You Don't Have To Visit This Blog

And in honor of the upcoming Tony Awards, I thought I'd share a bunch of compilations I made up a while ago.

I call it 'alternative' because I use that term as a general label for anything that isn't done in the normal style of or serves as an alternative to the usual type of, in this case, stage music. I only mention it because some people might think it's a misnomer or that it's misleading as if it was alt-rock or something, but it's just a term I use in my own mind when I think about these things (and yes, I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm not great at categorizing music, so I don't realize it might be confused with the alternative music category until somebody points out that that might be misleading.).

And while I'm at it, just in case anybody was wondering (yeah, right!), I might as well mention that I tend to call it 'stage music'. Other people say show music, show tunes, or musicals, but I don't usually use those terms because to me THOSE seem misleading. Of course, maybe that's just in my own twisted mind. I sometimes say 'show music', but not usually because music is also used as underscoring for dramatic plays and not just for musical shows (though it's a distinction that doesn't usually come up, but I actually do have some stage underscoring in my collection somewhere, so that's why I do it).

And I don't usually say 'show tunes' because the word 'tunes' to me always implies melodies without lyrics or individual songs versus the whole score from a stage musical. It makes it sound like a song from the Hit Parade or America's Top 40 instead of the entire score or it makes it sound like a wordless melody that you hum instead of sing. If somebody talks about 'show tunes', it always makes me think, 'You mean just the melodies from a show?' For a split-second, I can't help but get confused. Also, the phrase has become a little pejorative. "It's not good music, but just 'show tunes'". People now seem to use the phrase to marginalize the music in the same demeaning way that they've used the phrases, 'elevator music' or 'easy listening', for instance. A label that instantly implies a category of music that people shouldn't like or that only a certain demographic should like. It used to be that a huge percentage of songs on the Top 40 came from the stage or from films, but now it seems to be treated as something as far removed from popular culture as opera or ballet, so the pejorative use of the phrase seems to reinforce that somehow. So, if you couldn't guess it by now, that's the term I like the least.

And finally, out of those three other options I'd probably use 'musical' most often, but I tend to think of film musicals when I say that, so I just say stage musical or stage music instead. Needless nitpicking or sound distinctions that are vital to our nation's security? I'll let you decide.

Also, if you're wondering why I started with Volume 3, it's because I left Volumes 1 & 2 (which I haven't made up yet) open. Many, many years back, I made up a 90-minute tape compilation I called 'Alternative Stage Music'. When I eventually got the capability to make digital compilations, I always wanted to make up a new version of the tape for CD, but I never got around to pulling out all the original sources and figuring out how I was going to reconfigure it to fit the extra time in order to fill up Volume 2.

That's always the problem with trying to convert the 90-minute tapes I really liked in order to fit 74 minutes onto a CD. In fact, so far I don't think I've actually re-done any of my old tape comps for that very reason. I'd either have to come up with an extra hour's worth of music that fits the theme to fill up a second CD or cut out 16 minutes from the original tape. A lot of the tapes were timed out just the way I liked them and worked very nicely thematically, so I've been reluctant to tackle that particular problem. Either way I'd be substantially changing some of the things I liked originally, so if part of my rationale was to digitally preserve my tape, I'd be defeating one of the purposes. Oh, well. It's probably another one of those things that only I care about...........Well, anyway, enjoy the current offerings of musical fun (and if I ever make up Volumes 1 & 2, I'll put those up too):


Where applicable I included the English titles for the songs in brackets next to the foreign language titles.


pw = you_dont_have_to_visit - on all 3 volumes

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 3:

Track List:

