Customer Reviews

Song & Dance (1982 London Cast)

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This is a two disc compilation of the London show of Song and Dance. The first disc features Marti Webb in a one-woman show about an English Girl going to America, while the second is a instrumental/ballet of variations composed by Webber based (VERY loosely) on a theme by Paganini.

The first disc (originally entitled Tell Me on a Sunday) is a tour-de-force in and of itself. Although Bernadette Peters won a Tony in the main role on Broadway, I actually prefer Webb's performance here. She brings a touching innocence to the role that makes it all the more believable. Some of the songs (especially Tell Me On a Sunday) are among the most beautiful Webber has written (Unexpected Song, which is in the broadway version, is not featured here. It does appear in the second disc with different lyrics as "When you want to fall in love").

The second disc is a bit more unusual in its contents. Webber combines Jazz, Classical, Tap, and Rock into a very Eclectic mixture that might not be to the tastes of some. I found it to work very well, however.

You should be forewarned that this is a live recording(opening night!), with all the dangers and rewards inherent therein. The audience can be quite noticable (especially on the second disc), and the show is not perfectly polished yet. On the other hand, I found the energy injected into the performance by the audience to be of a quite positive nature.

Having heard "Tell me on a Sunday" and "Take That Look off Your Face" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Premier Collection" I have always wanted to hear the complete recording by Marti Webb. Now it is a dream come true: Ms. Webb's subtle, emotional, and believable performance in "Tell me on a Sunday", is flawless. The music is terrific, the lyrics by turns pensive and comical (though some British references may be hard to catch); Disc 2, "Variations", retains the electricity of the live recording, and the finale "When you Want to Fall in Love", is a special treat: it was re-written as "An Unexpected Song" for the Broadway Cast Recording starring Bernadette Peters (another wonderful album).

Song & Dance premiered in West End in 1982. It is comprised of two pieces Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote in the 70-is: the short musical called "Tell me on a Sunday" and the instrumental piece called "Variations" that he composed based on the work of 18-19th century violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini. The latter was written for Webber's brother Julian, who plays the cello, although not in this recording. The title is derived from the fact that the first part is formed by the songs only and the second by the orchestra and Wayne Sleep's dancing troupe.

"Tell me on a Sunday" tells the story of a young English girl in New York, going through various love affairs and dealing with the life in another country. The music consists of beautifully composed pop and ballad songs, among the finest Lloyd Webber has ever done. The orchestrations are neatly made; I am especially fond of the parts when the orchestra takes the lead within a song, especially the saxophone part in "Come back with the same look in your eyes." Other noticeable songs are "Take that look off your face", "You're the last man in my life"; "Tell me on a Sunday" and many more. The lyrics of Don Black, Lloyd Webbers later cooperator on "Aspects of love" and "Sunset Blvd" are as witty as always. The first disc with the musical is almost entirely sung-through and although various characters are mentioned, we only see and hear the English girl.


The role of the English girl was originally written for Marti Webb, who played it as a solo part in the 70-is. She reprised her role on this live recording as well. She sounds perfect for the character of a young girl because her vocal abilities seem very suitable for that particular role. She brings a touch of a childish playfulness to it and that works very well. After Marti, many others played the role outside Song & Dance framework, including Sarah Brightman for a TV special and, most recently, Denise Van Outen for the current UK Tour. Marti herself is still playing the part at some parts of the said tour. The show was modernized to match today's standards, so instead of writing letters to her parents as she does on this recording, today the English girl emails them and among other things mentions "Friends" in the show. Also, songs were re-written and some new ones added. Despite of that, this original live 1982 recording works more than well. My only complaint is the lack of the lyrics in the booklet.


"Variations" loosely based on Paganini's compositions are a group of songs performed by the orchestra alone to which the group of professional dancers headed by Wayne Sleep danced. It was quite a sight according to the pictures in the booklet. Here Webber combines pop, jazz and even step dancing. The result is a wonderful mixture of fabulously composed music, which is attested by the enthusiastic response from the audience on this recording. As such, this CD works lovely as background music.

Song & Dance therefore is an obligatory part of any Lloyd Webber fan's collection.

I originally bought this CD because I thought that Sarah Brightman was singing on it. I had seen a 'Song & Dance' TV performance that had Sarah in the title role. Although, I was initially disappointed that Sarah Brightman wasn't singing, I have since come to appreciate Marti Webb. I love the music and also the ironic humour in the lyrics. When I listen to the 'Dance' disc I always remember the wonder of Wayne Sleep's dancing in the TV performance. No one could top Wayne Sleep back then. I can (and do) listen to 'Song & Dance' over and over again

This is a MUST HAVE for fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical productions. A clever and entertaining piece with a time-old theme and great lyrics !

Vastly under rated Andrew Lloyd Webber show, albiet with inane lyrics by hack Don Black. Once in a while they work, but the performance by Marti Webb is a lot more real than Bernadette Peters Broadway performance. The show makes a bit more sense in this version, too. Now if only we could get the Sarah Brightman version on CD.

well this musical its wanderfull i listen this two cd's and fall in love this is wanderful the most beutiful and creative is the track variations 1-4 is the #1 of this cd

This version of Song and Dance is quite a delight to listen to -- the best aspect of the recording being the fact that it's LIVE. Marti Webb has a good, strong voice, and she sings wonderfully, especially in songs such as "You Made Me Think You Were in Love" and "Capped Teeth and Ceasar Salad". I've not heard Bernadette Peter's version of this show, but I think this version may well be better because both acts 1 and 2 are featured. The Variations (act 2) absolutely ROCKS, and you don't have to be there to imagine the energy of the performers. A downside to this CD is that "Unexpeced Song" is not on it -- instead, it's presented as "When You Want to Fall in Love" at the end of Act 2, which isn't all that effective. Plus, if you don't like to listen to instrumental music, you may find act 2 a bit boring, as my friends have. But all in all I like this recording, although it isn't perfect, and Lloyd Webber fans out there will probably like it too.