Anyone Can Whistle - Live at Carnegie Hall (1995 Broadway Concert Cast) [Live] [Cast Recording]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Because Anyone Can Whistle was one of Stephen Sondheim's most notorious failures, lasting a mere nine performances in 1964, this 1995 gala benefit concert for Gay Men's Health Crisis was conceived as a one-night revival. It's an exciting performance, anchored by Bernadette Peters in Lee Remick's role as Nurse Apple (meaning she gets to sing "There Won't Be Trumpets," the title tune, and "With So Little to Be Sure Of"), plus Madeline Kahn as the Mayoress, Scott Bakula as Hapgood, and Angela Lansbury, the original Mayoress, as narrator and host. Other advantages include 20 additional minutes of music and dialogue, a detailed synopsis, a full libretto, and notes on the concert. No, it's not a replacement for the original Broadway cast, but it's a valuable complement and a significant addition to the Sondheim discography. --David Horiuchi

Tracks:

Symphonic Sondheim: Sweeney Todd--orchestra, Jerry Hadley ("Johanna"), Eugene Perry,Herbert Perry ("Pretty Women")
Evening Introduction--Bill Irwin
Loveland/Getting Married Today--Ensemble, Jeanne Lehman, Mark Jacoby, Madeline Kahn
Waiting for the Girls Upstairs--George Lee Andrews, Michael Jeter, James Naughton/Love, I Hear--Michael Jeter/Live Alone and Like It--James Naughton
Someone Is Waiting--Richard Muenz/Symphonic Sondheim: Barcelona--orchestra
Being Alive--Patti LuPone
Good Thing Going--The Tonics
Losing My Mind/You Could Drive a Person Crazy--Dorothy Loudon
Our Time--Boys Choir of Harlem/Children Will Listen--Betty Buckley
Anyone Can Whistle--Billy Stritch
Water Under the Bridge--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch
Back in Business--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch, Ensemble

Tracks:

Symphonic Sondheim: Comedy Tonight--Bill Irwin, orchestra
Sooner or Later--Karen Ziemba
Pretty Lady--Mark Jacoby, Eugene Perry, Herbert Perry
Green Finch and Linnet Bird--Harolyn Blackwell
The Ballad of Booth--Patrick Cassidy, Victor Garber
Broadway Baby--Daisy Eagan
I Never Do Anything Twice--BETTY
With So Little to Be Sure Of--Jerry Hadley, Carolann Page
Not a Day Goes By--Bernadette Peters
Remember?--Ron Baker, Peter Blanchet, Carol Meyer, Bronwyn Thomas, Blythe Walker (Quintet)/A Weekend in the Country--Kevin Anderson, George Lee Andrews, Mark Jacoby, Beverly Lambert, Maureen Moore, Susan Terry, Quintet
Send in the Clowns--Glenn Close
Old Friends--Liza Minnelli
Sunday--Bernadette Peters, Broadway Chorus

Customer Reviews:

Great CD.......2006-08-06

This is a wonderful double CD of fabulous musical numbers performed by theatre greats and directed by a legandary musical director.

Simply the Best.......2005-06-29

First, to the person who criticizes the recording b/c of "Broadway Baby." Daisy Egan (who sings in in this recording) sounds like she's 10 becuase she IS young. She had just appeared on Braodway in Secret Garden and won a Tony for it. It's a joke...Broadway BABY...hello, it's a joke.

In a compilation of songs like this you're always going to have tracks that you prefer over others, but the majority of the renditions in this CD are great. This is simply one of the best collections of Sondheim out there. You get interpretations that span from "classical" (Green Finch), to bordering on insane (Anything Twice). This is to demonstrate how versatile this composer really is.

In my opinion, some of the best renditions are "Not a Day Goes By," "Anyone Can Whistle", "Girls Upstairs Medley," "Losing My Mind/Drive a Person Crazy," and "Weekend inthe Country." Makes me wish I had been there to witness it first hand.

If you love Sondheim and enjoy hearing Broadway performers, get this CD. A great recording.

