Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast) [Cast Recording, Live]

Stephen Sondheim | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 13, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1973
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording, Live
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000003F1M
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,794 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Overture [Extended Version]

2. Do I Hear a Waltz?

3. If Momma Was Married

4. America [From West Side Story]

5. One More Kiss [Follies]

6. Broadway Baby [Follies]

7. You Could Drive a Person Crazy [Company]

8. Take Me to the World [Evening Primrose]

9. I Remember [Evening Primrose]

10. Silly People [Little Night Music]

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Entr'acte

2. Me and My Town (Anyone Can Whistle)

3. The Little Things You Do Together [From Company]

4. Getting Married Today [Company]

5. Buddy's Blues [Follies]

6. So Many People [Saturday Night]

7. Another Hundred People [Company]

8. Happily Ever After [Company]

9. Being Alive [Company]

10. We're Gonna Be All Right [Do I Hear a Waltz?]

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for Sondheim fans!, December 31, 2001

By 

ShowTunes (Aurora, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast) (Audio CD)

Aside from featuring a song ("Two Fairy Tales") that appears on no other tribute/compilation CD that I'm aware of, and several other rarely performed tunes, this tribute has another significant feature: All the singers appeared in, or were intended to appear in, original Sondheim productions, so the net effect is to provide some tantalizing examples of how these songs sounded live on stage by their original singers.

There are so many treasures on this CD! Examples: If you doubted that Beth Howland owns "Getting Married Today," this rendition will put your doubts to rest; she actually sings it faster than on the OBR of Company! Similarly, while there have been plenty of decent renditions of "Broadway Baby," Ethel Shutta proves why she was the first (and best). Nancy Walker's "I'm Still Here" ranks with the greatest versions of this song. And what a joy it is to hear Angela Lansbury, by this time an experienced musical thespian, singing songs from Anyone Can Whistle with considerable assurance.

One small complaint I have is that while the cast of the then-current A Little Night Music appears, none of them sings any songs on their own; they merely provide part of the chorus (and Hermione Gingold was one of the "Beautiful Girls). As I am a Len Cariou fan, I was disappointed that I didn't get to hear him live. Still, this is a sensational collection that should delight both Sondheim fans and musical theatre fans in general.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Collection of early Sondheim material, July 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast) (Audio CD)

This concert was recorded live at the Shubert theatre in New York in March of 1973 - just a few weeks after A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC had opened. Being a live recording there are some technical drawbacks - hence 4 stars instead of 5 - but the electicity generated by the performers and the event have never been matched by any subsequent Sondheim concert.

Among the highlights: -Nancy Walker's definative performance of "I'm Still Here."

-Ethel Shutta recreating her showstopping "Broadway Baby" which was abridged on the FOLLIES cast album

-Jack Cassidy and Susan Browning in a premiere recording of "So Many people" from the unproduced SATURDAY NIGHT

-Larry Kert offering both "Happily Ever After" and its replacement "Being Alive" from COMPANY.

-A half-dozen songs that had not been heard because they were dropped from shows before opening night or left off teh cast albums.

-Angela Lansbury recreating two of her big numbers from the ill-fated ANYONE CAN WHISTLE

-and, a grand finale where Sondheim himself sings (?) the title song from WHISTLE.

A useful overview of some of his best work (to 1973 at least) enlived by some steller performances. The original 2 LP set had been out-of-print for many years fetching $85 a copy at collector shops. RCA's CD edition restores some addional material left off the Lp and is a great bargain!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish this CD would never end!, April 12, 2000

By 

"gplechuck" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast) (Audio CD)

This is probably my favorite of the Sondheim compilation CDs I have. It's a live concert recorded in 1973, right in the middle of the "Golden Age" of Sondheim. It's got the great songs one would expect ("Being Alive", "America", "Broadway Baby") and it also has a good handful of songs that were cut from his shows...all of them on par or better with the ones that were kept in! It stars many of the members of "Company" and "Follies" along with biggies like Chita Rivera and Angela Lansbury, whose "Me and My Town" is a riot. My only complaint is the sound quality. But if anything, it just gives the recording more character! This is a great CD and I couldn't consider my Sondheim collection complete without it.