Customer Reviews

Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Imagine singing your heart out for almost 2 hours with only an upright piano for accompaniment and a few well-deserved breaks for thunderous applause. This is the back drop for Mandy Patinkin's love letter to Sondheim. Several of the songs have been recorded previously by Patinkin (Lesson #8; When?; Someone Is Waiting; Finishing the Hat; If You Can Find Me, I'm Here; Beautiful; Sunday...), but not as simply and beautifully as this. Patinkin is at his animated and artistic best in front of a live audience. Wish I could have been at this concert, but I am happily content with this masterful 2-disc CD.

I'm not a "Mandy-head", but neither do I hate his style of singing. I've always admired Mandy's passion for music, and this generous two-disc set is no exception.

The only disc of Patinkin's I cannot bear to listen to is "Mamaloshen"...it provides the worst possibly opportunity for Mandy to overindulge in oversinging. As with every other disc, Mandy's song choice is impeccable, and I can't argue with most of his interpretive choices...although I've never understood why he feels the need to scream and shout so much. My only questions about this particular recording are...Why this particular order of songs? Why the medley format? I'm not sure I understand how the struture related to Sondheim's career, or indeed, what it was attempting to indicate. There were no songs chosen that were written after "Dick Tracy"...nothing from 1991-2002. Reason? I don't know.

Mandy's voice sounds very odd in the first half of the first act. It has an odd wobble in it, as if he isn't quite in control of his instrument. It sound like the voice of a much, much older man. Once he finally belts, (I think it is on the song "Finishing the Hat") it seems as if all the vocal adhesions are broken and his voice is finally warmed up enough to control. Did he not warm up properly before the show? Why would Nonesuch accept this second rate sound in the first half of this concert?

I hesitantly recommend this set to Sondheim fans...Patinkin fans will buy it anyway. It is really an individual choice as to whether or not to buy this one. But this would not be my choice of a quintessential overview of Sondheim's work. Paul Ford on piano is, as always, the unsung hero of Patinkin's recordings. He is a master at following the always unpredictable performances of Patinkin.

this is the CD that mandy fans have been waiting for. the combination of mandy's vocals, paul ford's piano and sondheim's songs, nothing could be better. a definite must-have for the mandy fan.

I love Stephen Sondheim + I love Mandy Patinkin = I should love this CD. Unfortunately, the best descriptive adjective that I can come up with is "unacceptable."

The central problem is that there are absolutly no transitions in between songs. He goes from the last note to the first note of adjacent songs as though they were one. I thought perhaps this was to save time at the concert and on the CD, but the longer I listened the more I became convinced Mandy was just trying to show off. "Look everyone, I can sing for an hour without stopping even for applause!"

By blending the songs, Mandy ruins their meaning. A short pause in between each in order to introduce and set a mood would have been sufficient. Sondheim's songs span a large range of emotion and topic. Why would anyone try to sing any two Sondheim songs as though they were one, not to mention two CDs of them?

Additionally, Mandy Patinkin's voice is not as good as I am used to. This may be because it is a live recording, but more likely this problem goes back to my central concern.

I don't want to give the impression that this CD is without merrit. Two stars is hight than the one that I could have given it. By buying this CD, you will be able to hear many familiar Sondheim songs sung with a different interpretation (I suppose) and some previously unrecorded songs. Mandy does have some amazing (perhaps read self-indulgent?) moments.

My best suggestion is that if you want to hear great Sondheim, get a copy of Sweeny Todd. If you want to hear great Mandy, get a copy of The Wild Party.

I love Stephen Sondheim + I love Mandy Patinkin = I should love this CD. Unfortunately, the best descriptive adjective that I can come up with is "unacceptable."

The central problem is that there are absolutly no transitions in between songs. He goes from the last note to the first note of adjacent songs as though they were one. I thought perhaps this was to save time at the concert and on the CD, but the longer I listened the more I became convinced Mandy was just trying to show off. "Look everyone, I can sing for an hour without stopping even for applause!"

By blending the songs, Mandy ruins their meaning. A short pause in between each in order to introduce and set a mood would have been sufficient. Sondheim's songs span a large range of emotion and topic. Why would anyone try to sing any two Sondheim songs as though they were one, not to mention two CDs of them?

Additionally, Mandy Patinkin's voice is not as good as I am used to. This may be because it is a live recording, but more likely this problem goes back to my central concern.

I don't want to give the impression that this CD is without merrit. Two stars is hight than the one that I could have given it. By buying this CD, you will be able to hear many familiar Sondheim songs sung with a different interpretation (I suppose) and some previously unrecorded songs. Mandy does have some amazing (perhaps read self-indulgent?) moments.

My best suggestion is that if you want to hear great Sondheim, get a copy of Sweeny Todd. If you want to hear great Mandy, get a copy of The Wild Party.

I am a huge Mandy Patinkin fan, and this is, without a doubt, one of the best CDs in my collection. The transitions between songs are excellent and seamless, plus the song selection was top-notch.

Probably the best way to approach these disks is to treat them like a recital in a concert hall. Rather as you would listen to a Schubert or Schumann song cycle. Taken together this way, we come to hear Sondheim as one of our finest composers, serious, comic, manic, depressive, always dead on target no matter what the subject matter. And Patinkin is perfect for these songs; he understands the meaning and value of every note and every word, just as a fine concert singer would do, and he makes his listeners understand, too. One of the most intriguing concept albums in recent memory, and a joy all the way through. Bob Finley, Palm Springs, CA.

I have every recording Patinkin appears on, even if he's only on one track; I adore his voice, his flair, his emotion, his ability to deliver a song.

But (much of) this recording is disappointing, mainly because Mr. Patinkin's voice in the lower range sounds muddled and forced, as though he's lost ability to control it (however, the more falsetto sounds are as clear and sharp as ever).

And I don't care for the format of this performance. Live recordings should have live audience reactions: one (often unrelated) song after another without applause had me wondering when--if ever--was the audience was going to be allowed to react.

Also, while I've never had the privilege of attending a Patinkin concert, I imagined that--above all-- he would be passionate. Perhaps he was. But what (mostly) comes across on the CD is a somber--almost technical--performance.

I hope he's healthy, that mixed quality of singing on this recording was just a fluke, and that his next CD will be a Five-star as all his previous ones have been

I too LOVE Mandy and Stephen Sondheim and own just about everything both has ever made! I also have been to 6 of Mandy's live performances. This was truly a big dissapointment to me. Every concert I have seen Mandy in has been filled with emotion and his personality just grabs hold of you for an evening of wonderful escape-ism. This to me was very un-entertaining and I actually became irritated after awhile of listening to it. It seemed to drone on with out the wonderful feelings and emotions and soaring voice that Mandy typically puts into his music. I gave this as a gift too (since my friend and I had missed Mandy at his Sondheim review in DC last year) and felt badly that I had. There are so many other great recordings of Mandy...Kidults, Saturday in the Park with George, The Secret Garden, Mandy sings Rogers & Hammerstien and Sondheim. This one has just sat on my shelf after I played it through twice hoping to warm up to it...while my other recordings are very worn out with years of playing!

This double CD included many little known Sondheim songs and it was a pleasure to hear them sung so well - my only problem was the change of volume, which at times became very loud