Search - Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick :: Tenderloin (2000 Encores! Concert Cast)

Dull score, perfunctory programming

John McWhorter | New York, New York United States | 09/09/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have always been frankly baffled as to why musicals fans cherish this score so much in comparison to the authors' gems FIORELLO!, SHE LOVES ME, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Okay, the overture kicks in with a freshly prancy figure, and the original album's artwork and design were a lot of fun. But the dedication to writing several songs within the genre of the Police Gazette period means a lot of songs with a rather bland harmonic pallette for 1960; the lyrics are certainly smooth, but there is nothing in my view as deliciously clever and singular as in FIORELLO, a show which in general TENDERLOIN parallels too closely in tone and subject matter to stand as an original statement. Character is spread thin in this one -- take away the pastiches and the preaching (which says little about Brock as an individual) and all you have is "Gentle Young Johnny" and "Tommy, Tommy". I have always gotten the sense that one needed to SEE this one.The show is, as other reviewers note, not particularly well-served by the recording. These ENCORES albums range oddly from magnificent (BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, LOUISIANA PURCHASE) to almost strangely perfunctory affairs where the orchestra sounds tinny (OUT OF THIS WORLD) and whole chunks of the score are left out for no reason (CALL ME MADAM, otherwise great). I simply do not think we are getting our money's worth to buy something which is little more than a slightly crisper-sounding version of an older recording which modern technology now has made sound almost as good anyway.If Goddard Lieberson and Thomas Z. Shepherd beefed up the strings for recordings, would it really be prohibitively expensive to do so today? Seeing how fabulous the dance music to shows like KISS ME KATE and BOYS FROM SYRACUSE is, why skimp on it when recordings are the only way to hear these marvelous arrangements today (revivals necessarily omit or rewrite it, old recordings didn't have space)?Of course all in all the ENCORES project is wonderful, but TENDERLOIN is the first one that I, as a diehard collector and listener, basically ran through twice and doubt if I will spend much time with in the future. What worries me is that BABES IN ARMS was miscast; the "restoration" of ST. LOUIS WOMAN is pleasant in its way but sounds in arrangement and singing style more like BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR than 1946; OUT OF THIS WORLD is often conducted too slowly and the orchestra sounds like seven people. Please tell me that money has not dried up to really do these shows proud in the future -- and let's hope the next project is not a recording of the LI'L ABNER concert with seven more minutes than the original album."

Good, but seek out the Angel recording

John McWhorter | 08/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a recording of the Encores 2000 concert production of "Tenderloin," a 1960 Broadway effort by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, the esteemed composing team of "Fiorello!" "She Loves Me," "Fiddler on the Roof," and "The Rothschilds". The show, which was written after "Fiorello!" and prior to "She Loves Me" ran 216 performances, but despite its failure, does have an interesting score that is worth checking out. "Tenderloin" is set in New York City of the 1890s and concerns the battle to clean up New York's Tenderloin (ie: 'red-light') district, waged by the overzealous Dr. Brock. The score has an interesting, period sound, with many of the numbers attempting to sound like parlor songs of the day, such as "Artifical Flowers" and "My Miss Mary". There are also some rousing numbers for the ladies of the night, including "Little Old New York," "Picture of Happiness," and "The Money Changes Hands". The original Broadway cast recording was available on Angel, but apparently has gone out of print. That performance of the score has a lot going for it, including the zesty performances of Eileen Rodgers, Ron Husmann and an idiosyncratic star performance from the famous Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans as Dr. Brock. What the Encores recording has going for it is infinitely better sound quality than the original recording, which does have a strange boxy, slightly muffled sound. The Irwin Kostal orchestrations, in particular, sound better on the new recording, even if the orchestra has a few tenuous moments. And the Encores cast is a decent group, with David Ogden Stiers making the Dr. Brock songs sound a little more musical than Maurice Evans did. Patrick Wilson, in the Ron Husmann role, sings strongly, sounding much more tenor-ish than the baritone Hussman. The new recording includes the Entr'acte, and a brief reprise of "The Picture of Happiness," and a little more dialogue, but apart from that, the two albums are almost identical in the amount of recorded musical material. (A shame, because the show features some wonderful Jack Elliot dance arrangements that could have been included on the new recording -- a missed opportunity.)"Tenderloin" fans will want to have both recordings. Anyone seeking but unable to find the original recording should not fret about purchasing the Encores version, but the original one still has a slight edge over this recording, despite its assets."

A Correction and a Few Wishes

Tom | St. Louis, MO USA | 08/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to correct something which was stated in another review: It was stated that at under 52 minutes, this new recording of Tenderloin is shorter than the Original Cast Recording.The running time given on the back of the CD of the Original Cast, 52:45 or thereabouts, is a typo! The actual running time, as given in the display on your player when you insert the CD, is about 48:30. So, this new recording is actually longer than the Original Cast Recording.Other reviewers have stated it's a weak score for Bock and Harnick. I don't agree. Although it falls below Fiorello!, and certainly below She Loves Me, I think it's a great score, both musically and lyrically.I want to thank Hugh Fordin for recording these Encores! recreations. It almost seems too good to be true. I thought last year's Do Re Mi was outstanding, one of the best cast recordings I've ever heard.However, having said that, I do wish they could fill up the CDs by including even more of the scores than they already do. I'm not sure why the dance music has to be excluded. Often there are reasons for these things we laymen don't understand, I guess. The model would be what John Yap does with his complete recordings of Broadway musicals on his JAY label. He records the WHOLE SCORE -- dance music, incidental music, scene change music, the Bows, the Exit Music -- all of it. That's treating these classic scores with the same respect operas are given -- and that's the way I like it.I do wish all the Encores! shows could be recorded. I'm still disappointed that there were no One Touch of Venus, DuBarry Was a Lady, Allegro, or Sweet Adeline! Boy, I wanted those!Again, I'm sure there are reasons they weren't recorded (copyright problems, most likely), but I really wish I lived in a different world or a different time where there was a bigger audience for musical theatre. Maybe it's what Shakespeare calls caviar for the general....."