broadway Cast Recording

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a wonderful classic show with some of Cole Porter's best songs. The original star,Ethel Merman, never got to record this show in it's entirety. That being said, I believe that this cd captures the same excitement as a Merman performance. Patti LuPone is brilliant! She well deserves the same legendary status as Merman, Martin, Channing, and Verdon. The rest of the cast is terrific and the recording is alive with theater presence. This version and the 1962 Off-Broadway cd are both great.

I gave it four stars because Patti Lupone doesn't sing in every song! The 1988 Broadway Cast Revival Shines! Especially Broadway Belter Patti Lupone who steps up to bat to play Reno Sweeny. Miss LuPone, for those who don't known is extremely famous for her portrayals of Fantine in Les Miz (London CD), Evita (CD), and Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.(CD). She is spectacular in this CD! One song that stands completely on its own is the POWERHOUSE perfomance of "Blow Gabriel Blow!" Listen to Patti change the original keys and skyrockets them into full belt. She's absolutely amazing. Another treat is to hear Patti and Bill McCutcheon sing "Friendship", a song that was not in the original 1930's cast but added specifically to the revival cast. Other notable songs are "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "You're The Top", and "Anything Goes" (of course). And for you ANYTHING GOES or Patti LuPone freaks out there I highly recommend the "Patti Lupone LIVE CD" where she sings the untouchable Live version of "Anything Goes!" You can perchase the highlights or the whole LIVE CD! And for those people out there who want to hear great, fun music, or for those of you who appreciate DIVA BELTERS this CD is for you! :)

Although the 1987 revival of Cole Porter's legendary ANYTHING GOES plays fast and loose with both the original score and book, it's hard to be anything but enchanted with the show or the this cast recording--particularly when it includes the talents of Patti LuPone, Bill McCutcheon, Anne Francine, and many other Broadway notables.

The story of romantic follies aboard a transatlantic liner, the show opens with a scratchy recording of Cole Porter himself singing the title tune before the soundtrack segues into a dazzling overture by an excellent orchestra--and then proceeds to bounce out one great Porter tune after another: "I Get A Kick Out of You," "You're The Top," "Easy to Love," "Friendship," "It's De-Lovely," the title cut, "Blow Gabriel Blow," and "All Through the Night," to name but the most obvious titles.

While the entire cast is nothing short of brilliant, the show clearly belongs to Patti LuPone in the role of Reno Sweeney, an evangelist who does a little nightclub act on the side. LuPone hasn't been in better form since she dazzled New York audiences in EVITA, and her knock-you-flat vocal style is perfectly suited to both the role and the complex Porter tunes originally written for Broadway powerhouse Ethel Merman... and indeed, even Merman's memorable renditions seem to pale a bit in comparison.

Purists may complain about fiddling with the score, and it is true that this revival drops as many Porter classics from the original score as it adds from other sources; "Let's Misbehave" is particularly missed. But it's hard to argue with the addition of "De-Lovely" and "Easy to Love" (the latter of which Porter originally gave to Jimmy Stewart, of all people, to perform in the memorable 1936 film BORN TO DANCE.) And when Patti LuPone launches into "Anything Goes," you'll know it really does. Recommended as a knock-out in every possible way!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

There are at least four versions available on CD of revivals of Cole Porter's 1934 "Anything Goes". This RCA release is the original cast recording of the 1987 Lincoln Center production, starring Patti LuPone. The same Lincoln Center production was recorded again (on First Night OCRCD-6038) in its 1989 London staging, with a mostly new cast - Elaine Paige replaces LuPone, while Howard McGillin continues in his role as Billy. Despite the different casts, the arrangements are identical, and the two recordings sound very much the same. I tend to slightly prefer the later Paige recording over this LuPone.

In contrast, EMI's 1988 London studio cast version with Kim Criswell is an entirely different production, attempting an exact reconstruction of the original 1934 score. On the other hand, Sony's 1962 Off-Broadway revival original cast album with Eileen Rodgers retains only about half the songs originally written for the 1934 production, and adds several other Porter favorites in their place. This Lincoln Center production (in both of its recordings) also drops and adds a few songs. Before buying any version, compare the different songlists, and listen to a few clips if possible. EMI's songlist, and probably also its overall presentation, will be the most authentic but not necessarily the most satisfying of these four CDs. My own favorite is the 1962 Rodgers on Sony.

Just a comment, and I don't want to give a low rating to Patti's (et al.) fabulous recording... which I already own. Do not be misled, as I was, by the "2011" date on this CD -- this is NOT the recent revival with Sutton Foster. I could have sworn her name was listed on the description page when I pre-ordered this, but I may have been mistaken. At the time I placed my order, there were no audio samples or descriptions from the publisher.

