Tenderloin (2000 Encores! Concert Cast) [Cast Recording]

David Ogden Stiers, Encores (Concert Series), Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Debbie Gravitte | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Drg
• ASIN: B00004U034
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,641 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overture

2. Bless This Land

3. Little Old New York

4. Dr. Brock

5. Artificial Flowers

6. What's In It For You?

7. Reform

8. Tommy, Tommy

9. The Picture Of Happiness

10. Dear Friend

11. The Army Of The Just

12. How The Money Changes Hands

13. Entr'acte

14. Good Clean Fun

15. My Miss Mary

16. My Gentle Young Johnny

17. The Picture Of Happiness (Reprise)

18. The Trial

19. Reform (Reprise)

20. Tommy, Tommy (Reprise)

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dull score, perfunctory programming, September 9, 2000

By 

John McWhorter (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tenderloin (2000 Encores! Concert Cast) (Audio CD)

I have always been frankly baffled as to why musicals fans cherish this score so much in comparison to the authors' gems FIORELLO!, SHE LOVES ME, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Okay, the overture kicks in with a freshly prancy figure, and the original album's artwork and design were a lot of fun. But the dedication to writing several songs within the genre of the Police Gazette period means a lot of songs with a rather bland harmonic pallette for 1960; the lyrics are certainly smooth, but there is nothing in my view as deliciously clever and singular as in FIORELLO, a show which in general TENDERLOIN parallels too closely in tone and subject matter to stand as an original statement. Character is spread thin in this one -- take away the pastiches and the preaching (which says little about Brock as an individual) and all you have is "Gentle Young Johnny" and "Tommy, Tommy". I have always gotten the sense that one needed to SEE this one.

The show is, as other reviewers note, not particularly well-served by the recording. These ENCORES albums range oddly from magnificent (BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, LOUISIANA PURCHASE) to almost strangely perfunctory affairs where the orchestra sounds tinny (OUT OF THIS WORLD) and whole chunks of the score are left out for no reason (CALL ME MADAM, otherwise great). I simply do not think we are getting our money's worth to buy something which is little more than a slightly crisper-sounding version of an older recording which modern technology now has made sound almost as good anyway.

If Goddard Lieberson and Thomas Z. Shepherd beefed up the strings for recordings, would it really be prohibitively expensive to do so today? Seeing how fabulous the dance music to shows like KISS ME KATE and BOYS FROM SYRACUSE is, why skimp on it when recordings are the only way to hear these marvelous arrangements today (revivals necessarily omit or rewrite it, old recordings didn't have space)?

Of course all in all the ENCORES project is wonderful, but TENDERLOIN is the first one that I, as a diehard collector and listener, basically ran through twice and doubt if I will spend much time with in the future. What worries me is that BABES IN ARMS was miscast; the "restoration" of ST. LOUIS WOMAN is pleasant in its way but sounds in arrangement and singing style more like BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR than 1946; OUT OF THIS WORLD is often conducted too slowly and the orchestra sounds like seven people. Please tell me that money has not dried up to really do these shows proud in the future -- and let's hope the next project is not a recording of the LI'L ABNER concert with seven more minutes than the original album.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but seek out the Angel recording, August 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tenderloin (2000 Encores! Concert Cast) (Audio CD)

This is a recording of the Encores 2000 concert production of "Tenderloin," a 1960 Broadway effort by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, the esteemed composing team of "Fiorello!" "She Loves Me," "Fiddler on the Roof," and "The Rothschilds". The show, which was written after "Fiorello!" and prior to "She Loves Me" ran 216 performances, but despite its failure, does have an interesting score that is worth checking out.

"Tenderloin" is set in New York City of the 1890s and concerns the battle to clean up New York's Tenderloin (ie: 'red-light') district, waged by the overzealous Dr. Brock. The score has an interesting, period sound, with many of the numbers attempting to sound like parlor songs of the day, such as "Artifical Flowers" and "My Miss Mary". There are also some rousing numbers for the ladies of the night, including "Little Old New York," "Picture of Happiness," and "The Money Changes Hands".

The original Broadway cast recording was available on Angel, but apparently has gone out of print. That performance of the score has a lot going for it, including the zesty performances of Eileen Rodgers, Ron Husmann and an idiosyncratic star performance from the famous Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans as Dr. Brock.

What the Encores recording has going for it is infinitely better sound quality than the original recording, which does have a strange boxy, slightly muffled sound. The Irwin Kostal orchestrations, in particular, sound better on the new recording, even if the orchestra has a few tenuous moments. And the Encores cast is a decent group, with David Ogden Stiers making the Dr. Brock songs sound a little more musical than Maurice Evans did. Patrick Wilson, in the Ron Husmann role, sings strongly, sounding much more tenor-ish than the baritone Hussman. The new recording includes the Entr'acte, and a brief reprise of "The Picture of Happiness," and a little more dialogue, but apart from that, the two albums are almost identical in the amount of recorded musical material. (A shame, because the show features some wonderful Jack Elliot dance arrangements that could have been included on the new recording -- a missed opportunity.)

"Tenderloin" fans will want to have both recordings. Anyone seeking but unable to find the original recording should not fret about purchasing the Encores version, but the original one still has a slight edge over this recording, despite its assets.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good production of an average musical, August 18, 2000

By 

Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tenderloin (2000 Encores! Concert Cast) (Audio CD)

I bought this album mainly due to the wonderful belting voice of Debbie Gravitte. "Little Old New York" is a perfect song for her and it was a pleasure to hear it. She also nailed her part in two other songs as well. The rest of the cast did fairly well and David Ogden Stiers' performance even quite grew on me. I have been a little ambivalent the few times I have seen him live but I thought he brought a nice touch to the role on CD of Dr. Brock.

This is not a favourite score of mine. It is quite weak Bock and Harnick (their weakest in my opinion) with too many songs capturing a period flavour without adding any passion of feeling. I have not listened to the original Broadway cast in a while but I do not remembering enjoying the ensemble prostitute numbers as much. They come across quite lively on this album.

All in all, a good CD of a mediocre show that perhaps did not need a second CD but I would never turn down an opportunity to hear Debbie Gravitte.