Customer Reviews

The Maury Yeston Songbook

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an incredibly moving piece of music. When I first went to buy it I was reluctant because I didn't know much of the music, which also actually a reason I wanted to buy it, I like new music that I've never heard before. Anyway the music is incredibly melodic and moving. I could listen to it endlessly without ever getting tired of it. I love all of the songs on it. But some of my favorite songs are " My Grandmother's Love letters" " By The River" " I Am Longing" and " Another Day In The Modern World." The whole cd is incredibly amazing. If you have never listened to Maury Yeston before you are seriously missing something. If you can't tell I highly, highly recommend this cd.

Being a huge Yeston fan I couldn't wait for the release of this CD. And it didn't disappoint. This is a CD that every Yeston fan, or Musical theater fan should have in their collection. With songs from Phantom, Grand Hotel, December Songs, Titanic, Nine, In the Beginning and with several world premieres this CD is priceless. Alice Ripley's rendition of "Please Let's Not Even Say Hello" is heartfelt and with one of the best voice's on Broadway Sutton Foster's "I Want to Go To Hollywood" is sensational. One of the best songs on the CD is "Danglin'" sung by Johnny Rodgers- hard to believe that Yeston actually wrote it. Laura Benanti and Robert Cuccioli's rendition of "Home," one of the greatest duets ever written is gorgeous. Other great performances are given by Christine Andreas, Liz Callaway, Brian d'Arcy James, Howard McGillin, and many more. All the performances aren't great, however. While Betty Buckley sings "I Had A Dream About You" beautifully she barks her way through "Be On Your Own" (sounds like Grizabella is being run over by a truck.) Alice Ripley's "Call To the Vatican" while not horrible, doesn't come anywhere near to the performances of Anita Morris or even Jane Krakowski for that matter. Going for a Marilyn Monroe quality her voice is a little too breathy and the way she takes license with the rythms in the song drives me insane. But these performance haven't stopped me from playing this CD non-stop for the past week.

This CD is, in a word, spectacular. It's difficult to believe that one person wrote all the music and lyrics to such a diverse collection. It is also difficult to believe that Maury Yeston is not better known. If you are familiar with the shows "Nine" and "Titanic" but don't really know his music and are the least bit curious, don't hesitate to buy this CD. Trust me: You WON'T be disappointed. The material is wonderful, and most of the singers are great. A couple of the performances are a bit "over the top" but the material still shines through. My personal favorites are Please Let's Not Even Say Hello, I Want to Go to Hollywood, Danglin, My Grandmother's Love Letters, Simple, and No Moon. But, believe me, there are absolutely no "clinkers" on this CD; every selection is a fantastic piece of songwriting. Bravo to Maury Yeston!

I am a singer myself, and this CD is now a new piece of inspiration for me. I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty that is showcased in so many of Maury Yeston's pieces. Listening to the CD several times today, I was especially taken by the song "Another Day in the Modern World," sung by Michael Holland, "My Grandmother's Love Letters," sung by Christine Ebersole and Philip Chaffin's version of "My True Love," from "Phantom." Yeston's use of such refreshingly lush melodies, moved me tears several times! It is rare that so many songs on one album have an impact on me, and this one definitely does. It is the rare, perfect blend of inventful lyrics and hauntingly beautiful chords that makes this CD a winner!!

"The Maury Yeston Songbook" is a gem of an album. From the opening song "Please Let's not Even Say Hello" by the stunning Alice Ripley to the incomperable Betty Buckley as well as the beautiful vocal instruments of Liz Callaway, Laura Benanti, Christine Ebersole, Brian D'Arcy James and the beautiful rendition of "No Moon" from Titanic by the wonderful Howard McGillan. This is as pleasurable a listening experience as you will find. Compiled by the multitalented John McDaniel,it is a stunning tribute to a brilliant composer. Run, don't walk to add this to your CD collection.

Maury Yeston's scores for Nine, Grand Hotel, and Titanic rank among some of the strongest and most solidly musical of the last three decades on Broadway, and to finally have so many of his peerless tunes in one place is a musical treat long overdue. The wonderful cast assembled for this album generally makes sure that each of Yeston's songs receives a stirring, and often near-definitive, rendition.

There are exceptions, of course--Betty Buckley's "Be On Your Own" is almost unlistenably shrill, while Alice Ripley is completely lost in "A Call From the Vatican," neither up to the challenge vocally or emotionally. And some of the choices in numbers excluded are odd. (Why only one number each from two of Yeston's most significant successes, Grand Hotel and Titanic?) But nonetheless, just about everything else is extraordinary. Ripley's opening "Please Let's Not Even Say Hello" is baldly emotional and tremendously moving, Laura Benanti lends her golden-tinged voice to two great songs, and the talents of such superb vocalists as Eden Espinoza, Brent Barrett, Liz Callaway, Brian d'Arcy James, and Howard McGillin are put to excellent use.

There are also plenty of surprises here, such as "Danglin'," maybe the best song Yeston's ever written that doesn't sound like a song he could write. (The country twang Johnny Rodgers gives the song lends it an authenticity it was probably never intended to have.) And the disc's best number is the almost unknown "You're There Too," a highly unusual but unforgettable ballad sung by Christopher Fitzgerald with a heart and purity that demonstrates why he's such a vital (if sadly underutilized) commodity in the modern musical theatre.

Fans of Yeston's work will want to snap this up right away, but anyone interested in the development of musical theatre as a song-writing form should pick it up immediately as well. Perhaps no one has been more influential or more successful artistically in that area than Yeston. This disc preserves his fine musical past, and suggests a rich future we all would benefit from his embracing and fulfilling.

