Customer Reviews

Something for the Boys

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

 

 

I've been listening to a lot of Cole Porter full cast recordings for a couple of years now and I must say: one never gets disappointed. I'm sure there has been no other songwriter as talented as he for both lyrics and music. (only Berlin comes close) So, what about this musical? The lyrics (not printed here) are entertaining and humorous, as always, but the music is, in my opinion, not really Porter's top level. But don't worry, music and words together are pleasant enough to listen to. Still, there are several good and well-known songs here, like The leader of a big-time band, He's a right guy, Hey,good lookin' and When my baby goes to town. A forgotten song, called Coffee, once intended for a deleted show, is added, and so is There must be someone for me, coming from the Mexican Hayride musical. Picking up forgotten songs is good, if they fit in, but why using songs from other Porter musicals? We know that he always wrote too many songs for each show, resulting in the fact that several of these were never used or were deleted. Why not including that material? Every collector is waiting to discover it! (look for 'The complete lyrics of Cole Porter' by Robert Kimball- every fan should have this book) But what really bothers me about this recording is that it offers us only a piano-vocal score, without orchestrations. It's a pity, because the songs were written to be performed that way. Was it too expensive maybe? In this way we never get in the right mood, I think. Still I hope that the 42nd St. Moon company will keep on recording a lot of forgotten scores in the future, because they're doing it really well. In this good sounding recording we can enjoy good singers and also the pianoplayer does a mighty good job, although I could'n find his or her name in the booklet. But next time: please add orchestrations and look for the deleted songs! So, here is my conclusion: if you're not a collector or you're a new Porter fan, don't start off with this one. It's quite good, but Cole Porter wrote better ones, like Nymph Errant, Kiss me Kate, Anything goes, Can Can, Out of this World, Stilk Stockings... Try those first. If you're a real collector on the other hand: don't hesitate, buy it.

This review is less about the CD and more about the "sellers" who are selling it for $45 to $199. That is CRAZY!!! The CD isn't out of stock, you just have to purchase it through the theatre company that produced it. 42nd Street Moon (website is 42ndstmoon.org). You go to the "about us" section and look at the "recordings" you can get it NEW for $15. Those sellers should be ashamed of themselves, trying to sell a CD that you can buy NEW for $199. It's literally robbery!

This recording seems to follow the score as exactly written by Cole Porter, with no orchestrations, and is a great opportunity to know how worked the american master. The arrangement of 'The leader of a big time band' differs a little with the one I've heard conducted by maestro Mc Glinn, but when Cole Porter writes for piano a score with color, less than what's meant for a 'serious' composer, it is exactly reflected in the orchestrations of Robert Russel Bennet, his major musical mentor. Other orchestrators destroy literally the original score.