01 - Buenos Aires Cast - Tradition - from 'Fiddler on the Roof (El Violinista Sobre El Tejado)' - [in Spanish]
02 - Vienna Cast - All Der Jazz - [All That Jazz] - from 'Chicago' - [in German]
03 - Karin Huebner, Paul Hubschmid, Friedrich Schonfelder, & Chorus - Es Grünt So Grün! - [The Rain in Spain] - from 'My Fair Lady' (1961 German Cast)
04 - Rita, Char. Of Mrs. Pearce, & Chambermaids - I Could Have Danced All Night - from 'My Fair Lady' (1986 Israeli Cast) - [in Hebrew]
05 - 1992 Norwegian Cast - Med I Familien Vår - [Consider Yourself] - from 'Oliver!'
06 - 1996 Japanese Cast - Be Our Guest - from 'Beauty and the Beast'
07 - 1998 Mexico Cast - Everything's Coming Up Roses - from 'Gypsy'
08 - Italian Cast - Questa Volta - [Maybe This Time] - from 'Cabaret'
09 - 1998 Antwerp Cast - I Dreamed a Dream - from 'Les Miserables' (Belgian Cast) - [in Flemish]
10 - 1972 Swedish Cast - Vart Ska Min Kärlek Föra - [I Don't Know How To Love Him] - from 'Jesus Christ Superstar'
11 - Elenco Original Mexicano - Dios Salva Al Mundo - [Save the People] - from 'Godspell' (1996 Cast)
12 - 2001 Mexican Cast - Noches De Verano - [Summer Nights] - from 'Grease (Vaselina)'
13 - Mexico Cast - I Got Rhythm - from 'Crazy For You'
14 - Cast - Me Siento Guapa - [I Feel Pretty] - from 'West Side Story' - [in Spanish]
15 - Maaike Widdershoven & Cast - De Dingen Waar Ik Zo Van Hou - [My Favorite Things] - from 'The Sound of Music' (2002 Dutch Cast)
16 - Israeli Cast - Do Re Mi - from 'The Sound of Music (T'zlili Hamuzika)' - [in Hebrew]
17 - Oded Te'omi, Shlomo Bar-Shavit, & Rita - Why Can't The English? - from 'My Fair Lady' (1986 Israeli Cast) - [in Hebrew]
18 - Roberto Blandón & Susana Zabaleta - El Sueño Imposible (El Ideal) - [The Impossible Dream] - from 'Man of La Mancha' (2000 Mexican Cast)
19 - 1988 Hungarian Cast - Hallod E A Nép Dalát (Finálé) - [Finale - Do You Hear The People Sing] - from 'Les Miserables'


Total Time: 1:13:05

around 100 MB


Rapidshare links (You'll need both parts before extracting):

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 3 - Part 1

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 3 - Part 2


OR

Megaupload link (in one big file):

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 3






Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 4:

Track List:

01 - 1972 Brasilian Cast - Superstar - from 'Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus Cristo Superstar)' - [in Portuguese]
02 - 1991 Icelandic Cast - Tíðhnit - [The Time Warp] - from 'The Rocky Horror Show'
03 - 2001 Mexican Cast - El Rock Nació Conmigo - [Born to Hand-Jive] - from 'Grease' - [in Spanish]
04 - Cast - America - from 'West Side Story' - [in Spanish]
05 - 1992 Norwegian Cast - D'er Et Fint Liv - [It's A Fine Life] - from 'Oliver!'
06 - Elenco Original Mexicano - Todo Es Para Ti - [All For The Best] - from 'Godspell' (1996 Cast) - [in Spanish]
07 - Katja Brauneis - Im Grunen Irgendwo - [Somewhere That's Green] - from 'Little Shop of Horrors (Der Kleine Horror-Laden)' (1992 German Cast)
08 - 1991 Paris Revival Cast - Comme Un Homme - [Bring Him Home] - from 'Les Miserables' - [in French]
09 - 1992 Original Prague Cast - Drink With Me - from 'Les Miserables' - [in Czech]
10 - Cast - Mañana - [Tomorrow] - from 'Annie'
11 - Cast - Maria - from 'West Side Story' - [in Spanish]
12 - Israeli Cast - Maria - from 'The Sound of Music (T'zlili Hamuzika)' - [in Hebrew]
13 - Buenos Aires Cast - Matchmaker, Matchmaker - from 'Fiddler on the Roof (El Violinista Sobre El Tejado)' - [in Spanish]
14 - 1998 Mexico Cast - If Momma Was Married - from 'Gypsy' - [in Spanish]
15 - Spanish Cast - Seasons of Love - from 'Rent'
16 - 1995 Original Spanish Cast - Noche Y Día (or 'Dia I Nit') - [Night and Day] - from 'Te Odio, Amor Mío'
17 - 2004 Argentina Cast - Aplausos - [Applause] - from 'Applause (Aplausos)' - [in Spanish]
18 - Stanley Burleson - Hocus Pocus - [Razzle Dazzle] - from 'Chicago' (1999 Utrecht Cast) - [in Dutch]
19 - Mexico Cast - Open a New Window - from 'Mame' - [in Spanish]
20 - Emilio Aragón & Chorus - La Banda Llegó - [Come Follow The Band] - from 'Barnum' (1984 Spanish Cast)
21 - Israeli Cast - Rak Od Yom - [One Day More] - from 'Les Miserables' - [in Hebrew]