Considering you can still buy the 1988 CD (for a few bucks cheaper), I'm not sure what Sony was thinking with this re-release, especially as it comes in a cardboard wallet rather than a plastic jewel case. It's the exact same tracks from that version, only with a 2011 copyright date. It also doesn't help that this CD is the first result when searching for "anything goes 2011" or "anything goes sutton foster" on Amazon. Very confusing.

After a bit of googling, I discovered that the real 2011 revival recording was just announced last week, so hopefully it will be available later this year.

Broadway musicals from before World War II (okay, before "Oklahoma") seem woefully dated when they are performed today ("Showboat" being the obvious exception that proves the rule). Therefore, what the producers decided to do when they resurrected Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" certainly meets with my approval. Fifty years after it was first produced, the original story by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, which was revised by director Howard Lindsay and press agent Russel Crouse, was rewritten by Timothy Crouse (Russel's son) and John Weidman for this Lincoln Center Theater production. More importantly, a number of songs from the original score (e.g., "The Gypsy in Me," "Easy to Love") were restored and four other Porter songs, including "It's De-Lovely," were added to show. Now, since you can never have too many Cole Porter songs in a Cole Porter musical, this would be a good thing, not to mention a brilliant idea. I mean, come on, the plot is just an excuse to sing the songs. Take away the songs from "Anything Goes" and nobody is going to pay attention to what is left.

The plot (in case you are curious) involves all sorts of fun aboard the S. S. American having to do with romance, gangsters in disguise, and other standard musical comedy fare. Patti LuPone has the choice role of Reno Sweeney, the sexy evangelist-turned-nightclub singer, and her performance is her best work this side of "Evita" (yes, better than "Sunset Blvd."), as evidenced by "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" and the title tune. Her leading man is Howard McGillin as Billy Crocker, a stockbroker's assistance. But in the final analysis the star of the show are the songs by Cole Porter and that means catchy tunes and delightfully wicked lyrics. You can enjoy this album without every bothering to figure out who is who or what is happening in terms of the plot. All together now: "In olden days a glimpse of stocking/Was looked on as something shocking/But now, God knows..."

A real classic from the authorship of a B'way legend. A work like this has great relevance because it stands as a wonderful recording for one of the greatest classics of the musical theatre of all times. Voices and orchestrations are wonderful. The title song sounds great in the voice of Patti LuPone. A cultural treasure to keep and listen over and over again.

Either the title of this is misleading or the wrong performers are listed.

I saw Sutton Foster perform in this show a couple months ago and was excited when I got the email a few weeks ago from Amazon that the soundtrack was being released today.

Fortunately, I paid attention to the performers, and it's the cast from the 98 revival.

Seeing it has a release date of 5/31/11, I would assume it was the 2011 cast, not the 98 cast.

A delightful, if not necessarily well-sung, recording of the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of Cole Porter's famous musical. With several interpolations from other Porter shows (Including a few that were cut from the original production but that he later put in other shows himself), the majority of the score sparkles like probably none before and few since, and the not-so-good songs on this album (Like "Public Enemy Number One" and the rather unwisely chosen interpolations "I Want to Row On the Crew"-written in Porter's Yale days and boy did he have a lot to learn-and "Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye") are quickly and efficiently dealt with so we can get to the real goods-"I Get a Kick Out of You," "You're the Top," "Anything Goes," "Blow, Gabriel Blow," "All Through the Night," and also the interpolated "Freindship," "It's DeLovely," and "Buddie Beware," a great song cut several weeks into the run of the original production and reinstated (To a different character than the original but to equally delightful effect) here. The new orchestrations, unlike some others in Broadway revivals, are generally quite respectful and don't go too far off on a tangent while still giving the score a fresh sound. As for the cast, Howard McGillin warbles away and Tony winner Bill McCutcheon turns the silly "Be Like the Bluebird" into a charming showstopper. None of the other supporting cast members are any great shakes although the chorus of sailors do a fine job in their songs. And then there is Patti LuPone. Okay, so she runs through Porter's lyrics like a steamroller and doesn't seem to be too concerned with letting those clever rhymes and double meanings shine through, and even Merman must have been a tad more subtle. But you have to admit she has one heck of a belter's voice, brillaintly displayed in "Blow, Gabriel Blow," and her interplay with McGillin in "You're the Top" and McCutcheon in "Friendship" is great to hear. As I said, these songs speak for themselves. It is also a delight to hear Porter himself in an old recording of the title song right before the overture starts. A excitingly theatrical recording whose strengths by far override its weaknesses.

"Anything Goes," is a great musical and this version is updated and really in tune. I'd reocmmend it to any musical theatre fan. Howard McGillan has a great voice really, strong and perfect for broadway. The rest of the cast is good too.
It feature some great Cole Porter songs, and really a vibrent and beautiful score.