Customer Reviews

Out Of This World (1995 New York Revival Cast)

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

 

 

having been privileged enuf to attend the live performance of "out of this world" a few years back, i can attest to all the flaws inherent in this show. BUT the original album is brilliant, and this recording is -- if anything -- even better.

all of the performers are at least the equals of their predecessors, and some (like andrea martin) manage to even surpass: not an easy task in view of the brilliance of greenwood's original.

add to this the improved sound, the inclusion of a few numbers left off the original, and especially the inclusion of the show's one hit song "from this moment on" -- originally deleted pre-broadway, and this is the one of the two recordings to have; however, you will be truly happy only if you have both.

why oh why do some shows get two great recordings while we still wait for the perfect "follies", "carousel", etc.?

If you are familiar with the original cast album, some of the performances compare favorably (particularly Marin Mazzie), some unfavorably (Peter Scolari, as compared with William Redfield). As much as I enjoyed it, I am not surprised it as not successful on Broadway.

I picked up this album after hearing the fabulous Andrea Martin singing "Nobody's Chasing Me" on XM's (now Sirius XM) Broadway channel. The song is pure Cole Porter with cleaver rhymes and an endless parade of examples (like his "You're The Top" song with all the comparisons).

Unfortunately, most of this album's music is not very memorable. In a nutshell, the show deals with the Greek Gods coming to Earth and one of them falling in love with a mortal. The most memorable numbers are actually sung by Andrea Martin as Juno. Along with the aforementioned "Nobody's Chasing Me", she also has several other gems including "I Sleep Easier Now" and "What Do You Think About Men?". Now if only the rest of the cast's songs were as memorable. I didn't know Peter Scolari was a singer but he does a nice job.

If you are a huge Cole Porter fan I would add one more star to the rating as it is one of his lesser known shows you can put in your collection.

I don't know that this is one of Porter's greatest, but it's certainly great enough, and this recording does it full justice. The cast is excellent. The orchestration matches the original. Comic numbers predominate (Cherry Pies Ought to Be You, I Got Beauty, Climb up the Mountain, I Jupiter, Nobody's Chasing Me, What Do You Think About Men, Where Oh Where, and They Couldn't Compare to You) and they are generally as sly and witty as only Porter could be. The ballads (No Lover, I Am Loved, You Don't Remind Me, Hark to the Song of the Night) are lovely. None is quite as gorgeous as So In Love from Kiss Me Kate, but then nothing else is either. It's great to hear From This Moment On (cut from the show before opening and ironically the only number in the score that became a hit) in its original musical context, though even with as good a job as Gregg Edelman and Marin Mazzie do, you'll understand why the verse is almost never sung.

I would say this is the equal of the original cast album. The voices are just about as strong, though there's a bit of an air of everybody having a good time as themselves rather than being the characters. What this album does do is give us some musical interludes that they couldn't fit on the original cast, almost all of them worthwhile. You Don't Remind Me and From This Moment on are heard for the first time in their proper place in the score. Jupiter Is Coming Down is a brief but cute ditty. The Ballet of the Long Night is wonderful. My favorite previously unheard bit is the orchestral riff on Climb Up the Mountain that comes after the singers finish. It's a marvelous jazzy swing on the number. I would like to know if they did this in the original too, or if this was just the Coffee Club Orchestra having a good time. Either way it's a rousing affair.

One of these days, before it goes out of print again, I'll probably spring for the CD of the original cast, which I only have on vinyl. That too is an excellent recording, only the second Porter score to get a (nearly) full recording, and Columbia also did an excellent job. Encores did wonderful work here, and I am grateful for it. That said, I'm not entirely sure that Out of This World needed a new complete recording - not when Jubilee is still out there waiting for someone to do a definitive complete album.

In my opinion, this is a Cole Porter much more gifted than his KISS ME KATE.. so i am a bit controversial.
Stunningly great recording of Porter's wittiest and raunchiest score, up there with his NYMPH ERRANT as far as i am concerned. Even some of the scene-change music is remarkable!


Cole Porter
Nymph Errant (1990 Concert Cast)

'OUT OF THS WORLD' without doubt has one of the very best Musical Scores Ever!
This production, though very enjoyable, sadly does not compete with the very original.
Try if you possibly can and obtain the CLASSIC ORIGINAL RECORDING, and discover what the Real Broadway Musical sounded like - 'Pure Magic'.
Should you not succeed, then this recording will suffice.