Working (Original 1978 Broadway Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Various Composers (Composer), Bob Gunton (Performer), David Patrick Kelly (Performer), Lenora Nemetz (Performer), Stephen Schwartz (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Bob Gunton, David Patrick Kelly, Lenora Nemetz, Stephen Schwartz
• Composer: Various Composers
• Audio CD (July 10, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00005LZSR
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,828 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The original 1978 Broadway cast recording of Stephen Schwartz's Working has long been awaited on CD, and this great-sounding 2001 release proves it was worth the wait. Surely one of the more unlikely sources for a musical was Studs Terkel's 1972 book that compiled interviews of American working people discussing their jobs and what they liked and disliked about them. Schwartz transformed these interviews into a series of songs written by himself, Craig Carnelia, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Micki Grant, and pop singer James Taylor, and accordingly the variety of songs is as great as the variety of the workers featured. There's the lyric beauty of "The Mason," the rueful "Just a Housewife," the retiree's wry "Joe," the waitress's lilting "It's an Art," Taylor's pop-country "Brother Trucker," and the powerful emotion of "Fathers and Sons," realized by a compelling cast that features David Patrick Kelly, Joe Mantegna, Bob Gunton, and Lynne Thigpen, among others.

Six bonus tracks include a new version of the grocery checker song written for the 1999 L.A. Theatreworks production, Carnelia and Grant performing their own songs (unfortunately, Grant's track comes from a poor-quality audio source), and Schwartz's moving performance of "Fathers and Sons" from 1999's The Stephen Schwartz Album. Also welcome are 2001 notes from Schwartz paired with 1978 notes from Terkel, and a detailed listing of the composers and performers of each song. Working was filmed for American Playhouse in 1982. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars About time, July 1, 2002

By	"efrex" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

"Working" has competed for the last decade with "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" for the title of Most Performed Show Without an In-Print Original Cast Recording. Now, we've got both of them, and the world is a better place. This recording features an impressively diverse group of songwriters and song styles to flesh out Studs Terkel's book of ordinary and not-so-ordinary American workers. From the peppy bounce of "Newsboy" (I LOVE that song, and will not countenance any suggestion as to its being annoying) to the moving "Just a Housewife," Working delivers the goods with well-crafted lyrics and melodies. A bunch of bonus tracks performed by the original composers and the L.A production add some heft to what was originally a fairly skimpy LP.

Just a few minor complaints: The liner notes could be a bit more complete in describing the original production, and if a complete lyric sheet wasn't possible, one would like at least a translation of "Un mejor Dia Vendra." Not anything too terrible, but definitely noticeable. Fynsworth Alley did a great job here, though, and a much-noticed hole in the original cast recording world has now been filled.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful! But there are some mediocre songs., August 21, 2001

By	Alex Bechtel (Reading, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I really love the music to this show. I think that the best of the songs are the ones written by James Taylor and Steven Schwartz, though I love almost all of them. The ones that stick out as being bad are the annoying "Neat to be a Newsboy" and the yet-to-move-me "Nobody Tells Me How." The only bonus tracks I really like are "I'm Just Movin'" and "Hots Michael at the Piano." But the incredible performances of the songs "Millwork", "Fathers and Sons" (gave me goosebumps), "The Mason", and "Un Mejor Dia Vendra" will stick with you forever, and make you want to listen to this wonderful CD again and again. P.S- Lyrics or a description of each charachter singing the songs would have been nice in the CD booklet, but I guess it's too late to ask for that now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally on CD, July 21, 2001

By	Robert G Levy (Shippenville, PA United States) - See all my reviews

I have waited years for this to be issued on CD, and finally. Each of the songs stands on its own and while some of the James Taylor pieces may be more poignent on his "Dad Loves His Work" album, it's good to hear them again in the context of the show.

The late 70's rising string orchestrations may seem cheesy to a modern listener, but they placed me squarely in 1978 when I first heard the show. A must for any serious collector of musicals, and any fan of the work of Mr. Schwartz.