broadwayelevators

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Peter Nero Medley from The Wiz Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls “Everybody Rejoice” Music and Lyrics by Luther Vandross from Peter Goes Pop!

Given the enormous success of The Wiz, it’s a little surprising there aren’t more easy listening treatments of the score from which to choose. At least Peter Nero didn’t make us pick one song, instead creating this monster medley with many of the hits.

What I find fascinating about this recording is how it skirts the line between easy listening and jazz. Listen to the way Peter goes to town on the piano during the “Ease on Down the Road” section. But no matter how funky the scores encourages him to be, those soothing strings always bring us back to the elevator.

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Andre Kostelanetz “If This Isn't Love” from Finian's Rainbow Music by Burton Lane Lyrics by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg from Andre Kostelanetz Plays Hits from Funny Girl, Finian's Rainbow & Star!

From the pizzicato strings to the vaguely 70s rhythms to the wailing brass at the end, this track has it all. 

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Hal Hester “The Flowers" from Your Own Thing Music and Lyrics by Hal Hester and Danny Apolinar from Hal Hester Does His Own Thing

I'm currently obsessed with the new musical based on Love's Labour's Lost playing at Shakespeare in the Park. But my first and longest Shakespearean musical obsession was Your Own Thing, the 1968 hit off-Broadway rock adaptation of Twelfth Night. The show was a runaway hit, playing for years off-Broadway, on tour, in London, in Australia, and so on. But due to the particularly timeliness of the show -- it dealt with the Vietnam War and the ways in which late 60s fashion encouraged androgyny -- it hasn't stood the test of time. For my money, it's one of the best-constructed (and funniest!) books of a musical that's unfortunately saddled with a second-rate score.

As far as I know, Your Own Thing has been recorded only twice -- the original cast recording, and this Latin-influenced album of Jazz covers by the show's co-songwriter, Hal Hester.

When I directed the show in college -- because of course I directed the show in college -- I begged Bill Rosenfield at RCA to release the cast recording on CD. He told me I was the first person to ever ask for that particular album in his tenure at RCA. Nevertheless, two months later it was in stores. I had been wondering about this album ever since, until about a month ago when I realized I was an adult and could just buy it on ebay, which I did. 

Incidentally, one of the score's best songs, called "Let It Be," is on neither recording. I'm not sure why. If you happen to have a recording of that song, please do let me know.

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The Hollyridge Singers “Everybody Has The Right To Be Wrong” from Skyscraper Music by Jimmy Van Heusen Lyrics by Sammy Cahn from The Hit Songs from the New Broadway Musical SKYSCRAPER sung by The Hollyridge Singers

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The Douglas Gamley Orchestra “It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow” from Mr. President Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin from The New Hit Musical: Mr. President & Other Show Stoppers From Irving Berlin's Broadway

We'll give you a two-fer tonight since we've been on hiatus all week. And who ever expected that there would be multiple instrumental covers of this particular show?

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Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra “The Washington Twist” from Mr. President Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin from Music from Irving Berlin's Mr. President

From the man who gave us God Bless America. They can't all be home runs.

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Percy Faith “Catfish Row" from Porgy and Bess Music by George Gershwin Lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin from Percy Faith Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess

I needed something thematic for the hurricane, and since my attempts to find the song "Sandy" from Grease has thus far turned up nothing, I give you the introduction from the greatest American musical to ever feature a hurricane.

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Nelson Riddle “I Got The Sun In The Morning” from Annie Get Your Gun Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin from The Joy of Living

Nelson Riddle was one of the only easy listening arranges who convincingly employed the guitar in his orchestral arrangements, perhaps most famously in his chart for Sinatra's Reprise-era redux of "I Get A Kick Out Of You."

This track, which closed out a disc of tunes celebrating the simple things in life, takes an easygoing, everybody gets a chance to shine approach to the song. With the initial lines traded between guitar, tuba, muted trumpets, and bells, Riddle's making a clear statement that this is not going to be a standard swing take on Berlin's swingin' standard.

This could easily slip into "middle school band" territory (ok, now the woodwinds stand up for your chorus!), but of course, Riddle is far more clever than that. The result? I perfect track to underscore a relaxing nightcap at the end of a happy day as the screen fades to black and the credits roll.

