A brace of new releases with a retro spin (and on, we don't mean backward masking!).
PLAYLIST
| Selection |
Source |
Performer(s) |
Comments |
| Mamma Mia |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) |
Siobhán McCarthy, Company |
From the show of the same name, which has been drawing huge crowds and good reviews in London’s West End since April 1999. |
| The Dancing Queen |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) |
Louise Plowright, Jenny Galloway, Siobhán McCarthy |
Mamma Mia! Is based on 22 songs by the ‘70s Swedish pop group ABBA. The show is on a pre-Broadway US tour; check http://www.mamma-mia.com/ for details. You can find excerpts from reviews of the London production at http://www.albemarle-london.com/mammamia.html |
| Lay All Your Love on Me |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) |
Andrew Langtree, Lisa Stokke, Company |
The script, by Catherine Johnson, takes place on a small Greek island where Sophie, who has been raised by her mother Donna (a former ‘70s “wild child", now a respectable restaurant owner), is about to be married. By an astonishing coincidence, three of Donna’s former lovers show up on the island just before the wedding and Sophie learns that one of them is her father - she’s just not sure which one. |
| Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! |
Mamma Mia! (OC 1999) |
Female ensemble |
Sophie greets her potential fathers. |
| The Beat Goes On / Feelin' Groovy |
The Beat Goes On (2001) |
Liz Callaway, orchestra arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck |
Callaway (sister of the somewhat more famous Ann Hampton Callaway) says of this CD: “anyone who knows will tell you that for years I’ve been dying to do an album of my favorite songs from the ‘60s.” Find out more about her at www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/9171/. |
| Monday, Monday |
The Beat Goes On (2001) |
Liz Callaway, orchestra arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck |
By John Phillips, founder of The Mamas and the Papas, who died at the age of 65 on March 19th, 2001. |
| Wouldn't It Be Nice? |
The Beat Goes On (2001) |
Liz Callaway, orchestra arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck |
The Beach Boys classic |
| Downtown |
The Beat Goes On (2001) |
Liz Callaway, orchestra arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck |
Liz Callaway says: “Some might argue that this [CD] was really just an excuse for me to fulfill my lifelong fantasy of recording ‘Downtown’. They might be right.” The CD is on the Fynsworth Alley label, which specializes in theatre, cabaret, and related genres. |
| Seasons of Love |
This Is the Moment (2001) |
Donny Osmond, orchestra arranged and conducted by Rob Mounsey |
By Jonathan Larson, from Rent. Osmond has recently metamorphosed from ‘70s pop idol to musical theatre performer, mostly in a video and tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (in a review of which, San Francisco Chronicle critic John Carman describes Osmond as “dewy- eyed and dentally endowed”). Find out more about him at http://www.donny.com/ |
| Luck Be a Lady |
This Is the Moment (2001) |
Donny Osmond, orchestra arranged and conducted by Rob Mounsey |
By Frank Loesser, from Guys and Dolls. Note that he sings this much the same way he sings the rock number from Rent. |
| You’ve Got a Friend in Me |
This Is the Moment (2001) |
Donny Osmond, Rosie O’Donnell, orchestra arranged and conducted by Rob Mathes |
By Randy Newman, from Toy Story. Glen McCoy’s comic strip The Duplex (www.ucomics.com/duplex/viewdp.cfm) cites a Donny Osmond / Rosie O’Donnell duet as another sign of the apocalypse.
|
| Theme from The Fugitive |
The Fugitive - The Original Television Series Soundtrack Music (2001) |
London Studio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz |
Digitally remastered recordings on the (Silva Screen label) of the Pete Rugolo score for the classic ‘60s TV series, which starred David Janssen as the wrongly convicted Dr. Richard Kimble.
|
| The Life of a Fugitive |
The Fugitive - The Original Television Series Soundtrack Music (2001) |
London Studio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz |
From Rugolo’s bio at sonicnet.com: “b. 25 December 1915, San Piero, Sicily. After studying composing and arranging under classicist Darius Milhaud, Rugolo began writing arrangements for Stan Kenton. Many of Kenton's most successful recordings of the late 40s were Rugolo charts and of these a high proportion were also his compositions.”
|
| Kimble Vs. The One-Armed Man / Hand to Hand |
The Fugitive - The Original Television Series Soundtrack Music (2001) |
London Studio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz |
Rugolo arranged and produced for artists such as Mel Torme, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine and Nat “King” Cole before moving on to television and film work in the ‘60s. He retired in 1985. Lots of Fugitive links are available at http://www.emailman.com/video/fugitive/
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