I bought this cd just for "I want to go to Hollywood" with Sutton Foster. Im a Huge crazy fan of hers and this was not a disapointment. She does such a great job with it. I actually only listen to 3 other songs which are worth the buy.
Danglin' sung by Jonny Rogers is a beautiful song even though i don't think he performed it as well as Sutton Foster in her concert.
Is Someone out There sung by Eden Espinosa is also great. SHe is starring in the new musical Brooklyn. THe song is great and her voice has a very unique quality to it.
The 4th is Home sung by Laura Benanti & Robert Cuccioli. This is SUCH a beautiful song and is performed great. I love this song along with the other 3 ive listed.
Buy this cd if you are willing to listen to 4 great songs and find some of your own favorites. Its very worth it to buy for just 1 song because you will end up loving it

There are so many brilliant performances on this CD that I don't even know where to begin. From start to finish, this CD sweeps you away on a rollercoaster of emotions. Now, this CD isn't perfect by any means; a few of the artists are performing songs that aren't really suited to their abilities, but the heart is there and that's really all that matters in the end.

If you love Broadway, if you love GOOD music in general, and you want to be moved by songs rather than merely entertained, you must get this CD.

I am not really very familiar with Maury Yeston's work. The first time I heard a MY song was on Phillip Quast CD: Live at teh Donwar (New Words). Immediately, I got caught with the simplicity, but effectiviness of its melody. The Maury Yeston CD is a good collection of simple, yet heart-felt songs. The best songs here are "Danglin", "Please Lets not even say hello", "Another Day in the Modern World", and "Unusual Way". Some reviewers cited Frances Rueffelle's version of "Unusual Way" as the definitive version. I wouldnt really know, but the version here is very good. It probably shows that the beauty is in the material. The MY songs would stand, not so much because of the interpreter.

Maury Yeston may be musical theatre's unsung genius to the public at large, but I've heard his praises sung many times. A friend convinced me to buy the original Broadway cast of "Nine", and while there were some fantastic songs and an undeniable melodic gift throughout, it left me lukewarm. The same with "Grand Hotel". And I couldn't stand "Titanic" - too big, too self-important, too reliant on booming low brass and bombastic orchestral swells.

"Phantom" was the only one of his scores that touched something other than distanced admiration in me. It was everything Sir Lloyd Webber's popera travesty could never quite aspire to - epic yet human, beautiful and touching, with songs that showed actual details and emotions. So it was with that in mind that I purchased this, figuring that maybe Maury could prove me wrong, shorn from the restrictions of a book musical format.

And by God, did he prove me right and then some.

Maybe it's the singers. Maybe it's the perfect orchestrations. Maybe it's just the absence of a plot to follow. More than likely, it's all three, but this is one of the most gorgeous, enjoyable, heartbreaking albums I've ever purchased. Yeston has assembled an impressive cast to give voice to his music - such heavy Broadway hitters as Alice Ripley, Brent Barrett, Betty Buckley, Christine Ebersole and Howard McGillin mix with up-and-comers like Eden Espinosa, Sutton Foster, and Brian d'Arcy James. But the most impressive turns are given by people I'd never heard of before - Johnny Rodgers (who?) has a voice spun from gold, and he's absolutely perfect in "Danglin'", a simple and powerful song despite some odd lyric choices by Yeston. Likewise Philip Chaffin in "My True Love" and "I Am Longing", and Michael Holland displays a warm and untrained performance of "Another Day in the Modern World". These three men, who I'd never heard of before, absolutely stole the show. It doesn't hurt that they're given some of the best songs from the album.

Of course, the rest of the ensemble uniformly turns in worthwhile performances. The professionalism of Broadway is gloriously evident here, each singer making their song uniquely theirs. Brent Barrett made me hear "Only With You" as if for the first time. Betty Buckley is surprisingly vulnerable in "I Had A Dream About You". Alice Ripley is her usual bundle of raw emotion in "Please Let's Not Even Say Hello", and turns in a rare comic performance in "Call From The Vatican" to great effect (listen to that surprise high note near the end! Wow, Alice!). Christine Ebersole is heartbroken, elated, vulnerable, and tough all in the course of "Grandmother's Love Letters"' 4 minutes.

There are some weak spots - Eden Espinosa is mostly one-note during her song, and while it's certainly a high note, it's nothing you haven't heard her do better elsewhere. Laura Benanti's "Now and Then" goes by without much notice, which is a shame for this talented actress. And Betty Buckley goes back to her usual high-volume stridence in "Be On Your Own", which despite its chilling music deserves a more nuanced performance than Buckley gives here. But these songs would be standouts on any other album, and it's only the company they keep that prevent them from being excellent.

Oh, and "Unusual Way", possibly Yeston's best-known song, is so beautifully performed here by Brian d'Arcy James and a three-piece band that I nearly cried hearing it. And that's quite a feat for a song that I swore never to listen to again after the seventeenth girl in a day auditioned with it (badly). But the gender swap works perfectly, and d'Arcy James' golden Irish tenor swings through the music effortlessly.

As for the band - there are no missteps here. Each song is given exactly what it needs, from the Romantic-with-a-capital-R string section on "Home", to the jazzy saxophone on "Letter From the Vatican", to "Be On Your Own", which is given a Herrmann-esque string section. Some particular touches stand out - that lovely acoustic guitar on "Danglin'", the simple piano line on "Modern World", and the sublime cello/piano outro in "Unusual Way" really stuck with me after the album stopped playing. And the recording is without fault - crisp, encompassing, personable and expansive as the mood requires. The whole album sounds fantastic.

There is such a wide range of style and substance here that each song would deserve purchasing individually. As a collection? It's bliss. If you're a fan of theater music, appreciate great vocals, or just need something to keep you company on long nights, this is required purchase.