Customer Reviews

Sail Away (Original 1962 London Cast Recording)

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

 

 

SAIL AWAY wasn't a big hit on Broadway when it opened in 1961, running a scant 167 performances. However, the show was received with a better reception in London, opening at the Savoy Theatre in 1962, running 252 performances. Noel Coward's sparkling score and the fabulous Elaine Stritch are the main drawcards for buying this cast album.

Fynsworth Alley has reissued the original London cast album of SAIL AWAY, which Stritch herself considers as superior to the Broadway cast album. At last, this tuneful and witty score, with the formidale Stritch as the lead character Mimi Paragon, can be discovered for a new generation of fans.

Most memorable are Elaine Stritch's numbers "Why Do the Wrong People Travel?", "Useless Useful Phrases", "Come to Me", and the lovely 11 o'clock number "Something Very Strange".

The supporting cast includes John Hewer (THE BOY FRIEND) and Dorothy Reynolds (SALAD DAYS), with Grover Dale, Sheila Forbes, Mavis Villiers, Edith Day, David Holliday, Margaret Christensen and Sydney Arnold.

SAIL AWAY is a must-own for fans of Elaine Stritch and the genius of Noel Coward.

For anyone who is a fan of Elaine Stritch, this is a must own.

For those of you looking for an interesting new (old) show, this is the one for you. The music is delightfully simple and the lyrics are wonderful. Certain songs have me thinking of Sondheim. Coward is a sarcastic and incredibly funny lyricist.

Just as Bernadette Peters is a perfect match for Sondheim, Stritch is a perfect match for Coward.

BUY IT NOW!

Many Broadway officianados were no doubt looking forward to the reissue of this long out of print "classic" starring the incomparable Elaine Stritch. Sad to say, one listening confirms why this show failed to make an impact, either on Broadway or London's West End. This dreary, bland little musical about not much of anything barely registers on any level. Most of the songs are trivial as well as instantly forgettable, and there is no story to speak of so nothing much keeps you interested. It takes Ms. Stritch's six solos to pull you out of the ether and, although even her considerable talents can't quite make a musical out of this mess, it's a marvelous document of Stritch hitting her stride. Thanks to CD programming, I can skip the rest of the dross and just listen to "Stritchie" (as Noel Coward use to call her) do her thing. And what a wonderful thing it is. Stritch may not have the best vocal instrument ever, but is there anyone else who can put their interpretive stamp on a song the way she does? Much like the late, great Dolores Gray, when Elaine Stritch interprets a song, every other singer in the world might as well forget about ever trying it. Stritch puts her definitive stamp on everything she touches. Yes, a trilly songbird like Julie Andrews makes a song sound wonderful. but with Stritch you hear the words, their meaning, and the song "feels" wonderful. Here, her "Why Do the Wrong People Travel" is a classic of sorts, and she amazingly brought as much gusto to the song in her one-woman show "At Liberty" some forty years later. In fact, she makes even the pedestrian "Useless Useful Phrases" worth a few listens. In fact, it's hard not to imagine what Stritch could have done with great parts at this point in her career, instead of mediocre trifles like "Sail Away". Oh well, what matters most is that Stritch was in the house for "Sail Away", and now she's there to stay. Bon vayage!

I must disagree with all of the other reviewers. This is a top-notch Coward score, with lilting melodies and absolutely chockfull of brilliant rhymes. Coward, Porter and Sondheim were/are the three greatest composer/lyricists of the 20th century, and this is IMHO Coward's best score. It doesn't take a Stritch to make a line like
"In the smallest street, where the gourmets meet
They invariably fetch up.
And it's hard to make them accept a steak
That isn't served rare and smeared with ketchup"
be funny. Though she certainly doesn't hurt! I would put this show in the same category as the Rodgers/Sondheim "Do I Hear a Waltz" and Coward's other 60's flop "The girl who came to supper" as neglected masterpieces. I say: buy!

This is one of Noel Cowards best in my opinion.The songs are great and the cast of singers are wonderful.A must buy.

Two performers stand out on this Noel Coward gem: the wonderfully funny Elaine Stritch, and the charismatic unforgettable golden tenor David Holliday (definitely F.A.B. Virgil). This cd is well worth buying just to hear these two exceptional singer/actors.

Item (a British CD) was difficult to find, but it was available on Amazon.

I had a very quick delivery without any problems. This has been my experience the other three times that I have used Amazon.