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Percy Faith “Happy Talk” from South Pacific Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II from South Pacific

Percy Faith + Rodgers & Hammerstein + Pizzicato Strings + Unusual Percussion = Joy

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Randy Miller Phantasmagoria On Themes From It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman! Music by Charles Strouse Lyrics by Lee Adams from Superman: The Ultimate Collection

In our contemporary era, the days of famous arranger-conductors with distinctive visions for easy listening orchestras are long gone. While some of this music has been kept up in the symphonic "pops" world, the other place where it sometimes pops up is in the, frankly, cheap-o releases of record labels devoted to soundtracks.

Varèse Sarabande is best known as a label for soundtrack collectors, putting out scores that the major labels ignored and bringing back forgotten gems that have been long out of print. In the 90s, they also featured an arm devoted to Broadway—produce Bruce Kimmel's Spotlight Series. This album marked one of Kimmel's rare cross overs into the label's film bread & butter, on the heels of his phenomenally successful Titanic: The Ultimate Collection. While most of the tracks represented music from the Superman films, two presented music from Broadway: this one, plus a more straightforward rendition of the show's ballad, It's Superman.

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Percy Faith “Not Since Nineveh” from Kismet Music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest Adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin from Kismet

One might imagine that of all the shows in line for a "light classical treatment," those whose scores were themselves based on classical music might be pretty far down the list. One would be wrong. While Kismet is certainly the most famous of this subgenre in musical theater, it was far from the only show to repurpose classical music as the basis of its score—Borodin won a posthumous Tony Award!—nor was it the only to receive the easy listening treatment. Sure, Percy and his boys could have just played the Borodin original, but it wouldn't quite have the showbiz pizzaz of this.

Honestly, I find this album a little disappointing. The score to Kismet has so much opportunity to swing, but the MGM film adaptation's soundtrack achieves that far more successfully than this arrangement, which feels a big bogged down by the size of the orchestra.

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The Melachrino Strings “Clang Dang The Bell” from Greenwillow Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser from Music From Frank Loesser's Greenwillow

I love it when the arranges of elevator music get literal. Clang dang the bell indeed.

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Michel Legrand “Yesterdays” from Roberta Music by Jerome Kern Lyrics by Otto Harbach from Broadway Is My Beat

Legrand might be best known these days as the composer of film scores like Les Parapluies de Cherbourg and Yentl, but he's also an accomplished arranger, bandleader, and jazz musician. This 1961 album rests on the intersection of beatnik jazz and elevator bombast, with the yearning saxophone somewhat at odds with the ornamental flutes, strings, and bells. This tension in the scoring, to my ears, really helps project the meaning of the song. Despite the lack of lyrics, one listen to this track and you know what this song is about.

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Percy Faith “Two Ladies in De Shade of De Banana Tree” from House of Flowers Music by Harold Arlen Lyrics by Harold Arlen and Truman Capote from Percy Faith Plays Music From The Broadway Production House of Flowers

Percy Faith's recordings of the hits don't do much for me. His My Fair Lady, for example, is pleasant but relatively by the book. But when he put his skills towards less mainstream material, like this 1954 calypso-themed flop, he made magic.

House of Flowers is credited with introducing the steel drum to American audiences, but you'd never know it from this brass-, sax-, and cowbell-heavy arrangement. But who's ever wanted less cowbell?

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Ray Conniff and his Orchestra and Chorus “On The Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady Music by Frederick Loewe Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from Broadway In Rhythm

This track has it all. A totally inappropriate rhythm. A honking baritone sax providing the bass line. And a chorus of boys singing what sounds to me like "blah blah blah." Pure Broadway gold.

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André Kostelanetz “All Through The Night” from Anything Goes Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter from André Kostelanetz Plays Cole Porter

OMG I love the 70s. Cole Porter + Moog = brilliance. (And yes, this album included narration by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. No, I don't understand why either.)

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Ferrante & Teicher “Tonight” from West Side Story Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim from Tonight and Other Favorites

This reached number eight on the Billboard pop charts. Just sit with that for a bit.