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Editorial Reviews
VideoHound's Soundtracks
The old Faustian legend about the man who sells his soul to the Devil in order to regain youth and good looks received a clever updating in this whimsical musical, which took the tale and squarely set it against the background of America's favorite pastime, baseball. As reconceived by Douglas Wallop and George Abbott, Damn Yankees, based on Mr. Wallop's novel "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant," transplanted Faust into middle-America and gave him the name Joe Boyd. After he makes a pact with the Devil, a businessman more prosaically named Mr. Applegate, Boyd becomes "Shoeless" Joe Hardy, a hard-hitter, who takes the Washington Senators, his favorite team (and perpetual losers), all the way to the finals of the American League game, where they face those "damn Yankees." But this being a musical, set in America, there is a happy ending to the story: in spite of Mr. Applegate, and his assistant, the sultry Lola, Joe Hardy invokes the "escape clause" he and the Devil had agreed on initially, and at the last minute, just before curtain time, returns to his loving wife as Joe Boyd, serene in the knowledge that it was he who helped the Senators win the Pennant. A multiple Tony Award-winner (including for Best Musical) in 1956, Damn Yankees ran for 1,019 performances (a rarity at the time), and made a star of Gwen Verdon, playing Lola, whose siren song, "Whatever Lola Wants," became a huge popular hit. Virtually intact, and with only one major cast change (Tab Hunter replacing Stephen Douglass as Joe Hardy), the show was transferred to the screen in 1958, in a splashy screen transfer that retained all the flavor and guile of the original. After extensive revisions, in 1994 it was revived on Broadway, with Bebe Neuwirth as Lola and Victor Garber as Mr. Applegate, where it enjoyed a successful run, before going on the road, with Jerry Lewis, billed above the title, taking over as the Devil. Of the three recordings available, the first Broadway cast offers the original stars (Gwen Verdon, Stephen Douglass, and Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate) in a spirited rendition which has all the freshness and excitement usually experienced when a show first hits Broadway. Its only drawback (if that's the word!) is that it is in mono sound, since stereo didn't become an industry standard until later that year. The soundtrack album, available for the first time in stereo in this CD version, is almost identical to the Broadway cast album, but offers, in addition to the cast change noted above, and Ray Heindorf's flavorful orchestrations, longer versions of some of the songs, as well as better polished performances overall. The 1994 Broadway cast album, with its abundance of new selections, and dynamic renditions of the songs by Bebe Neuwirth, Victor Garber, and the other members of the cast, is as good a recording as can be gotten. It has the vibrancy, the fun, and the excitement one usually expects in that kind of production, and its sound quality is up to the latest standards. -- © 1998 Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different approach to cast recordings,
By
This review is from: Damn Yankees: 1994 Original Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD)
THIS disc of the 1994 Broadway revival offers a more thorough recording with a fine cast led by Victor Garber, Bebe Neuwirth and Jarrod Emick.
It is a very different recording. For starters, the revival featured a somewhat re-written script and new orchestrations. The show as it played in 1955 just would not work in 1994. Some of the changes are improvements: The new Overture, the revised opening number, the scenes that better establish the releationship between Joe and Meg, and the entire Trial montage. Other changes, however, seemed needless and arbitrary: Why was "Two Lost Souls" given to Applegate and Lola?? Applegat had no sould to lose. And a crucial plot change has Young Joe hit a homer at teh climatic moment (in the original Applegate changes Joe back to his middle-aged status during a play, yet it is Old Joe who catches a pop fly and wins the game for the Senators.)Still, even with the changes, the revival was well recieved and had a successful run on broadway and an even more successful tour starring Jerry Lewis. This recording is also different from the previous albums which just showcased the songs. CD technology allows record producers much more latitude and Thomas Shepard has laid this disc out like a radio tab version of the show with much dialogue, some of it heavily rewritten and abridged. The illusuion is that you are hearing not just the score, but the whole show. It is a style of production he used before in THE SECRET GARDEN and one that has enormous possibilities. Of course not everyone wants to hear all the dialogue, but the songs have been tracked to make it fairly easy to isolate them. Although the performances on the 1955 original cast disc can't be beat, and I miss the curtain call reprise of "Heart" that closed the original Lp. But this is an interesting and worthwhile alternative and easily has the best sound of all three YANKEES albums.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this! A very talented cast, and a worthwile album,
By A Customer
This review is from: Damn Yankees: 1994 Original Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD)
I have this recording and I've listened to it so many times I could sing and act out the whole show. The cast of the revival is wonderful, they really did well with their characters. The quality of the sound on this newer recording is better than the original recordings, but if you're a huge fan of the original damn yankees you might want to get the other cd first. I love how the new recording has all of the songs and a lot of the dialogue, too. You can listen to the entire story, or just the music if you want. Either way, this version of damn yankees is witty and very entertaining!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forget the Yankees, Let this CD keep playing!,
By
This review is from: Damn Yankees: 1994 Original Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD)
From the first notes of the overture to the stunning finale words of "A Man Doesn't Know" this CD keeps packing the punch! The cast shines in the new orchestrations of the songs. This is a revival at it's best! Victor Garber is devilishly delightful and Bebe Neuwirth can tempt anyone as Lola. This cast shows what the musicals of the 50s were like; outstanding casts working together to bring a story to life for two hours. Plus, everyone on this cast can belt out those well known tunes. Ms. Neuwirth really worked hard on her Lola and her characterizations really show up on this recording. If you're looking for the best recording of Damn Yankees, this is it! I don't think anyone can beat this cast out! The emotions, fun, and excitement of live Broadway shows really shines in this exemplary cast recording! Everyone should get this CD!
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