A Collector's Sondheim (Musical Compilation) [Cast Recording, Soundtrack, Box set]

Stephen Sondheim, David Shine, Kitty Carlisle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Cast Recording, Soundtrack, Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000002W8N
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,401 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Comedy Tonight/Love Is in the Air

2. Pretty Little Picture

3. The House of Marcus Lycus

4. There's Something About a War

5. So Many People

6. Pour le Sport

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through

2. I'm Still Here

3. Who Could Be Blue?/Little White House

4. It Wasn't Meant to Happen

5. Can That Boy Foxtrot!

6. Broadway Baby

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Night Waltz II/The Sun Sits Low

2. Send in the Clowns

3. Fear No More

4. Someone in a Tree

5. Please Hello

6. I Never Do Anything Twice

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This three-CD set offers a generous overview of the career of Stephen Sondheim, Broadway's most important composer of the last quarter of the 20th century. It's compiled by Thomas Z. Shepard, the producer instrumental to many of Sondheim's most important cast recordings for RCA. The set's ambitious reach covers music Sondheim composed for theater, film, and television back to 1954 (but not including shows for which he is only credited with lyrics, most notably West Side Story and Gypsy), and since much of the older material was recorded for other labels or not recorded at all, RCA fills the gaps by plucking tracks from some excellent revues, then from the original cast recordings beginning with 1976's Pacific Overtures. Rarities include the alternate version of "The Glamorous Life" recorded for the 1978 film, and the 1979 disco rendition of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd." The major shortcoming of this 1985 set is that it ends with 1984's Sunday in the Park with George. Surely an updated retrospective is in order? --David Horiuchi

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Original Cast Recordings
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 5-JUN-1989

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Sondheim devotée. Nothing better, July 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Collector's Sondheim (Musical Compilation) (Audio CD)

There have been many celebrations of Stephen Sondheim's music, by both individual artists and groups of greats. But this collection, in and of itself, is unique. In here you'll find very popular Sondheim "classics" and never-before heard "gems", beautifully performed and wonderfully mixed and mastered. This collection is becoming harder and harder to find. Get this today. You'll be glad you did.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars That is Some Good Sondheim, September 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Collector's Sondheim (Musical Compilation) (Audio CD)

This recording is one of the better ones. The only bad thing is that some of the ter tracks, mainly on the third disc, are taken from the origianl boradway cast recording. Otherwise, the other songs are great. There is an added bonus on the last track of the third disc with Sondheim himself singing "Old Friends" with Angela Landsbury.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag of Sondheim goodies, July 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Collector's Sondheim (Musical Compilation) (Audio CD)

A Collector's Sondheim is a mixed bag, containing a few surprising and effective pieces but, for the most part, consisting of material drawn from one or two revues that contained less than definitive performances. The best surprise is the previously unreleased track of Lee Remick's "There Won't Be Trumpets." She does a wonderful job with this number. Too bad she didn't have an opportunity to do it on Broadway. Her performance on the original cast album of "Anyone Can Whistle" is a delight, often overlooked because of the slam-bang job Angela Lansbury delivers in her first Broadway musical. Less effective in this collector's collection is the version of "I'm Still Here." Yvonne De Carlo's original still is the best. The "Happily Ever After" number cut from Company is interesting as a curiosity but it cannot compare in quality to "Being Alive," which ultimately took its place. So all in all, an interesting if not always satisfying CD.