Of Thee I Sing/Let 'em Eat Cake (1987 Studio Recording) [Cast Recording]

Gershwin (Artist), Mcgovern (Artist), Giford (Artist), Kert (Artist), Thomas (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026H7
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #11,084 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

  #24 in

  Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Classic Musicals

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Ov - Michael Tilson Thomas/Orch Of St. Lukes

2. Act I: Wintergreen For President

3. Act I: Who Is The Lucky Girl To Be? - Paige O'Hara/New York Choral Artists/Joseph Flummerfelt

4. Act I: The Dimple On My Knee - Paige O'Hara/New York Choral Artists/Joseph Flummerfelt

5. Act I: Because, Because

6. Act I: Never Was There A Girl To Be So Fair - Merwin Goldsmith/Walter Hook/Frank Kopyc/Raymond Thorne/Mark Zimmerman/Paige O'Hara/Larry Kert...

7. Act I: Some Girls Can Bake A Pie - Larry Kert/Paige O'Hara/Merwin Goldsmith/Walter Hook/Frank Kopyc/Raymond Zimmerman...

8. Act I: Love Is Sweeping The Country - George Dvorsky/Louise Edeiken/New York Choral Artists/Joseph Flummerfelt

9. Act I: Of Thee I Sing - Larry Kert/Maureen McGovern/New York Choral Artists/Joseph Flummerfelt

10. Act I, Finale Act I: Supreme Court Judges - Casper Roos/Larry Kert/New York Choral Artists/Joseph Flummerfelt

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Overture - Orchestra Of St. Luke's/Michael Tilson Thomas

2. Tweedledee For President

3. Union Square

4. Shirts By The Millions

5. Comes The Revolution - Jack Gilford

6. Mine

7. Climb Up The Social Ladder

8. Union League

9. On And On And On

10. Introduction - George Dvorsky

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Of Thee I Sing/Let 'Em Eat Cake was one of the leading recordings during the Gershwin CD revival of the late 1980s. Led by Gershwin expert Michael Tilson Thomas using some newly discovered materials, it resuscitated two nearly forgotten satires from the 1930s sung by casts who were better able to capture the spirit of the music than the opera stars who were in vogue at the time. Larry Kert (the original Tony in West Side Story) played goofy U.S. presidential candidate John P. Wintergreen, who decides to run his campaign on a theme of love. He promises to marry the winner of a beauty contest, only to reject her (played by Paige O'Hara) for secretary Mary Turner (played by cabaret singer Maureen McGovern), in great part because Mary can make corn muffins. Jack Gilford is his hapless vice president candidate Throttlebottom. The story is silly fun (who can forget the Supreme Court's question of "Which is more important, corn muffins or justice?") and the great songs include "Who Cares," "Love Is Sweeping the Country," and the title tune. The second disc features the follow-up musical, Let 'Em Eat Cake with the same principal characters plus a fiery revolutionary played by David Garrison. It's not as fun as Of Thee I Sing nor is its score as memorable ("More" is the only standard that emerged). But the two-disc set is an impressive achievement, and paved the way for the even more comprehensive and scholarly series of Nonesuch Gershwin recordings a few years later. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FEELING PATRIOTIC?, October 5, 2002

By	MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Of Thee I Sing/Let 'em Eat Cake (1987 Studio Recording) (Audio CD)

OF THEE I SING was the first musical comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize. It is easy to see why it won when you listen to this incredibly fine concert version from 1987, fifty years after the show was originally produced on Broadway. It is also interesting that in the Gershwins' satire there are targets which still crop up today: the Supreme Court meddling where it does not belong; voters depending on a spinmeister to choose them a candidate; ("He's the one the people choose/loves the Irish and the Jews"); The President's sex life getting more publicity than what he actually does for his country, etc. In case this all sounds heavy going, there is song after song by the incomparable George and Ira Gershwin including "Love Is Sweeping The Country," "Who Cares?" and the jubilant title love song.

There is plenty of comedy too in Vice President Throttlebottom played by wonderful Jack Gilford and President Wintergreen's intended, Diana Devereaux, played and sung terrifically by Paige O'Hara. The President chooses to marry all-American Mary Turner instead of the sexy, French Devereaux because of the way Mary makes corn muffins which causes a rift in American/Franco relations. Wintergreen and his Mary are sung beautifully by Larry Kert and Maureen McGovern.

The second CD holds OF THEE I SING's sequel LET 'EM EAT CAKE which is more bitter, more cynical and contains fewer Gershwin hit songs; only "Mine" has become a standard. But every moment on both CD's is not only listenable, but a musical gem. In these performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music the orchestra (led by Michael Tilson Thomas) and the chorus do great work.

Feeling patriotic lately? You could do alot worse than buying these delightful CD's. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great shows !, March 21, 2005

By	Ericbutruille (LYON, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Of Thee I Sing/Let 'em Eat Cake (1987 Studio Recording) (Audio CD)

Honestly, I absolutely cannot understand why these 2 masterpieces by the Gershwins are not part of standars musical repertoire, given the great qualities of the music and the immortal lucidity of the satire of the american political intitutions.
Waiting for the next great revival of these shows, Sony should AT LEAST reissue these recordings, which, in spite of the absence of spoken dialogues, are markstones of American musical theater.

5.0 out of 5 stars Two late masterpieces in a top-drawer recording., August 15, 2010

By	A. I. Wilkinson (North Yorkshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Of Thee I Sing/Let 'em Eat Cake (1987 Studio Recording) (Audio CD)

This lively 2-disc set features 2 of the Gershwins' last 3 stage works; Of Thee I Sing from 1931 and its successor, Let 'em Eat Cake from 1933. (They were separated by the much-maligned and much-revised Pardon My English, also 1933). Michael Tilson Thomas leads soloists, chorus and orchestra in sparkling and idiomatic performances of both works and the level of inspiration is very high - indeed, Gershwin felt he had reached new heights with Let 'em Eat Cake, though contemporary audiences were less impressed (possibly because of the topical subject matter).
This was the fore-runner to the Roxbury series from Nonesuch and anyone with those discs - and indeed all Gershwinites - will be glad they added this set to their shelves; highly recommended.