Follies in Concert (1985 Live Performance) + Stavisky Film Score [CAST RECORDING] [LIVE]

Stephen Sondheim (Composer, Conductor), Jacques Mercier (Conductor), Paul Gemignani (Conductor), New York Philharmonic (Orchestra), Adolph Green (Performer), André Gregory (Performer), Arthur Rubin (Performer), Barbara Cook (Performer), Betty Comden (Performer), Carol Burnett (Performer), Daisy Prince (Performer), Elaine Stritch (Performer), Erie Mills (Performer), Frank Kopyc (Performer), George Hearn (Performer), Howard McGillin (Performer), Jim Walton (Performer), Lee Remick (Performer), Licia Albanese (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Adolph Green, André Gregory, Arthur Rubin, Barbara Cook, Betty Comden, et al.
• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic
• Conductor: Stephen Sondheim, Jacques Mercier, Paul Gemignani
• Composer: Stephen Sondheim
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording, Live
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000002WB6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,575 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Since the original Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim's Follies was a truncated affair that turned out to be both a disappointment and a disservice to a brilliant show with a brilliant cast, this 1985 concert performance from New York's Avery Fisher Hall set out to record the whole score, a set of pastiches of old songs and songwriters as performed by a cast of faded stars and the visions of their younger selves. The result was a star-studded roster backed by the New York Philharmonic led by Paul Gemignani, with principals Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin, Lee Remick, and George Hearn, supported by the likes of Carol Burnett, Liliane Montevecchi, and Liz Callaway. Even these stars can't quite match the original cast, and the results are somewhat uneven--from Cook's yearning "Losing My Mind" to Patinkin's you-love-it-or-you-hate-it schizophrenia in "Buddy's Blues." Other highlights include Elaine Stritch's wry "Broadway Baby," the two young couples' interplay in "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through," and the electrifying audience reactions to "Beautiful Girls" and "Who's That Woman?" (A documentary video was released, but unfortunately, it did not contain the complete show.) As a bonus, this two-CD set includes 45 minutes of instrumental music Sondheim composed for the 1974 French film Stavisky, including two melodies that had been cut from the original production of Follies. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FOLLIES - the best recording ...so far, February 3, 2004

By	Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If any one album makes a case for FOLLIES is is this set of FOLLIES IN CONCERT. It is not the definitive FOLLIES, but about as close as we're likely to get. The sound is very VERY good, especially for a live recording, but as such there is quite a bit of applause on this disc.

Producer Thomas Shephard originally taped the dress rehearsal so he would have quiet endings for all the numbers but when the audience nearly tore the roof off Avery Fisher Hall, he decided that eliminating applause would negate the event that led to the album. So, he comprmised and used applause after the "follies" numbers but not after plot songs. If you didn't know this you might wonder why "Beautiful Gilrs' gets such a huge hand and the next song "don't Look at me" seems to be met with stoney silence.

The cast is sensational. Perhaps not in the same league as the originals but a fine "revival" cast. Lee Remick and Barbara Cook are ideal as leading ladies Phyllis and Sally and its a joy to hear Cook's glorious voice in "Losing My Mind." Mandy Patinkin effectively uses his energy to put a new spin on "Buddy's Blues. " I know some object to his over-the-top style but it was effective on stage. Elaine Stritch has fun singing "Broadway Baby" and Carol Burnet makes the most of "I'm Still Here." Really, there isn't one bad track in the whole package.

Completists may quibble with the slight cuts here and there..the last bit of the Overture (including a segment of "Can That Boy Foxtrot") has been cut, as has "Bolero D'amour." The original montage ending of "Rain on the Roof/Ahh Paris/Broadway Baby" was dumped, and the spoken interludes in "Loveland" have been re-arranged. NONE of this will impair your enjoyment of this wonderful show.

As a bonus RCA has filled out the second CD with the soundtrack of Sondheim's score for STAVISKY. Many cut songs from FOLLIES were used in this film score, so its a natural tie-in.

The booklet has all the lyrics but no synopsis to place the songs within the context of the story. It is a minor flaw in an otherwise first rate package.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A star-studded cast gives a glorious "Follies", September 26, 2000

By A Customer

If you want only one version of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies," this is the edition to own. Sondheimaniacs ponder the differences between this and the Original Cast, the London production, and a recent New Jersey attempt, and are doubtless hoping for a fifth version when a revival opens on Broadway in spring of 2001. To simply enjoy the music, this concert edition provides the cast. George Hearn is the best Ben on any recording; Mandy Patinkin is wonderfully Mandy Patinkin as Buddy, which will delight many and annoy others. A particular delight is hearing the incredible talents of the then incredibly young Liz Callaway, Daisy Prince, Jim Walton, and Howard McGillin as the "young" characters. Pulling in Betty Comden and Adolph Green to sing "Rain on the Roof" was a great idea. The casting is fabulous throughought. Complaints about Licia Albanese miss the point: she's supposed to be an aged opera singer with voice to match. This concert version provides every bit of the drama of "Follies."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the best., April 25, 2001

By	"mfeuer" (Colts Neck, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

I love theater. Every six months I buy myself another six to twelve broadway CDs, plus grabbing a few inbetween at stores and the like. And do you know why I do this? Because I keep hoping to myself that if I look long enough, I'll find another Follies. This musical is, first and foremost, a deep and incisive discussion of aging and the pains of middle age, but if one looks deeper, one finds that it is in fact a metaphor for the situation of Broadway at the time Follies entered the scene. For those who don't know, the early 1970s was a very bad period for Broadway, and many thought it would never again recover. Follies, with each and every one of its songs written in the style of a famous old Broadway composer, is a tribute to the aging "Wiesmann Follies" that ran "between the wars" but now is being replaced "by a parking lot". This performance is far superior to the original recording, with particular standouts being Elaine Stritch and Lee Remick. However, in sheer terms of quantity, this is NOT the best recording. The best recording for amount of Follies music is the 1999 Paper Mill Playhouse cast. Still, this is a fantastic CD and I recommend it, and especially the show, above all others in existence at this time.