Total Time: 1:12:01

around 100 MB


Rapidshare links (You'll need both parts before extracting):

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 4 - Part 1

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 4 - Part 2


OR

Megaupload link (in one big file):

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 4








Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 5:

Track List:

01 - Jacques Brel - L'Homme De La Mancha - [Man Of La Mancha] - from 'Man Of La Mancha' (1968 French Cast)
02 - Concha Velasco & Chorus - Hello, Dolly! - from 'Hello, Dolly!' (Spanish Cast)
03 - Mexico Cast - Mame - from 'Mame'
04 - Katja Brauneis & Andreas Lachnit - Jetzt Hast Du Seymor - [Suddenly, Seymour] - from 'Little Shop of Horrors' (1992 German Cast)
05 - 1991 German Cast - You Are My Home - from 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'
06 - Cast - Tonight - from 'West Side Story' - [in Spanish]
07 - 1998 Mexico Cast - All I Need is the Girl - from 'Gypsy'
08 - 1994 Mexican Cast - Suppertime - from 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'
09 - 1995 Original Spanish Cast - T Eres M S (or 'Tu Ho Ets Tot') - [You're the Top] - from 'Te Odio, Amor Mío'
10 - 1989 Argentine Cast - You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me - from '42nd Street' - [in Spanish]
11 - Gerard Clavel - Sans Amour - [Little Bird, Little Bird] - from 'Man of La Mancha' (1968 French Cast)
12 - 2001 Mexican Cast - Amor Primero - [Those Magic Changes] - from 'Grease'
13 - Mexico Cast - The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag) - from 'Crazy For You'
14 - Mexico Cast - Someone to Watch Over Me - from 'Crazy For You'
15 - Rex Gildo - In Der Straße, Mein Schatz, Wo Du Lebst - [On The Street Where You Live] - From 'My Fair Lady' (1961 German Cast)
16 - 2003 Original Russian Cast - Everything's Alright - from 'Jesus Christ Superstar'
17 - 1984 Hungarian Cast - Éjfél - [Memory] - from 'Cats (Macskák)'
18 - 1994 Japanese 'Blue' Cast - Come To Me - from 'Les Miserables'
19 - Björk Guðmundsdóttir & Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar - Það Sést Ekki Sætari Mey - [You Can't Get A Man With A Gun] - from 'Annie Get Your Gun'
20 - Cast - El Gran Derrochador - [Big Spender] - from 'Sweet Charity'


Total Time: 1:13:42

around 101 MB


Rapidshare links (You'll need both parts before extracting):

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 5 - Part 1

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 5 - Part 2


OR

Megaupload link (in one big file):

Alternative Stage Music, Vol. 5


Edit: On Volume 5, Track #1 - the filename & tags say 'Jacques Brel & Louis Navarre', but it should just be Jacques Brel (I don't know who the other man is who's playing Sancho, but it's not Louis Navarre). Sorry for the mixup.

