Face the Music (2007 Encores! Cast Recording) [CAST RECORDING]

Irving Berlin (Composer), Judy Kaye (Performer), Lee Wikof (Performer), Meredith Patterson (Performer), Jeffry Denman (Performer), Felicia Finley (Performer), Eddie Korbich (Performer), Mylinda Hull (Performer), Walter Bobbie (Performer)

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 3, 2007)
• Original Release Date: July 3, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Drg
• ASIN: B000R9R4RG
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,629 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
New York's Encores! series pursues its excavation of nearly forgotten musicals with this wonderful 1932 chestnut from Irving Berlin. Moss Hart's dementedly screwball book uses the frame of a show within the show to juxtapose references to both the top and the bottom of the heap as the Depression hits America. But of course entertainment is primordial throughout: As Berlin puts it in the determinedly hopeful "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee," "Trouble's just a bubble,/And the clouds will soon roll by." The songwriter is at the top of his game here--this CD is wildly entertaining from beginning to end—-and his command of the styles of the day is stupendous. He effortlessly goes from the gently acidic "Two Cheers Instead of Three" to the fevered love letter to a city that is "Manhattan Madness," from the operetta spoof "Crinoline Days" to "Torch Song," which sends up the tropes of the nominal genre (and is perfectly delivered by Felicia Finley, whose small part in The Wedding Singer had not prevented her from stealing the show). As is the case with Encores!, the cast—-including musical-comedy experts Judy Kaye, Lee Wilkoff, and Walter Bobbie—-is superb, and the large orchestra does justice to the period arrangements. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't face the liner notes, July 6, 2007

By	R. Burnett "fan at large" (SoCal) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is always terrific to have another "Encores!" recording; if one includes the Broadway transfer of "Chicago" this makes the thirteenth CD. The usual talent onstage and off are apparent, but the score this time seems distinctly second-rate Berlin (which is still better than first-rate most everyone else). There is a sameness to the tunes and flatness in orchestration that is not apparent in, say, "Louisiana Purchase." Worst of all, though, is the sloppy packaging by the usually impeccable DRG: the tracking goes wrong midway (cuts 6 and 7 are linked together, throwing all subsequent numbering off); songs that are solos as presented are listed with multiple artists (e.g., "Crinoline Days," etc) and vice versa ("Soft Lights & Sweet Music"); an entire verse is left off of the libretto to "Crinoline Days;" and there are textual errors throughout ("I needed a faithful lover/And..." rather than "lover/Who." Not quite a glittering diamond, this is more of a rhinestone disc.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL - JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED . . . . , July 2, 2007

By	J. T Waldmann "yaakov98" (Carmel, IN, located just north of Indianapolis in Hamilton County.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I defy anyone to listen to this glorious show and not sustain a wall-to-wall grin from beginning to end. Written (in 1932) to lift the spirits of depression-weary Americans, FACE THE MUSIC is a brilliant example of a bygone Broadway era and the genius of one of America's greatest songwriters, Irving Berlin. I can picture Berlin and his collaborator Moss Hart, one of America's most successful playwrights, doubling over with laughter while putting this show together, a show that ". . . sends up showbiz, political corruption, Helen Morgan, nudity, optimism, parades, chorines, cows, and Catskill Resorts, among other things." (The quotes come from David Ives' terrific liner notes.) Ives further writes, "Frankly, I'm a sucker for any show with an elephant and somebody named Meshbesher, even when I have to adopt out the elephant for budgetary reasons. Of Mrs. Meshbesher, the more said the better." Mrs. Meshbesher, incidentally, is played by the incomparable Judy Kaye.

In these times of "budgetary restraint," one might have to make do without the elephant, but thanks to City Center Encores!, you can hear this marvelous score in all its glory, with orchestrations faithfully restored by Bruce Pomahac and vocal arrangements by Guest Musical Director Rob Fisher. Just close your eyes and let your imagination take over, furnishing the sets and costumes (and the elephant) missing from semi-staged concert versions. And if its necessary to choose between extravagant sets and costumes, lackluster "new" orchestrations & choral arrangements, puny pit bands and decimated choral forces OR legitimate voices that don't require amplification, a sparkling 30-piece orchestra [not a synthesizer in sight], and a singing ensemble numbering at least 20, then it's goodbye helicopters, falling chandeliers and the aforementioned elephant and hello concert versions.

FACE THE MUSIC reveals Irving Berlin as a superlative tunesmith and an unparalleled lyricist. Besides producing at least three bona fide standards ("Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee," "Soft Lights and Sweet Music," "If You Believe" - with Judy Kaye doing some marvelous Florence Foster Jenkins trilling above the chorus and orchestra), the show is chock-full of splendid novelty numbers like "The Police of New York," "Two Cheers Instead of Three," "How Can I Change My Luck," "I Don't Wanna Be Married (I Just Wanna Be Friends," the truly amazing "Torch Song," "Toast to Prohibition," "Manhattan Madness," and "I Say It's Spinach (And To Hell With It)." There's also a wonderful rumba, sung by ingénues Jeffry Denman and Meredith Patterson, entitled "(Castles in Spain) on a Roof in Manhattan."

Some sample lyrics: "While the panic's on/If you look for Otto Kahn/You will find that Otto's gone/To the automat" . . . "I longed to sit upon a piano or an organ/Pouring out my heart - the same as Helen Morgan" . . . "Here's to the eighteenth amendment/Long may America be dry!/Things are going very well/For the gentlemen who sell/To the many thirsty gentlemen who buy" . . . and, from the Gilbert & Sullivan-ish finale, "Once scene in Eden/The girls were naked, I know./One girl, your honor, /Who had nothing upon her/Is here to prove that it's so./Please tell the jury/How you came from Missouri/And joined this terrible show."

Yes, FACE THE MUSIC is just what the doctor ordered for the depression blues and just what we need today. With the price of gasoline and tickets to Broadway shows going through the roof, perhaps we, too, might sing . . . "So when we cheer the stars and stripes/Here's what we'll do,/We'll cheer the red and cheer the white/But not the blue."

Extremely highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent recreation, August 13, 2007

By	E. C Goodstein (Northern CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kudos to all involved for resurrecting this work. If not a masterpiece along the lines of 'Annie Get Your Gun' or 'Call Me Madam,' still some wonderful, fun moments-- & great to have
anew a show by George Kaufman as well. Also fascinating that it anticipates
'The Producers' in plot, and the corruption farce still resonates in a way.
I think it's well cast too-- esp. the young lovers & Judy Kaye, if not in her
very best voice, still is effective in the 'Margaret Dumont' sort of role.
One of my favorite '07 show music albums.