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Since the original Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim's Follies was a truncated affair that turned out to be both a disappointment and a disservice to a brilliant show with a brilliant cast, this 1985 concert performance from New York's Avery Fisher Hall set out to record the whole score, a set of pastiches of old songs and songwriters as performed by a cast of faded stars and the visions of their younger selves. The result was a star-studded roster backed by the New York Philharmonic led by Paul Gemignani, with principals Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin, Lee Remick, and George Hearn, supported by the likes of Carol Burnett, Liliane Montevecchi, and Liz Callaway. Even these stars can't quite match the original cast, and the results are somewhat uneven--from Cook's yearning "Losing My Mind" to Patinkin's you-love-it-or-you-hate-it schizophrenia in "Buddy's Blues." Other highlights include Elaine Stritch's wry "Broadway Baby," the two young couples' interplay in "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through," and the electrifying audience reactions to "Beautiful Girls" and "Who's That Woman?" (A documentary video was released, but unfortunately, it did not contain the complete show.) As a bonus, this two-CD set includes 45 minutes of instrumental music Sondheim composed for the 1974 French film Stavisky, including two melodies that had been cut from the original production of Follies. --David Horiuchi
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 Sally has never been sung sweeter |
| Review Date: February 28, 2010 |
| Reviewer: D. R. Peterson, Los Angeles, Ca USA |
| Although Follies contains some of Sondheims most delicious music, the book and staging have always been a bit awkward and ill fitting. However this concert version which was performed on only two nights works like a charm. I have seen a number of productions including the original, but Miss Cook absolutly shines as Sally with her control of the difficults score. Since it was a concert performance a lot of the dialog was cut which streamlined this production as an amazing concert piece. It flowed like the full play was never able to do. Gerge Hearn,Lee Remick and Mandy Patkin are well cast as the other leads although I coulld have done with a little less schtick from MR Patenkin.The actors playing the younger versions of these four stood out in both vocal style and crisp phrasing. I can not think of one performer in this illustrious cast that did not do their character justice. However I would be remiss if I did not comment on Elaine Striche's commanding version of " Broadway Baby" which she performed with enough gusto to blow the roof off. This version of Follies is in a word "magical" and was truly a great night in thr theater that will certainly become a part of theater history. |
Review for Follies
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| Review Date: August 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Nicky's Friend, USA |
| I was very pleased with this transaction, and with the product I received. Thank you. |
When "genius" becomes an understatement.
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| Review Date: January 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Good Stuff, |
If I had to limit myself to only two recorded performances as proof of Stephen Sondheim's genius, this would be one of them, with the original cast album of "A Little Night Music" being the other.
And this is with the admission that every recording of each of these shows over the years has value and has added to our appreciation of America's greatest living composer for the Broadway stage, Stephen Sondheim. And it is also with the understanding that these two shows are but the best representation of Sondheim's art.
So, there you ares, the two best recordings, respectively, of the two shows which I feel best represent that seemingly bottomless well of creation Mr. Sondheim seems to draw upon.
The recording in question here is not only technically without peer, it effuses the joy so often missing from the recorded form. It is a live recording, almost always a plus. And even though we can't actually see the artists as they perform (the documentary video does give us glimpses - far to miserly for my taste) we can hear the joy of performing that virtually explodes out of their performances. It is impossible to not react.
This CD is beguiling, bewitching, and yes, electrifying. It is a snapshot which freezes forever a most amazing event in New York City that the whole world is allowed to share in forever.
Lucky us!
How very, very wonderful. |
GREAT PERFORMANCES!
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| Review Date: November 21, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Jrn Erik Holt, HAMAR, NORWAY |
A WONDERFUL RECORDING OF "FOLLIES" WITH A LOT OF BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES
BY THE STARS ON STAGE. A "MUST" FOR ANYONE WHO CARES FOR THIS GREAT MUSICAL.
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A Good recording.
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| Review Date: June 22, 2004 |
| Reviewer: David, N.J. |
| The original is my perferred version, even though it is very watered down. Here, all the songs are complete, but it comes out uneven somehow. The really great performers here are Carol Burnett and Barbra Cook. They really shine. The rest do mediocre performances. Out of the rest, Lee Remick, and Elaine Strich do a great job. Buy this you want the "complete" version and four stellar performances, but the original is the one to get performance wise. |
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