The ten-volume series of discount-priced compilations of show music released under the title Celebrate Broadway has presented thematically arranged collections devoted to, say, songs concerned with children (Vol. 7: Kids!) or production numbers (Vol. 9: Gotta Dance!). The tenth volume, subtitled "Best Musicals!," is a basically foolproof "greatest-hits" sort of set, drawing its 15 tracks from musicals that were Tony Award winners in the Best Musical category between 1952 and 1993, and generally selecting standards from ...
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The ten-volume series of discount-priced compilations of show music released under the title Celebrate Broadway has presented thematically arranged collections devoted to, say, songs concerned with children (Vol. 7: Kids!) or production numbers (Vol. 9: Gotta Dance!). The tenth volume, subtitled "Best Musicals!," is a basically foolproof "greatest-hits" sort of set, drawing its 15 tracks from musicals that were Tony Award winners in the Best Musical category between 1952 and 1993, and generally selecting standards from those shows. So, for example, Fiddler on the Roof , the 1965 Tony winner, is represented by "If I Were a Rich Man" and The Phantom of the Opera (1988) by "The Music of the Night." The series is drawn from the vaults of RCA Victor Records, which did not manage to record the original Broadway cast albums for all the Tony winners, of course, nor even of all the shows excerpted here, which results in some ringers. After all, the award goes not only to the musical as a work, but also to a particular production, and the 1977 Broadway revival of The King and I , from which "Shall We Dance?" is taken, was not the same as the version that won the Tony in 1952, though it does feature the same king, Yul Brynner. Similarly, RCA did not release the cast albums for Phantom or Les Misérables , and has taken songs from an album of show music featuring Colm Wilkinson, who sang in both shows, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Most distant from the original is the performance of "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music , done here by Glenn Close at a tribute concert to songwriter Stephen Sondheim, since Close did not appear in any major production of the show. Still, the album remains largely foolproof just because it's so stocked with standards sung by major stars like Zero Mostel, Carol Channing, and Angela Lansbury, in addition to those already mentioned. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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Add this copy of Celebrate Broadway, Vol. 10: Best Musicals! to cart. $6.39, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1995 by RCA.
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