America [From West Side Story] - Bernstein, Leonard
One More Kiss [Follies]
Broadway Baby [Follies]
You Could Drive a Person Crazy [Company]
Take Me to the World [Evening Primrose]
I Remember [Evening Primrose]
Silly People [Little Night Music]
Two Fairy Tales [Little Night Music]
Love Is in the Air [Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]
Your Eyes Are Blue [Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]
Pleasant Little Kingdom [Follies]
Too Many Mornings [Follies]
Track Listings (17) - Disc #2
Entr'acte - Bigard, Barney
Me and My Town (Anyone Can Whistle)
The Little Things You Do Together [From Company]
Getting Married Today [Company]
Buddy's Blues [Follies]
So Many People [Saturday Night]
Another Hundred People [Company]
Happily Ever After [Company] - Rodgers, Mary
Being Alive [Company]
We're Gonna Be All Right [Do I Hear a Waltz?] - Rodgers, Richard
Beautiful Girls [Follies] - Anthony, Michael [1
I'm Still Here [Follies]
A Parade in Town (Anyone Can Whistle)
Could I Leave You? [Follies]
Losing My Mind [Follies]
Anyone Can Whistle
Side by Side by Side [Company]
Affectionately referred to as the "Scrabble album" for its playful cover art, Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute was the first of many tribute albums celebrating the music of Broadway's greatest modern composer, Stephen S... more »ondheim. In 1973, however, he was still a relative newcomer whose work as a lyricist was more celebrated than his early efforts as a composer, which included Company and Follies. Accordingly, this tribute deviates from later efforts by including a few songs for which he only provided lyrics, but somewhat surprisingly, it also sets a trend by unearthing rarely heard selections--from Saturday Night and Evening Primrose--as well as songs cut from various shows, including A Little Night Music, which had just premiered a few weeks earlier). And that cast! Members of the original companies--including Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, Dorothy Collins, Alexis Smith, and Donna McKechnie, just to name a few--as well as Sondheim himself singing "Anyone Can Whistle" from the piano. Obviously, later tribute albums have more material to work with and similar all-star rosters (though they sometimes resort to gimmicks such as men singing women's songs), but this one has yet to be topped. --David Horiuchi« less
Affectionately referred to as the "Scrabble album" for its playful cover art, Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute was the first of many tribute albums celebrating the music of Broadway's greatest modern composer, Stephen Sondheim. In 1973, however, he was still a relative newcomer whose work as a lyricist was more celebrated than his early efforts as a composer, which included Company and Follies. Accordingly, this tribute deviates from later efforts by including a few songs for which he only provided lyrics, but somewhat surprisingly, it also sets a trend by unearthing rarely heard selections--from Saturday Night and Evening Primrose--as well as songs cut from various shows, including A Little Night Music, which had just premiered a few weeks earlier). And that cast! Members of the original companies--including Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, Dorothy Collins, Alexis Smith, and Donna McKechnie, just to name a few--as well as Sondheim himself singing "Anyone Can Whistle" from the piano. Obviously, later tribute albums have more material to work with and similar all-star rosters (though they sometimes resort to gimmicks such as men singing women's songs), but this one has yet to be topped. --David Horiuchi
Stan T. from CHEEKTOWAGA, NY Reviewed on 10/13/2011...
A very enjoyable Sondheim cd with ab all star cast. Who could ask for more?
CD Reviews
A Great Collection of early Sondheim material
07/13/1998
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This concert was recorded live at the Shubert theatre in New York in March of 1973 - just a few weeks after A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC had opened. Being a live recording there are some technical drawbacks - hence 4 stars instead of 5 - but the electicity generated by the performers and the event have never been matched by any subsequent Sondheim concert. Among the highlights: -Nancy Walker's definative performance of "I'm Still Here."-Ethel Shutta recreating her showstopping "Broadway Baby" which was abridged on the FOLLIES cast album-Jack Cassidy and Susan Browning in a premiere recording of "So Many people" from the unproduced SATURDAY NIGHT-Larry Kert offering both "Happily Ever After" and its replacement "Being Alive" from COMPANY.-A half-dozen songs that had not been heard because they were dropped from shows before opening night or left off teh cast albums.-Angela Lansbury recreating two of her big numbers from the ill-fated ANYONE CAN WHISTLE-and, a grand finale where Sondheim himself sings (?) the title song from WHISTLE.A useful overview of some of his best work (to 1973 at least) enlived by some steller performances. The original 2 LP set had been out-of-print for many years fetching $85 a copy at collector shops. RCA's CD edition restores some addional material left off the Lp and is a great bargain!"
A must have for Sondheim fans!
ShowTunes | Aurora, CO United States | 01/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Aside from featuring a song ("Two Fairy Tales") that appears on no other tribute/compilation CD that I'm aware of, and several other rarely performed tunes, this tribute has another significant feature: All the singers appeared in, or were intended to appear in, original Sondheim productions, so the net effect is to provide some tantalizing examples of how these songs sounded live on stage by their original singers. There are so many treasures on this CD! Examples: If you doubted that Beth Howland owns "Getting Married Today," this rendition will put your doubts to rest; she actually sings it faster than on the OBR of Company! Similarly, while there have been plenty of decent renditions of "Broadway Baby," Ethel Shutta proves why she was the first (and best). Nancy Walker's "I'm Still Here" ranks with the greatest versions of this song. And what a joy it is to hear Angela Lansbury, by this time an experienced musical thespian, singing songs from Anyone Can Whistle with considerable assurance.One small complaint I have is that while the cast of the then-current A Little Night Music appears, none of them sings any songs on their own; they merely provide part of the chorus (and Hermione Gingold was one of the "Beautiful Girls). As I am a Len Cariou fan, I was disappointed that I didn't get to hear him live. Still, this is a sensational collection that should delight both Sondheim fans and musical theatre fans in general."
The BEST of Sondheim
Tom George | Wash. DC | 07/22/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The best Sondheim collection available. The live performances add greatly to the album. All the performances are fresh and fun, or heartfelt and lovely. Added bonus is the performance of unused songs from several shows. The whole thing is wonderful. Only wish it had been done more recently to include the shows of the past 30 yrs. Could be quite an evening. The Carnegie Hall tribute album is glossier and more recent, but I like this better."
One of the Best Sondheim Concerts ever
Michael A Garcia | Chicago, IL | 01/13/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this set used on vinyl when I was 17. Then again on cassette when I was 25. I'm now about to buy it on cd. Why? Hands down it is the best concert album of his works. Nothing gimimicky, just a great evening of song, most with the original performers recreating their moments. Also, there are more than a handful of cut songs and obscure lyrics. For you Sondheim buffs: the original lyrics to "We're Gonna Be All Right" which got sanitized during the tryout becuase Dorothy Rodgers thought the lyrics were too racy. And a previous reviewer complained that there were No performance of Night Music songs on the disc, Here's why. The Cast Album had just been recorded by Columbia and they held the rights to any of the original cast recording of the songs. During "Liasons" and "Send in the Clowns" the Engineers from Warner Brothers (the original Label) had to shut off the mics. A shame...written accounts of the evening state that Glynis Johns had the house in tears with Send in the Clowns. Still and all, a worthwhile album."