Search - Lionel Bart, Ken Moule :: La Strada [Studio Cast Recording]

What might have been...

The Music Man | United States | 07/01/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD requires an introduction. The music was composed by Lionel Bart of "Oliver!" fame, and is easily the best music Bart had composed since that hit. But the musical "La Strada" that arrived on Broadway is not the musical that appears here. Bart made this highly-produced demo recording early on in the musical's creation process, but due to his various addictions, was unable to attend the shows tryout process on the road, during which the producers and director dropped all but two of Bart's original songs, brought in other songwriters to write new material, and the show ignominiously flopped when brought to New York.



So what this CD contains is the original score, performed by a small, but potent studio orchestra, and performed by Madeline Bell and "The Michael Samms Singers". No other performing credits are given. The songs are marvellous, with a full-blooded character that the singers and orchestra tear into with all the gusto they can manage. it's a shame that no performing credits could be found other than the lead female, because all the parts are sung perfectly - and the songs themselves are full of Bart's trademark rough-hewn melodicism; straddling the line between Cockney brashness and Sicilian bravado.



The sound, due to the age of the tapes, isn't perfect, with some flatness, and crackling here and there, but considering the history of the show, and the tragic life of Lionel Bart, it's a miracle that we have this music at all. It's a wonderful score, easily my second favorite of Bart's after "Oliver!" and worth checking out."