I tried to use mostly ones that would be instantly recognizable (and ones with strong melodies) because those are the most interesting if you can't understand the lyrics. But even for all you polyglots out there, it should still be a fun collection. If you like stage music, you've probably heard a lot of these songs a million times, so it makes it especially fun to hear them in a different way. That's also why I didn't include other foreign language musicals (like Romeo & Juliet or Metro, for instance) that are either less familiar in their English language counterparts or weren't produced in English.

I've probably got enough material for 3 or 4 more foreign language volumes, but I stopped at Volume 5 because I felt I would start repeating myself even more than I already did on these comps. If I were to do a Volume 6, it would probably be a continuation of what will be on Volumes 1 & 2.

And yes, before somebody points it out, I know that it was a little bit superfluous to put in brackets that the Mexican casts were singing in Spanish or that the Paris casts were singing in French, but I was just trying to be consistent. (And now that I think about it, there have been times when overseas casts have actually performed their cast albums in English, so maybe it's not so stupid after all.)


If you have any corrections or additional info about any of the tracks, please let me know.


Notes on the compilations:

Volume 3:

#01: How could I resist hearing a cast from Argentina play Jewish characters living in Russia performing songs in Spanish by American composers? And what better way to start off a non-traditional compilation but with a song about tradition?
#03: And even more irresistible are German actors playing British characters engaged in a phonetics lesson to teach English and singing a song written by an Austrian composer and an American lyricist that was originally about the rain in Spain while dancing to tango music. I'm still not sure if he's teaching her English or German.
#05 & #06: Two songs about hospitality in unconventional settings.
#06: And again, how could I not love hearing Japanese actors playing French characters that are (normally) inanimate objects while singing songs that were originally written by American composers and that have English, French and Japanese words?...................And while dancing the can-can, no less!
#07-#09: Three songs about hope, dreams, and self-delusion.
#13: The song is originally from Gershwin's 'Girl Crazy' of which 'Crazy For You' was a loose adaptation. And it's interesting to hear the consistencies between the American version & the Mexican version.
#14: And there's something really appropriate about hearing this song sung in Spanish.
#13-#15: Three songs sung from a first-person perspective (but that also really applies to #04, #09, & #10, for that matter).
#16 & #17: Dutch & Israeli casts portraying Austrian characters singing songs by American composers.
#16: And it's interesting that she chose to end the song on the low note like Mary Martin rather than on a high note like Julie Andrews.
#17: Shreiking is really the same in any language, isn't it? I wouldn't normally have put on a third song from the same musical, but it just seemed right to wind down the compilation with a song complaining about how the English can't speak English........especially one that's sung in Hebrew. Is it just me or is it fun to hear him sing about things like Soho Square, Yorkshire, Shakespeare, the Welsh, and America?
#18 & #19: And I really had to end with these two songs.


Volume 4:

#01-#03: Three rockin' songs to start off the compilation.
#01: Sometimes the singer sounds a little like he's just inhaled helium, but I used this version because it had one of the strongest openings of any of the foreign language versions of the musical that I had.
#02: Out of the (what seems like literally dozens of) versions of this show available, I picked this version because it seems to rock just a little harder than some of the others. Is it just me or does every female Icelandic singer tend to sound a little like Bjork?
#03: I guess there's no Spanish word for 'Hand-Jive'.
#04: If you can get used to what sounds like a synthesized background orchestra, it's a pretty good version.
#04-#07: Three slightly ironic songs about the good things in the characters' lives and one slightly more earnest (but still ironic) song about wishing for better things in the character's life.
#07: I enjoy hearing her sing about things like skid row and the autobahn.
#08: Les Miserables was one of those exceptions that I included in that it's in the language that it originally started out in. But I included it because it's a great version and it's interesting to compare how it was in the original language and how it was when they converted it to English. It's fascinating how they kept the sound of 'homme' for 'home', went from 'Like A Man' to 'Bring Him Home', and presumably in the process, changed the meaning of the song, but still kept it an effective and meaningful song with the same rhyming sound.
#11 & #12: Two 'Maria' songs.
#13 & #14: Two waltzes from hopeful girls that imagine potential marriages.
#15 & #16: Two songs about love measured in terms of time.
#17: Sound quality isn't so hot, but I always loved this song and so it's great to hear it in Spanish. I guess this one could be a little less familiar to people, but it comes from a musical adaptation of the film, 'All About Eve' (unless my memory's playing tricks again), and it was Bonnie Franklin (from TV's 'One Day At A Time') that sang this paean to the stage in the original early 1970's musical (again, if my memory is holding up). I seem to remember that somebody involved (maybe Lauren Bacall or Bonnie Franklin herself) got a Tony for it, but don't quote me.
#17 & #18: Two songs about the magic of performance and relative appreciation of their respective audiences.
#19 & #20: Two rousing songs that conjure images of marches, ringleaders, fresh starts, & following your instincts.
#021: Again, the sound quality is not so hot on this track, but I used it because it had one of the best endings amongst all the other versions I had considered. Fantastic high note at the end.


