Kristin Chenoweth
121
Audio CD
11 offers from $10.00
Hal David
5
Audio CD
1 offer from $29.98
Jayne Mansfield
204
DVD
15 offers from $8.99
Barbra Streisand
365
Audio CD
29 offers from $9.51

Product details

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 5.75 x 0.45 inches; 3.28 Ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Varese Sarabande
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ July 27, 2006
Label ‏ : ‎ Varese Sarabande
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00080EU7G
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #13,659 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #36 in Baroque Pop
- #153 in Musical Soundtracks & Scores
- #163 in Traditional Vocal Pop (CDs & Vinyl)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

21 global ratings

5 star		68%
4 star		11%
3 star		11%
2 star		11%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

a stunner of a score

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 13, 2006

Verified Purchase

PROMISES PROMISES was based on the popular Billy Wilder film "The Apartment", jazzed up with an energetic score from Burt Bacharach and Hal David (their sole musical theatre effort).

The story concerns a meek young man called Chuck Baxter (played by Jerry Orbach), whose working relationship with his boss, J.D. Sheldrake, is tempered by his infatuation with J.D.'s mistress, Fran Kubelik (Jill O'Hara). The story was quite grim and pessimistic in "The Apartment" with a bittersweet Wilder/I.A.L. Diamond screenplay, but the subsequent PROMISES PROMISES featured a new book from Neil Simon (still riding high on his successful and long-running "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Odd Couple"), and the story was prettied-up for the Broadway musical stage. The overall tone and shape of the original story remained but certain areas were streamlined and adapted around the Bacharach/David score.

And what a score it is! It's almost criminal that a score can be so enjoyable. PROMISES PROMISES is filled to the rafters with memorable melodies, and performed so perfectly by a company headed by Jerry Orbach and Jill O'Hara. O'Hara definitely has the classic 'Bacharach voice', an instrument ideally suited to his jangling melodies and inward ballads. "Knowing When to Leave" and the wrenching 11 o'clocker "Whoever You Are", are given definitive readings. Orbach joins Marian Mercer for the fun "A Fact Can Be a Beautiful Thing". Edward Winter, playing Chuck's conflicted boss J.D. Sheldrake, scores heavily with "Wanting Things". Bacharach's dance arrangement for the "Grapes of Roth" sequence is inspired. Which brings us to the choreography...

PROMISES PROMISES featured routines from the then up-and-coming choreographer extraordinaire Michael Bennett; and his future "Chorus Line" stars Donna McKechnie and Baayork Lee lead the manic dance number "Turkey Lurkey Time". McKechnie (playing Vivien Della Hoya) would be the only cast member to reprise her role in the subsequent London production starring Betty Buckley and Tony Roberts. Incidentally (and quite controversially), PROMISES PROMISES was the first Broadway musical to employ the use of body-microphones (at the request of Bacharach who wanted the vocals and orchestra mixed perfectly). Right or wrong, a new era was dawning for musical theatre, and PROMISES PROMISES was at the very forefront. The show opened and ran for 1,281 performances at the Shubert Theatre.

Following a brief CD release from Rykodisc, the good people at Varese Sarabande have reissued the original 1968 Broadway cast album (in beautiful remastered sound) for a new generation to savour.

[Varese Sarabande 302 066 647 2]

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Emma007

Fabulous score, vocals off-pitch at times

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 22, 2022

Verified Purchase

You may want to listen to this online before purchasing. I love Bacharach and this score is a winner. I'd give it 5 stars for the writing, but the execution is uneven. Jill O'Hara does a great job, particularly with the gorgeous "Whoever You Are" and "Knowing When to Leave", but there are some moments with the male cast that are off-pitch. I had read that the recording had somehow been pitch-corrected, but no such luck, at least with the one I purchased. I ended up buying the 2010 revival recording as well for certain numbers to get past this problem.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 23, 2005

Verified Purchase

It's really great to have this cast recording available again! And so appropriate, given the passing of Jerry Orbach, that one of his best performances can again be purchased.

When I think of the sounds of the 1960s, the Beatles and the Beach Boys come immediately to mind. BUT - the music of Bert Bacharach (often with the wonderfully honest and unsentimental lyrics of Hal David) is almost the "official" soundtrack for the period of the second half of that decade. Promises, Promises is a snapshot of that time, when corporate life was almost exclusively dominated by men, sexual liberation was coming on fast, and New York was (or thought it was) the cultural center of America. With this outstanding Broadway cast recording, you can't go wrong! Great to be able to stop playing my sadly worn vinyl LP!

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

R. Brown

Never better

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 18, 2011

Verified Purchase

I love the Bacharach/David team to begin with, but this recording is just about perfection in a musical. It is full of big, lush, power songs--starting with the overture and Jerry Orbach is in his glory. Admittedly, the theme is dated and the characters make unpleasant choices, but somehow it is made sympathetic (including the lead female's use of a wispy voice in some songs) and the characters mostly learn lessons. I haven't heard the revival soundtrack, but I cannot image it coming close to this gem.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

D. Ferrie

Good CD, Bad seller

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 16, 2009

Verified Purchase

CD was fine. Paid full price and got a damaged CD case. If they sell junk, it should be at a discount, and they shouldn't pass it off as "new" condition. Did I mention that the seller was Amazon?

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

don voss

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

It brought back found memories over 35 years ago with my girl friend turned Wife 3 years later.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

ROBERT SMITH

What a Gem!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 3, 2010

Verified Purchase

A great cast! Special kudos to the late Edward Winter, mostly ignored in these reviews, who delivers an extraordinary "Wanting Things." See the revival, but buy this CD.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

60's loves the 60's

Buy it for the wonderful music. Tune out the plot.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 28, 2014

The story does not translate to contemporary audiences, but I knew that before I purchased the CD. It involves married men cheating on their wives, a young woman taken advantage of, and an aspiring accountant willing to allow it to happen in his apartment--with the promise that, if he goes along with their "little secret", he will gain promotion within the company. Such a premise does not sit well in today's society for obvious reasons. That's the negative aspect of "Promises, Promises". Now, let me tell you why I cannot stop listening to it! The music is pure sixties Bacharach, and a delightful walk down memory lane for someone my age who remembers the Hal David, Burt Bacharach team and their fresh approach to the music of the era. Jerry Orbach has a wonderful voice, and Jill O'Hara sings the lyrics with all the pain and frustration that the words themselves truly reveal. It is definitely not the light, bouncy style that Dionne Warwick made popular. The songs are varied in style and meaning--all to advance the story. (It is, after all musical theater), but each is a little gem, and many truly shine. If you like vintage Hal David/Burt Bacharach, and musicals, this CD delivers. Just try to ignore the plot line.

Helpful