Inconsistent, but mostly excellent.......2004-03-21

I am sure no knowledgeable person would deny how absolutely perfect all these songs are. However, the performances on this album are extremely inconsistent. It will go from an excellent rendition (Waiting for the Girls medley, Sunday, With So Little To Be Sure Of, Sooner or Later, Green Finch, Send in the Clowns, Pretty Lady) to the weird (I never Do Anything Twice), to the bad (Broadway Baby, Our Time). I still have absolutely no idea how they managed to butcher one of the best songs ever written--Good Thing Going--and turn it into smooth jazz elevator music. Why would they give Broadway Baby to someone who sounds like she's 10? That said, Liza Minelli, Glenn Close, Karen Ziemba, Dorothy Laudon and the "Waiting for the Girls" performers are all very good. And ending with Bernadette Peters and "Sunday" ends the set on a absolutley fabulous note.

"Celebration" is not strong enough a word.......2003-04-30

This review is by Crosley.

I have been a major Sondheim fan for quite some time, and I finally obtained a copy of this album. I was blown away by the excellent cast and phenomenal selection of music. It is obvious how much work went into this production, considering that this is the live recording of a one time show, and it's flawless. The songs cover all of his shows with the exception of "Passion," which was released 3 years after this show. Also, the shows for which he wrote only lyrics are ommited, like West Side Story, Gypsy, etc. Thus, you can find material from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Merrily we Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins.

There are two striking things about this CD (besides the music and performers themselves). First of all, some of the songs are completely stylistically reworked. The most obvious are "Good Thing Going" and "I Never do Anything Twice." Both are traditionally very ballady with a piano accompaniment, but here they have been redone as jazzy tunes. The result is excellent. Such reworkings demonstrate that Sondheim writes music for virtually any style, and in these cases, across several styles. It's a great example of his variety. The other interesting thing is how many songs have overlapping melodies of songs from different shows. Case in point, "Our Time" and "No one is Alone" are sung seperately by the Harlem Boys Choir and Betty Buckley (the original Grizabella in Webber's atrocious "CATS," although Buckley was excellent) respectively, and then combined. Putting these two songs together offer different meanings to each, and the music is only enhanced. Another example, the trio of "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Love, I Hear," and "Live Alone and Like It" are sung in that order, and then the latter two are combined. Again, the meanings of the songs change, this time in an almost narrative style, and offering different takes on love in the same montage. Lastly (at least for this review, there are more), Dorothy Laudon's (the original Ms. Hannigan in Annie) combination of "Losing my Mind" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" is brilliant. Those who are familiar with these songs will wonder how exactly they fit, but trust me, they do. She swtiches back and forth between melodies to create a number that starts poignant and beautiful, and soon moves to become uproariously funny. Both the song reworkings and overlapping melodies of unrelated songs are all for the better.

I recommend this recording to anyone wanting to get better acquainted with some of Sondheim's best work, or those already familiar who want to hear a tour de force of phenomenal music. It has been said that Sondheim is a masterful lyricist (which he is), but lacks real talent for music. This CD is the final proof that such critics are wrong. His music may take a few listenings to get into, contrary to Webber or Wildhorn, but unlike those two, he doesn't cater to the audience. He challenges them to think outside of traditional musical theater in a glorious repertoise of shows that reach for a smarter, more sophisticated form.

A maginificent evening, a magnificent album.......2001-12-16

There's something to be said for the first concert you ever see at Carnegie Hall. I was fortunate enough to have this be my first. This entire evening was devoted to his genius and the performers did not disappoint.

This wonderful double CD shows off the best and brightest of the musical theatre composer and it is, as one person put it, "an embarassment of riches." With songs from his finest works done in amazing arrangements (listen to that harmony in "We Had a Good Thing Going"!) combined with fabulous performers this is a Sondheim lovers delight.

