High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Hugh Martin (Composer), Timothy Gray (Composer), Beatrice Lillie (Performer), Tammy Grimes (Performer), Edward Woodward (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 13, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: MCA
• ASIN: B000008GK3
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,088 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overture

2. Was She Prettier Than I?

3. The Bicycle Song

4. You'd Better Love Me

5. Where Is The Man I Married?

6. Go Into Your Trance

7. Forever And A Day

8. Something Tells Me

9. I Know Your Heart

10. Faster Than Sound

11. If I Ave You

12. Talking To You

13. Home Sweet Heaven

14. Something Is Coming To Tea

15. What In The World Did You Want?

16. Something Tells Me (Reprise)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Masterpiece Manqué", April 16, 2004

By 

Paul F. Wilson "DocWilson" (Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

This long-forgotten gem, a musical version of Noël Coward's BLITHE SPIRIT about a writer who inadvertently conjures up the spirit of his late wife, has a score by Hugh Martin (MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS) and was directed by Coward himself. The score has several tunes which ought to have become pop standards -- "You'd Better Love Me," "I Know Your Heart," "Forever and A Day" -- and some great character songs "Something is Coming to Tea," "Go Into Your Trace," "Home Sweet Heaven." The small cast size and score designed for actors, not singers, makes it a natural for educational and community theatres.

Seeing Beatrice Lillie in HIGH SPIRITS was one of the great theatrical experiences of my life. A recording can't do her justice, but this one does catch some of her timing and inimitable inflections. She was one of those stage stars, like Ethel Merman and Bert Lahr, whose stage personality was just too big to fit on screen. (She is the best thing in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, one of her very few film roles.)

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A disc that's ripe for reissue and a show that maybe due for a stage revival?, October 14, 2006

By 

Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

Perhaps Noel Coward's BLYTHE SPIRIT didn't really need to be turned into a musical, as it is already a pretty entertaining litlle comedy, but the songs by Hugh Martin and Timothy Grey perfectly conjure up Coward's characters. Bea Lillie is perfection as Madame Arcarti, Tammy Grimes is bewitchingly sensual as Elvira. Did Coward (who directed the musical) help outa bit with the score? The song "Home Sweet Heaven" sure sounds like pure Coward!

ABC Paramount did the cast album. After the show closed it went out of print. MCA brought it back on CD but soon deleted it. Since most community theatres opt to do the original play instead of the musical not too many people know this score so naturally there wasn't a huge demand for it on CD. Perhaps Decca Broadway will reissue it? Hope so, as it's one of those very enjoyable 1960s scores that deserves to be better known.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the great Broadway musicals, July 10, 2006

By 

William Sommerwerck "grizzled geezer" (Renton, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

What can you say about a musical with Tammy Grimes and Beatrice Lillie? How about that it would be good even without them, because Martin and Gray deliver one great song after another? Only "You'd Better Love Me While You May" was a hit, but all the others (including the character and novelty songs) have instantly memorable melodies and ingenious lyrics.

Hearing Grimes sing "Home Sweet Heaven" and Lillie perform "Talking to You" are pretty much worth the price of admission. (At least, when the CD was still in print and reasonably priced.)

The London-cast version (if still available) had terrible re-orchestrations of the music, and is interesting only because it includes Noel Coward singing several of the songs, some of which contain unused lyrics.

Please note that the track listing has nothing whatever to do with this show -- it's for the soundtrack of the movie "High Spirits".