Customer Reviews

St. Louis Woman (1998 Encores!/City Center Cast)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Taken in itself, this is a really nice CD. But it is unique among the ENCORES recordings in that it really is more a revival recording than a careful recreation of the original piece.

The original orchestra parts for this show were lost, but the problem here is that the new ones that Ralph Burns and Luther Henderson created do not sound ANYTHING like what Broadway arrangements sounded like in 1946. Rather, they sound like the kind of arrangements Burns and Henderson crafted starting in the 1960s. These nightclubby/Vegasy sounds are wonderful in themselves, but in the proper sense, ST. LOUIS WOMAN didn't sound like LITTLE ME, SWEET CHARITY and PLAY ON! -- it sounded more like PORGY AND BESS. Saxophones swinging through densely intricate passages as a matter of course as if Ellington and Strayhorn had written the parts, Count Basie pedal point bass lines -- this kind of arranging didn't exist yet in 1946 Broadway pits. As presented on this CD, I FEEL MY LUCK COMIN' DOWN sounds about as unlike what this song surely sounded like in 1946 as the 1971 NO NO NANETTE revival's arrangements -- glorious in themselves -- sounded unlike the originals from that show in 1924 -- and pointedly, it was precisely Burns and Henderson who did the new orchestrations for that revival. If Burns and Henderson, having lived through all of this as a lifetime rather than as a vintage record collection, do not spontaneously draw these kinds of distinctions, surely the youngish aficionados who produce these recordings do.

And how we know what the original sounded like is the ST. LOUIS WOMAN album that was recorded in 1946, and what perplexes me is that even the orchestrations for the songs recorded on that album are altered somewhat for this recording, making them sound more "Sammy Davis/Lena Horne" than what the authors intended.

This is the only ENCORES album which sounds out of period, even the overture sounding like something playing under the opening credits of a 1960s or 1970s TV special rather than what an overture would have sounded like the year after CAROUSEL opened. As much as I hate to say this, I cannot help thinking that somewhere along the line, a sense developed that black entertainment somehow means less attention to details such as period style. This is sad in this case, because part of the glory of that brief original ST. LOUIS WOMAN album is the plangent, quirky, rich sounds from the orchestra, not quite like anything else at the time, but surely not sounding like CHICAGO either.

Furthermore, Helen Goldsby is to my ear quite unimpressive, especially compared to the magnificent singing by June Hawkins on the original cast recording, all the more affecting given how the segregation of the period surely restricted her career. Among the ENCORES recordings, only on the BABES IN ARMS recording is anyone allowed to get away with singing so ordinary outside of "character" parts, and there the reason was the emphasis on casting people who sound like youths -- but what was the reason here? Surely there are dozens of black female singers in New York who could knock you against the wall the way Hawkins did with the very, very good songs her character was given. Why was Goldsby's merely okay rendition considered suitable for such a historic occasion?

I am stressing the negative here because the other reviews cover the positive. I LIKE this CD overall -- but only as a deft reinterpretation of the score through a 1963 lens, and I am not sure why it had to come out this way. I hope ENCORES someday does a CABIN IN THE SKY -- hopefully casting Vanessa Williams again as Georgia Brown -- and makes it sound like the 1940s in all of its particularity, giving it the same loving care in this vein as has regularly been given the likes of PAL JOEY.

If your only familiarity with Harold Arlen is through his saccharine score for the film "The Wizard of Oz", you are in for a wonderful surprise. From the first notes of the newly orchestrated overture, you'll be irresistably singing, humming, and whistling these tunes throughout the day. The musical styles cover jazz, blues, big band, standard ballads, and traditional spiritual. The emotional gamut is equally as broad, from the haunting introspection of "Leavin' Time" to the cheerful optimism of "Ridin' on the Moon". Although Vanessa Williams lends "star" name quality to the recording, the entire ensemble is splendid. After listening to this masterful soundtrack, you'll wonder incredulously how this show failed to enter the category of classic American musicals represented by the works of Rodgers & Hart, Lerner & Loewe, and the Gershwin brothers. Kudos to the folks at City Center Encores! for resurrecting this undeservedly forgotten treasure. With any luck, a savvy producer will also soon rediscover this spectacular score and we'll be treated to St. Louis Woman on the stage once again.

NY's City Center ENCORES series has produced a number of great revivals, but none more worthy than this complete recording of this stunning score. Previously available only on a truncated 29 minute original cast recording with Pearl Bailey, this new 67 minute recording with Vanessa Williams, Stanley Wayne Mathis, and Helen Goldsby glows with vitality and warmth in such classics as "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home," and "I Had Myself a True Love."