Tracks:

Everybody Says Don't
I Wonder What Became of Me?
The Eagle and Me
I Had Myself a True Love
Into the Woods / Giants in the Sky (Malcolm Gets)
Another Hundred People / So Many People (Malcolm Gets)
Let's Face the Music and Dance / The Song Is You (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Happiness
Loving You
You Could Drive a Person Crazy
Not A Day Goes By / Losing My Mind

Tracks:

Buds Won't Bud
I Got Lost in His Arms
West Side Story Segment: Something's Coming / Tonight (Malcolm Gets)
Move On (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Medley: Hard Hearted Hannah / Waiting for the Robert E. Lee / San Francisco
Ice Cream
Send in the Clowns
The Trolley Song
Not While I'm Around (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Anyone Can Whistle

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Barbara Cook is one of today's most accomplished song stylists, and if you don't believe us, just listen to this live album. It's a master class in the art of singing. It documents an evening at Carnegie Hall during which Cook proved that she can dissect and extract the substance out of the simplest of lyrics. One of the best surprises is "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (from Company), which is taken at an amiable trot and allows the singer to display its humor. Cook is not a swinging singer and uptempo is not her pace; give her a ballad, though, and she'll wring the last drop of emotion out of it. Her version of "Losing My Mind" (here paired with "Not a Day Goes By") is simply astonishing. The singer also performs songs that Sondheim has said he wished he had written, an awful lot of them by Harold Arlen. No complaints here. Guest Malcolm Gets solos on a few songs and duets with Cook on others, including "Let's Face the Music and Dance." This is classic material done masterfully by a classic singer. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2004-02-20

Having read the other reviews there is little more for me to add. I have been a Barbara Cook fan for a longtime and for me, this is one of her best concerts ever. I do, however, prefer the DVD. As with some other reviewers, I do not want to hear Malcolm Gets (as much as I like him) when I want to listen to Barbara. Her flawless interpretation of music is a hard act to follow for any singer! I managed to see this concert 4 times over a year and a half. Each time I saw her the voice was stronger and more assured (I would not have thought that possible). I can't help but think we will have the pleasure of hearing Ms Cook for many years to come. For those people who enjoyed his CD I strongly recommend purchasing the DVD. Barabara's rendition of So Many People is breathtaking (literally, I don't think I breathed once during the entire song). If you ever have opportunity to see her live - go! She has an ability to make you feel as if every song she sings and every word she speaks is directed to you alone. She can take a large venue and make it feel as intimate as your own living room. Having had the pleasure of meeting her I can say she is as youthful and pleasurable in person as she is in her performance.

Everyone Should Whistle.......2003-10-11

After being privileged to attend this concert, I had to own the CD. Once a lyric coloratura and the original Cunegonde in Bernstein's Candide, Ms. Cook has become (in her 70s) a true diva, blessed with a velvety, warm sound. Every note has meaning. Her high B-flat on "Ice Cream" is still the envy of any soprano today. Everyone should whistle after hearing the superb performances on this CD. Even better, though, is the experience of having been in the concert hall for the live performance. Brava, Ms. Cook!

An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master.......2003-06-16

When I first bought tickets for the 'Mostly Sondheim' show on tour (in San Francisco) I figured it couldn't be too bad. Besides, I had only been exposed to a few of his songs (Anyone Can Whistle, Losing My Mind...) and had only seen "A Little Night Music". On the way out of the theater I immediately picked up this recording of the program. It is truly amazing. I immediately began listening to it and have barely put it down in the last few months. Furthermore, my Sondheim CD collection increased in size from an unflattering zero to five (and it's still growing)! This is an amazing introduction to the works of Stephen Sondheim, who is now my favorite modern musical composer). Buy this now if you don't already have it!

Beautiful, moving concert.......2003-04-13

This is a wonderful CD set with a great selection of songs. I do want to express a slight reservation, however. Barbara Cook has been one of my favorite singers for a number of years and the way her voice defies time is extraordinary -- for her to be singing with such bright, beautiful tone in her mid-70s with no wobble or beat in the voice is an amazing achievment.

