Take Me Along (1959 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording, Original recording remastered]

Bob Merrill (Composer), Jackie Gleason (Performer), Walter Pidgeon (Performer), Eileen Herlie (Performer), Robert Morse (Performer), Una Merkel (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording, Original recording remastered
• Label: Drg
• ASIN: B001MZ5W4G
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,698 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meet the Millers, February 10, 2009

By 

Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take Me Along (1959 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

There have been two attempts to turn Eugene O'Neill's only comedy, AH! WILDERNESS into a musical.

The first was an M-g-M film called SUMMER HOLIDAY directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Mickey Rooney, Gloria Delavan and Walter Houston. The film, had it been a success, might have allowed Mamoulian to pursue more integrated movie musicals in the same way he encouraged Rodgers and Hammerstsin to integrate their scores on stage for OKLAHOMA! and CAROUSEL. The film sat on the shelf for nearly two years before M-g-M released a heavily edited version that failed. (Rhino has issued the complete score on CD if you are curious.)

The second attempt was announced as CONNECTICUT HOLIDAY but by the time it arrived on Broadway it had a new title, taken from the show's hit song - a soft shoe routine for Jackie Gleason and Walter Pidgeon, "Take Me Along."

That points up one of the major flaws: Pidgeon (playing the hero's father) and Gleason (as his Uncle) are not the main characters. Their song, though a crowd-pleaser, doesn't have anything to do with the plot, and despite a festive 4th-of-July styled show poser (and album cover) this play is not about a 4th of July picnic. Rather it is bittersweet coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia for a world that is long gone, if in fact it ever existed at all.

Robert Morse played the sensitive and romantic Richard, so it's a little odd that he gets so little to sing here. Pidgeon and Gleason do, and while neither has a great singing voice both are loaded with character. Pidgeon's touching second act reprise of "Staying Young" (in which he sadly concludes he isn't) is one of those special moments that made this a better than average cast album

Another is Eileen Herlie (the late Eileen Herlie as I write this) as the wounded bird, Aunt Lily: In love with Sid but unable to stomach his constant boozing. Her "Promise Me a Rose" perfectly captures O'Neill's character.

Jackie Gleason was the top-billed (and highest paid) member of the cast and from all reports he gave a superb performance as the alcoholic Uncle Sid. Or at least he did until he got bored with playing 8 shows a week. The problem is that this isn't SID's story, much as Gleason wanted it to be. So it is Gleason who gets the big numbers, roaring into town with "Sid Ol' Kid", romancing Lily in "I Get Embarrassed", dueting with brother Nat for "Take Me Along", reassuring his hung over nephew with "Little Green Snake" and wrapping up the show with a promise to reform in "But Yours" heading off on the trolley with Lily in tow in the "Finale." This is a great and varied score, but with the emphasis shifted to Uncle Sid, Richard's story (Which was the heart of O'Neill's play) gets lost in the shuffle.

Audiences didn't seem to mind as long as Gleason was there giving his all. But when he grew bored and restless, so did the audience and the show eventually folded after year long run. A revival in 1985 lasted just one performance.

The show deserves better because in spit of the imbalance in the book, the score is very enjoyable and the story - even as told - is still effective.

This original cast recording preserves Bob Merrill's score. Even if he did have to bang out the tunes on a xylophone letting his orchestrators work out the details, the songs in this score have more period flavor and character detail than his songs for NEW GIRL IN TOWN.

RCA Victor recorded the show a few days before its Broadway premiere in rare vote of confidence. The LP remained in print for almost 20 years, reappearing (briefly) on CD in 1995. Now DRG is giving collectors a second chance to meet the Millers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BOB MERRILL'S DELIGHTFUL VERSION OF O'NEILL'S "AH, WILDERNESS" . . ., March 5, 2009

By 

J. T Waldmann "yaakov98" (Carmel, IN, home to the fabulous new Regional Performing Arts Center.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take Me Along (1959 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I've been a fan of the original Broadway cast recording of TAKE ME ALONG for nearly 50 years. Who can resist the opening number? First, the citizens of Centerville, Connecticut thank Mayor Nat Miller (Walter Pidgeon) for "This ve-ry at-trac-at-ive, tho-rough-ly mo-der-en mar-vel-ous fi-re mac-hine;" then the score segues into "Oh, Please, "Nat's "ah, shucks" reaction to his family's praise; followed by "I Would Die," in which son Richard (Robert Morse) and his girlfriend Muriel (Susan Lukey) compare their forbidden romance to the fates of Annabelle Lee, Camille, and other 19th-century doomed lovers.

With the arrival of Sid Davis (Jackie Gleason), the show changes from a coming-of-age story to a show about Jackie Gleason. I can just picture producer David Merrick telling the show's creative staff: "Look, guys. I've just signed 'The Great One' so Sid's role has to be bigger. And give Jackie a couple more songs." Gleason, a CBS-TV stalwart since 1950, could be counted on to be a box office draw. And he was; he even won the 1960 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical.

In an era (1910) when getting drunk in public could disgrace one's family (Richard's "That's How It Starts"), Gleason's over-the-top "Ralph Kramden as a drunk" character is much too prominent. And, except for the title tune and his Act II duet with Eileen Herlie ("But Yours"), his songs are among the score's weakest and his delivery makes them sound even more vulgar than they are.

Gleason aside, the rest of the cast is top-notch. Both Pidgeon and Morse were nominated (along with Gleason) for Best Actor in a Musical and Ms. Herlie for Best Actress. Bob Merrill's score is mostly excellent: the "sparkling" overture (arr. by Carroll Huxley); Pidgeon's "Staying Young" and its reprise; Gleason, Pidgeon & Townspeople's "Volunteer Fireman Picnic;" Herlie's "We're Home" and "Promise Me a Rose," one of the best songs ever written for Broadway. Of Robert Morse's performance, Richard Dunn wrote: "One of the strongest numbers is the romantic ballad sung by young Richard, who can barely wait until 'Nine O'Clock,' when his beloved will meet him Listen to Morse here and you'll get a very good idea of the innocence, charm, and heart that pervaded Broadway musicals of this era." ["Theater Mania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings"]

Steven Suskin, author of the liner notes for RCA's original CD release, also wrote: "It could well be . . . that TAKE ME ALONG would have been a stronger and more successful show without Gleason." [Playbill News, Feb. 1, 2009] Very possibly. But even with The Great One's imposing presence, it's pretty darned good show.

You're gonna love it!

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful score, March 4, 2009

By 

Robert Ray (Sassafras, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take Me Along (1959 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

This is one of my favourite Broadway scores, and hence a treasured CD. Every song is a good one, and the performances are great. Bob Merrill's melodies are lovely and fetching. I think this was his best score, slightly ahead of "Carnival" which is another gem. Don't hesitate!