Volume 5:

#01: If you're just used to hearing Jacques Brel sing about things like love, death, & whorehouses, then this will make a nice contrast. It's a rousing way to start the volume.
#03: Not the best sound quality, and if I remember right, I even audio-processed it slightly so it was worse before that, but not being great at that kind of thing, I didn't want to monkey around with it too much. I don't have much of an ear for that kind of thing; I like to listen to vinyl, 78's, CD's, tapes, etc., so it doesn't matter that much to me. A lot of times tinny mono from the 1950's seems to sound better than 20-bit CD processing that's supposed to sound fantastic, but the mono seems to have more presence to me and the enhanced sound of some CD's sounds kind of far away to me. It probably sounds fantastic on an expensive system with giant speakers where you can hear every high and low, but it just sounds very distant to me, even with headphones on, so you can see why I don't trust my ability to judge these things. As a result, I keep the audio-processing down to a minimum except for removing some obvious pops or clicks or doing some fade-outs or fade-ins when I don't think it will alter the original too much.
#04 & #05: Two German love duets by four pretty good singers.
#04-#06: Three love duets by six pretty good singers.
#07-#10: Four exultant songs with a special emphasis on the occasional dance break.
#09: I really enjoy hearing them sing about Strauss, Mickey Mouse, the Mona Lisa, Gandhi, the Charleston, Valentino, Fred Astaire, & Camembert cheese.
#11 & #12: Two lilting guitar-driven (or at least it sounds that way to me) songs with backing choruses (and the occasional falsetto). It's interesting how they both significantly changed the meanings of the titles of the songs.
#11: Yes, I know what you're going to say....French actors playing Spanish characters in an American musical.
#13: Another lilting song. I love hearing a song that seems so uniquely American (well, I guess it can hardly be considered otherwise with that title) sung in Spanish (oh, wait a minute......now that I think about it, don't tell your conservative friends......they might think it's our National Anthem or something (and if you live outside the United States, that joke probably won't mean much to you........we had a small furor a while ago about Spanish language versions of the National Anthem that our president decidedly and publicly disliked)........actually, all things considered, I guess those conservatives wouldn't be listening to this compilation anyway..........especially in the border states. Although I guess we could send the National Guard to protect us against Mexican stage actors who insist on singing Gershwin rags.).
#14: A fantastic version.
#14-#16: Three songs about contentment and a sense of security from the ones they love.
#19: They took the melody of Irving Berlin's 'You Can't Get A Man With A Gun' from 'Annie Get Your Gun' and gave it new lyrics. I'm not sure, but I remember hearing somewhere that the new lyrics turned it into a song about a sweater. Some nice Icelandic person out there will have to confirm that for me. The song is an exception from the other ones in the compilations since the modified song isn't really from a show, but it definitely qualifies as alternative stage music.
#20: Had to end with this song. Hey, Big Guapo!



There are a lot of great performances here and fun orchestrations. I enjoy these compilations a lot and even if you don't like stage music, you may like these anyway. If you do like stage music, I hope you got as much of a kick out of listening to these as I did.