I do have to say that by 2001, when this concert was recorded, Cook seemed to have a lost a little bit of power and intensity in her singing. This is only natural for someone of her age. Her voice is still lovely, but you can sense her keeping it in reserve a bit. She's as expressive as ever, but compare the rendition of "I got lost in his arms" on this album to the one on her previous album recorded in 1999, "The Champion Season", and there's less urgency and vocal depth in her singing here. That said, the high B at the end of "Ice Cream" is sensational.

So, despite that caveat, this is, again, a wonderful album, a must for Cook fans, especially for the gorgeous renditions of songs I'd never thought I'd get to hear her perform: "Not a Day Goes By", "Happiness/Loving You", "San Francisco", etc. Buy it!

... and I love Barbara Cook.......2003-02-11

This recording is a disappointment for me. It is not her best work, and Malcolm Gets is uninspired. My biggest complaint however is the engineering of the recording. Throughout the speaking was to soft, the singing volumes uneven, and the applause deafening. I will be passing this CD on to friends, and will later donate it to my local library.

Anyone Can Whistle - Live at Carnegie Hall (1995 Broadway Concert Cast)

Average customer rating:

For the Sondheim completist
An under-rehearsed performance of a really fun score!!
Great Recording!
Don't miss out on the bonus music in this recording!
An issue of personal preference

Anyone Can Whistle - Live at Carnegie Hall (1995 Broadway Concert Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Bernadette Peters , Madeline Kahn , Scott Bakula , and Chip Zein
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002B76
Release Date: 1995-07-18

Tracks:

Overture
Narrator's Introduction
Me And My Town
Miracle Introduction
Miracle Song
Fay's Arrival
Cookie Speech
There Won't Be Trumpets
Hapgood's Arrival
Simple (The Interrogation)
Entr'acte
Hooray For Hapgood
Come Play Wiz Me
Whistle Introduction
Anyone Can Whistle
Hoooray For Hapgood Reprise
A Parade In Town
Transition - Tear Up Those Records
Everybody Says Don't
I've Got You To Lean On
Transition - See What It Gets You
See What It Gets You
Transition - Cookie Arrest
Cookie Chase
There's Alwyas A Woman
Transition - With So Little To Be Sure Of
With So Little To Be Sure Of
Finale

Amazon.com

Because Anyone Can Whistle was one of Stephen Sondheim's most notorious failures, lasting a mere nine performances in 1964, this 1995 gala benefit concert for Gay Men's Health Crisis was conceived as a one-night revival. It's an exciting performance, anchored by Bernadette Peters in Lee Remick's role as Nurse Apple (meaning she gets to sing "There Won't Be Trumpets," the title tune, and "With So Little to Be Sure Of"), plus Madeline Kahn as the Mayoress, Scott Bakula as Hapgood, and Angela Lansbury, the original Mayoress, as narrator and host. Other advantages include 20 additional minutes of music and dialogue, a detailed synopsis, a full libretto, and notes on the concert. No, it's not a replacement for the original Broadway cast, but it's a valuable complement and a significant addition to the Sondheim discography. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

For the Sondheim completist.......2007-05-11

I agree with other reviewers that this was an under-rehearsed performance, that Peters' singing is surprisingly sloppy, and that Madeline Kahn is miscast. Other than that... Seriously, unless you must own every piece of coated aluminum with Sondheim's name on it, you might not want to spend big bucks for an OOP copy of this particular disc... three stars for the score, of course.

An under-rehearsed performance of a really fun score!!.......2004-01-15

Most people seem to like this recording of "Anyone Can Whistle" I still can't believe how mediocre it is given the people involved.. here are my reasons

1) It's under-rehearsed, and it shows. There are so many musical mistakes on this. I can't believe that they didn't record a dress rehearsal to have an alternate take at the ready.. Bernadette jumps a measure during the intro to "There Won't Be Trumpets" and you can hear conductor Paul Gemaniani expertly covering the mistake. It's like re-living a car crash...

