V.A. - Stephen Sondheim – The Story So Far... (4CDs, 2008)

From West Side Story and Gypsy to Into the Woods and The Frogs , here's the first set to cross the whole career of Broadway's foremost living composer/lyricist! Along the way you'll dig into a treasure chest of unreleased tracks (33 including 12 performed by Sondheim, pieces from eight un-produced shows and films, songs cut from Company, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music and more) plus Everything's Coming Up Roses Ethel Merman; Comedy Tonight Zero Mostel; A Parade in Town Angela Lansbury; (If You Can Find Me) I'm Here Anthony Perkins; I'm Still Here Carol Burnett; Children Will Listen Bernadette Peters; Finishing the Hat Mandy Patinkin, and more.
Stephen Sondheim’s career is so rich that trying to encompass it on a mere four discs seems like a tall order. This satisfying set tries to please both newbies (the first three discs propose an overview of the master’s career via excerpts from all of his shows) and hardcore fans (the fourth disc sheds some light on lesser-known corners of Sondheim’s oeuvre). Of course, the individual selections won’t please everybody (Sunday in the Park with George gets one song while Evening Primrose and Into the Woods get four each?) but at least there are clear curatorial decisions. For instance, disc 2 covers only four shows—Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Pacific Overtures—and clearly puts them up as Sondheim’s iconic works. Disc 4 is incredibly fun, maybe because a lot of the material is new to us. Highlights include "Truly Content" from 1962’s Passionella, excerpts from Sondheim’s superb Jazz Age–style score for Alain Resnais’ 1974 movie Stavisky, and not one but four previously unreleased tracks from Dick Tracy. The physical set comes with a nice booklet that includes, among other things, an essay by Sondheim expert Mark Eden Horowitz and the lyrics of the previously unreleased songs.

Tracklist:

CD1

1. America (from West Side Story – Marilyn Cooper, Chita Rivera, Shark Girls)
2. Tonight (from West Side Story – Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence)
3. Gee, Officer Krupke (from West Side Story, 1957 – Eddie Roll, Grover Dale, Hank Brunjes, Tony Mordente, David Winters, The Jets)
4. Everything's Coming Up Roses (from Gypsy – Ethel Merman)
5. Comedy Tonight (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – Zero Mostel)
6. Everybody Ought to Have a Maid (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – Stephen Collins, Christopher Durang, Michael Rupert)
7. There's Something About a War (cut from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – Stephen Sondheim)
8. Don't Laugh (from Hot Spot – Stephen Sondheim)
9. Anyone Can Whistle (from Anyone Can Whistle, 1964 – Lee Remick)
10. A Parade in Town (from Anyone Can Whistle, 1964 – Angela Lansbury, Ensemble)
11. A Hero is Coming (cut from Anyone Can Whistle – Stephen Sondheim)
12. This Week, Americans (from Do I Hear a Waltz? – Carol Bruce)
13. Perhaps (cut from Do I Hear a Waltz? – Stan Stanley)
14. Everybody Loves Leona (from Do I Hear a Waltz?, publisher's demo – Rose Mary Jun)
15. The Boy From… (from The Mad Show – Linda Lavin)
16. (If You Can Find Me) I'm Here (from Evening Primrose – Anthony Perkins)
17. Arts and Crafts (from Evening Primrose – Anthony Perkins)
18. I Remember Sky (from Evening Primrose – Charmian Carr)
19. When? (from Evening Primrose – Anthony Perkins, Charmian Carr)
20. Take Me to the World (from Evening Primrose – Anthony Perkins, Charmian Carr)

CD2

1. Another Hundred People (from Company – Pamela Myers)
2. The Ladies Who Lunch (from Company, 1970 – Elaine Stritch)
3. Being Alive (from Company – Dean Jones, Company)
4. Happily Ever After (cut from Company – Stephen Sondheim)
5. Waiting for the Girls Upstairs (from Follies – Jim Walton, Howard McGillin, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearn, Lee Remick, Barbara Cook, Liz Callaway, Daisy Prince)
6. Broadway Baby (from Follies – Elaine Stritch)
7. Losing My Mind (from Follies – Barbara Cook)
8. I'm Still Here (from Follies – Carol Burnett)
9. Can That Boy Fox Trot! (cut from Follies – Stephen Sondheim)
10. The Miller's Son (from A Little Night Music – D. Jamin-Bartlett)
11. Liaisons (from A Little Night Music, 1973 – Hermione Gingold)
12. Send In the Clowns (from A Little Night Music, 1973 – Glynis Johns)
13. Night Waltz (Love Takes Time) (from A Little Night Music, soundtrack 1978)
14. Silly People (cut from A Little Night Music – Stephen Sondheim)
15. Not Quite Night (cut from A Little Night Music – Stephen Sondheim)
16. Welcome to Kanagawa (from Pacific Overtures – Ernest Harada, Timm Fujii, Patrick Kinser-Lau, Gedde Watanabe, Leslie Watanabe, Mako)
17. Pretty Lady (from Pacific Overtures – Patrick Kinser-Lau, Timm Fujii, Mark Hsu Syers)
18. Prayers (cut from Pacific Overtures – Stephen Sondheim)
19. There is No Other Way (from Pacific Overtures – Stephen Sondheim)

