Flo delights on her classic solo albums
Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 04/06/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
""The Brady Bunch" catapulted Florence Henderson into the worldwide recognition she justly deserved, but it also sadly eclipsed the career she had forged in musical theater, starting out in the chorus of "Wish You Were Here" on Broadway in 1952, then on to the demanding title role of "Fanny" two years later. Henderson subsequently toured as Maria in the first road company of "The Sound of Music", starred opposite Jose Ferrer in the cult flop favourite "The Girl Who Came to Supper", played Nellie in a limited-run revival of "South Pacific", and co-starred as Nina in the 1970 movie version of "Song of Norway"; but, perhaps inevitably, the sickly-sweet stigma of the Mrs Brady tag stopped Henderson from picking up where she had left off when "The Brady Bunch" was cancelled after it's five-year run.
This disc from UK based Flare Records brings together the two RCA albums that Henderson recorded (in 1959 and 1960 respectively) to CD for the very first time. Capatalising on the scores of the biggest Broadway musicals of those particular years ("Gypsy" and "Flower Drum Song" from 1959, and "Fiorello!" and "The Sound of Music" from 1960), it's a pleasure to finally have these albums--both under the bright musical direction of Sid Bass--see the light of day on CD.
Show music collectors particularly prize Henderson's recordings from the "Flower Drum Song" portion of the 1959 album (amongst others, the "Like a God" arrangement is a total showstopper). Likewise, the "Sound of Music" segments serve as the only recorded document of Henderson's performance in the touring company, so those are well-appreciated. The songs from Bock and Harnick's "Fiorello!"--a big hit in their day but now more or less forgotten--are a joy. You'd never peg Florence Henderson as Mama Rose in "Gypsy", but she leaves a bold mark on the classic Jule Styne score.
Flare has filled the remainder of the album with bonus tracks culled from other Florence Henderson discs in their catalogue. Chief among them, naturally, is her wrenching, never-to-be-bettered "I Have to Tell You" (from the original cast album of "Fanny"), and "Many a New Day" (from a 1958 studio recording of "Oklahoma!"; Henderson had earlier played Laurey in that show's national tour).
[Flare Records ROYCD-300]"