2) Miscasting - yes I was a fan of Ms. Kahn (rest her soul), but Cora needs to be a belter with head voice extensions.. Her comic soprano was wrong for this role.. Several of her songs were transposed up to accomodate but it just didn't work.. The truth is that Bernadette Peters should have played Cora and cast Nurse Apple with someone else.. I think the only reason Peters is playing Fay is because Fay get's "There Won't Be Trumpets" and the title song.. Scott Bakula is well cast... Unfortunately "Everybody Says Don't" and "With So Little To Be Sure Of" should have been transposed up for him and they werent..

3) All the performances are low-energy... One of the problems with doing this show (other than the fact that is dated) is that the characters have to be played REALLY BIG!! They are very Cartoony... And most of these performances are smallish...

Stick with the fabulous Original Cast Recording...(until John Yap of Jay Records decides to release the complete Masterworks Recording of the complete "Whistle") and for the best performance of the cut "There's Always A Woman" get the Kaye Ballard/Sally Mayes performance on "Unsung Sondheim"

Great Recording!.......2003-12-24

This recording is simply wonderful! Angela Lansbury, who probably doesn't have the chops to sing the score anymore, opens up the show with her charming Narration. I am a big Angela fan and admire her charm, acting ability, and vocal ability, so having her on any CD is a plus.

Madeline Kahn is the first of the leads to sing. Madeline Kahn is a classically trained singer and is perfectly wonderdul. I wish they had raised the key of the song a bit for her so her range could have been showed off more. To really hear her sing, buy On The Twentieth Century. I find Madeline's performace a little less energetic compared to Angela's, but Madeline has better vocal tecnique. She is very funny and her Parade in Town is great!

Bernadette Peters sings There Won't be Trumpets like a goddess. This is a great song and althoguh Lee Remick was wonderful in the original, Bernadette has more range and voca ability and makes this song truly enjoyable. She sings the title song with a lot of warmth and uses better dynamics then Lee Remick. Overall, I like Bernadette better then Lee Remick, even though, as other people have said, Bernadette seems to be a little to mature for the role.

Scott Bakula, in my opinion is the weakest link in the cast. I prefer the original far better and he reminded me of Len Cariou, which is a good thing. Scott Bakula's voice is just sort of weak and feminine. His Everybody Says Don't doesn't have enough energy and isn't up to the same level as the original's.

The new material on this CD is wonderful!! You get dialouge and a completely new song! There's Always A Woman is absolutely wonderful. It's funny and the two women sing it great! I love this CD and I think any Sondheim fan should have it, and I know I'm a Sondheim fan! Anyone Can Whistle is pure magic!

Don't miss out on the bonus music in this recording!.......2003-12-04

I actually recommend this recording over the original cast recording, because it has additional dialogue and a libretto that does a better job of filling in the story than what's available on the original. And, most importantly, the Carnegie Hall recording has my hands-down favorite song, "There's Always a Woman", which is a delightfully catty battle scene between Bernadette Peters and Madeline Kahn. That song alone is worth the price of the CD!

An issue of personal preference.......2003-10-29

Note: Stephen Sondheim is my hero and Anyone Can Whistle is an early work of his that is, despite what others may say, easily one of his more beautiful and evocative scores. And the lyrics are good as well (perhaps not up there with Sondheim's best, but some of "Me and My Town" and "Simple" are simply great).
When I first bought Anyone Can Whistle about one year ago, I bought the original cast recording. And I was (and still am) extremely happy with that recording. However, my need for some new stuff from Sondheim (even if just different preformances) led me to buy this CD. And this is a really good recording as well. I prefer the original slightly above this one. By far the most appealing part of this recording is Scott Bakula, who is far superior to Harry Guardino in the orginal. Madeline Kahn and Bernadette Peters are both impressive, although I feel that Peters is a little too mature for the role; to be sure, the Nurse is not a juvenile role, but Bernadette comes across as the seasoned Broadway veteran that she is, which I feel to be wrong for the role. Madeline Kahn is very good, perhaps even as good as Lansbury. Overall, an excellent recording, especially if you want more Anyone Can Whistle music. But if you are going to buy your first Anyone Can Whistle recording, buy the original recording. You won't be disappointed.

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