Search - John Latouche :: Taking a Chance on Love: The Lyrics and Life of John Latouche (2000 Off-Broadway Cast)

Take a Chance on Latouche

Louis Graham | Walnut Creek, California USA | 02/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Latouche was a lyricist who wrote for Broadway from the Thirties until his death in 1951. While he enjoyed only modest commercial success, he turned out quite a bit of wonderful work. This album isa a recording of an Off-Broadway revue of his work that is delightful both as a "musical highlights" of his career and as a listening experience in its own right.The choice of material is excellent--ranging from haunting "art" songs to snappy specialty/comedy numbers ("The Surrealist", describing a Salvadore Dali-type artist's marriage to a bearded lady is a particular gem) to belty Broadway showstoppers. Over half of the numbers are previously either unrecorded or available for the first time on CD, making this a must-have for collectors. Of these, my favorite is "Plain Words" which was written for Candide (for which Latouche finally received the credit "Other Lyrics By"); the Leonard Bernstein melodies for this song later showed up in "Oh Happy We" and a "Mazurka" in the 1956 Broadway production.The presentation of the songs is excellent, and the four-person cast give uniformly fine performances (I was struck by the soprano, Donna English, who sounds uncannily like Barbara Cook in the above-mentioned "Plain Words" and also stands out in "Windflowers" from The Golden Apple). Anyone who enjoys Broadway-style music and is willing to venture outside the familar favorites will certainly be pleased by this album."

Important stuff

Louis Graham | 12/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw the show from which this album is derived, and anyone with an interest in theatre should rush to buy it. Latouche was an extremely important figure in the theatre, not just because of his accomplishments, but also because of the influence he exerted on the artistic demi-monde of New York at the time. The cast is superb, and there is a wealth of fascinating material here. Erik Haagensen, who put the show together, is especially to be commended for giving us an opportunity to rediscover an interesting, and at times bedeviling figure in the history of musical theatre.If for nothing else, get this CD for the performance of LAZY AFTERNOON, which both in the theatre, and on the record is startling."

Gorgeous!

krebsman | New York, NY United States | 05/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think this is my favorite cast album of the past couple of decades. Latouche was among the finest of 20th Century Broadway lyricists and this recording of an off-Broadway revue/compilation of his work is a gem. Latouche's lyrics were well-structured, clever, intelligent and emotional. His collaborators included Vernon Duke, Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Moross and Duke Ellington among others. This album features four splendid performers (Jerry Dixon, Donna English, Eddie Korbich and Terry Burrell) who perform a dazzling array of Latouche's work. My favorite tracks are two songs from Latouche and Moross's "The Eccentricities of Davy Crockett". Both "Yellow Flower" (performed by Donna English) and "Ridin' On the Breeze" (sung by Jerry Dixon) are so gorgeous it's temping to program the CD player just to play these two tracks over and over. But I melt when I hear the stunning rendition of "Lazy Afternoon" from THE GOLDEN APPLE by Eddie Korbich and Jerry Dixon. Although Korbich got the lion's share of the reviews for the show and an Obie award, for me the star of the album is Jerry Dixon. His sensitive yet manly voice is that of a true artist. He and Terry Burrell are both terrific on the miniversion of CABIN IN THE SKY. Donna English is also especially impressive in that she is required to demonstrate an enormous range, from the folksy "Yellow Flower" to the operatic selections from CANDIDE to the bizarre song "The Surrealist" and the jazzy "Honey in the Honeycomb." Ms. English scores every time. My only complaint is all the biographical narration. At first I didn't mind it, but it becomes tedious with repeated hearing. For that I deduct one star. But the rest of the CD is brilliant. Those who love Broadway musicals will love this CD, too."