CD3

1. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (from Sweeney Todd – Len Cariou, Company)
2. Green Finch and Linnet Bird (from Sweeney Todd – Sarah Rice)
3. A Little Priest (from Sweeney Todd – Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou)
4. The Worst Pies in London (from Sweeney Todd – Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris)
5. Not a Day Goes By (from Merrily We Roll Along – Jim Walton, Ann Morrison)
6. Old Friends (from Merrily We Roll Along – Ann Morrison, Jim Walton, Lonny Price)
7. Finishing the Hat (from Sunday in the Park with George – Mandy Patinkin)
8. Agony (from Into the Woods – Robert Westenberg, Chuck Wagner)
9. Children Will Listen (from Into the Woods – Bernadette Peters)
10. Have to Give Her Someone (from Into the Woods – Maureen Moore, Kim Crosby, George Lee Andrews)
11. Interesting Questions (from Into the Woods – George Lee Andrews, Maureen Moore, Kim Crosby)
12. Second Midnight (cut from Into the Woods – George Lee Andrews, Maureen Moore, Kim Crosby, John Cameron Mitchell)
13. Everybody's Got the Right from Assassins – William Parry, Terrence Mann, Greg Germann, Jonathan Hadary, Eddie Korbich, Lee Wilkof, Annie Golden, Debra Monk, Victor Garber)
14. The Ballad of Booth (from Assassins – Victor Garber, Patrick Cassidy, Marcus Olson)
15. Happiness (from Passion – Marin Mazzie, Jere Shea)
16. I Wish I Could Forget You (from Passion – Jere Shea, Donna Murphy)
17. Bounce (from Bounce – Howard McGillin, Richard Kind)
18. Isn't He Something! (from Bounce – Jane Powell)
19. Invocation and Instructions to the Audience (from The Frogs – Nathan Lane, Roger Bart, Greek Chorus)

CD4

1. I Must Be Dreaming (from All That Glitters, 1948 – Cy Walter, Stan Freeman)
2. The Two of You (rejected from Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, 1952 – Stephen Sondheim)
3. Class (from Saturday Night, 1954 – Jack Cassidy, Ensemble)
4. Love's a Bond (from Saturday Night, 1954 – Arte Johnson)
5. In the Movies (from Saturday Night, 1954)
6. I'm All for You (from Saturday Night, 1954)
7. They Ask Me Why I Believe in You (from I Believe in You, 1956 – Stephen Sondheim)
8. Incidental Music (from Invitation to a March, 1960)
9. Truly Content (from Passionella, 1962 – Stephen Sondheim)
10. No, Mary Ann (from The Thing of It Is – Stephen Sondheim)
11. Incidental Music (from The Enclave, 1973)
12. Theme (from Stavisky, 1974)
13. Auto Show (from Stavisky, 1974)
14. Arlette by Night (from Stavisky, 1974)
15. Operetta (from Stavisky, 1974)
16. Theme (European version) (from Stavisky, 1975)
17. I Never Do Anything Twice (The Madam's Song) (from The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, soundtrack – Régine)
18. Theme (from Reds, 1981)
19. Sooner or Later (from Dick Tracy, 1990 – Madonna)
20. Live Alone and Like It (from Dick Tracy, 1990 – Mel Tormé)
21. What Can You Lose? (from Dick Tracy, 1990 – Mandy Patinkin, Madonna)
22. Back in Business (from Dick Tracy, 1990 – Janis Siegel, Cheryl Bentyne, Lorraine Feather)
23. More (End Credits) (from Dick Tracy, 1990 – Madonna, Girls)
24. Water Under the Bridge (from Singing Out Loud, 1992 – Liza Minnelli, Billy Stritch)

Various artists VA Box Sets MP3 320 CBR 2000s

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