Musical director Rob fisher conducts the swingin' Coffee Club Orchestra. Just great!

This 1998 recording of the Harold Arlen-Johnny Mercer ST. LOUIS WOMAN score features the acclaimed Encores! concert cast headed by the lovely Vanessa Williams.

ST. LOUIS WOMAN is yet another of those long-forgotten musicals (SARATOGA and HOUSE OF FLOWERS are two more) which have heavenly scores that hardly anyone have heard. This 1998 recording has done a lot in helping to rectify that situation. The original cast album with Pearl Bailey was issued on CD in the early 90's but was quickly deleted.

Vanessa Williams (INTO THE WOODS) is a dynamite in the lead role, especially fetching belting out "Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home". The score also features "Cakewalk Your Lady", "Ridin' on the Moon", "I Wonder What Became of Me" and "I Had Myself a True Love".

At least one of the numbers from ST. LOUIS WOMAN became a standard for Judy Garland: "Come Rain or Come Shine" (the best-known song in the score).

This great cast album also features Stanley Wayne Mathis and Yvette Cason. [DECCA BROADWAY 314 538 148-2]

While they wrote many greats songs together(THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC,BLUES IN THE NIGHT),HAROLD ARLEN and JOHNNY MERCER were never really BROADWAY bound.However, this show had all kinds of misfortunes in 1946 and really deserved the second chance it got in 1998.Of course the original orchestrations were not quite the same as they are here,but the fact that the show could have a rebirth is in itself a reward that can not be denied.VANESSA WILLIAMS is wonderful.The show has one character miscast;it's easy to find out if you listen to the cd at least twice.Try to indentify it because i won't tell you.Overall, this revival is perhaps not perfect, but was certainly worth doing.

This is a mighty fine recording, one in a line of several 1990s concert-cast recordings using as original as possible orchestrations, (see also Call Me Madam, Out Of This World, Do Re Mi.)

Nominally lead by the constantly improving and surprising (and beautiful) Vanessa L. Williams, an excellent cast clearly enjoy recording their way through Harold Arlen's wonderful score.

It is impossible to sit still during the romp of a dance-number, Cakewalk Your Baby.

It is impossible not to be moved by Helen Goldsby singing I Wonder What Became Of Me.

It is impossible not to be smiling by the end of this CD, the quality is that high.

If you are reading this review, you really should be buying this CD.

The most beautiful of all Miss Americas (with the POSSIBLE exception of only Lee Meriweather), Vanessa Williams has an absolutely gorgeous voice made just for musical theatre. Here, on this Encores! recording of the famous Harold Arlen musical, she gives what I would call the definitive performance of "Anywhere I Hang My Hat is Home," which is saying something given her competition over the decades. Why she never fully turned her talents towards Broadway will mystify you after hearing her on this magnificent recording. The rest of the cast does beautifully with some of Arlen's most beautiful music: I notice here some criticisms of Helen Goldsby, and though her voice isn't always as true here as it could be, she is quite moving on "I Wonder What Became of Me" (she is a marvelous actress, as anyone ever fortunate enough to see her on Broadway in "Master Class" could attest).

The reviews on this page that have gone before me are rather astute. They cover the disparity of the new orchestrations with what those of 1946 should have sounded like. The cast is, I agree, pulling very hard and doing quite well with the material, but something doesn't click here- even the three standards (ANY PLACE I HANG MY HAT IS HOME; I HAD MYSELF A TRUE LOVE; COME RAIN OR COME SHINE) and the two fine comedy numbers (LEGALIZE MY NAME; IT'S A WOMAN'S PREROGATIVE)are well done but not "special" in any way.

It's certainly important that any serious lover of musical theater hear this score so on that point, I recommend the album.

What noone's ear has been able to pick up thus far in these reviews is the vamp for CAKEWALK YOUR LADY. It's identical to "GASTON'S SOLILOQUY" in GIGI. Note for note. Since MGM backed the staging of ST. LOUIS WOMAN, it owned the rights to Arlen's music. Twelve years later, it seems someone brought this piece of music to the ears of Fritz Loewe for MGM's original musical, GIGI. Listen to it and be amazed. Here's a "steal" that no one has ever reported or admitted, since the original cakewalk music had not been heard until 1998.

All in all, a decent attempt to revive a forgotten show, but nothing extraordinary on its own terms.