MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ben Bagley's Vernon Duke Revisited - show tunes -- many of them never before recorded.
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VERNON DUKE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ben Bagley's Vernon Duke Revisited - show tunes -- many of them never before recorded.
Blossom Dearie, Gloria DeHaven, Tammy Grimes, Anthony Perkins, Rex Reed, etc
[ Painted Smiles Records / CD ]
Release Date: Tuesday 5 May 1992
Should this item be out of stock at the time of your order, we would expect to be able to supply it to you within 2 - 4 weeks.
Back in 1955 and 1957, Bagley, who was in his early 20's, dazzled critics with two brilliant Shoestring Revues produced Off-Broadway. Reviewers were mesmerized by the young man's uncanny ability to discover bright new talent (Beatrice Arthur, Chita Rivera, Dody Goodman, Arte Johnson, Paul Mazursky, Dorothy Greener, etc.) but also by his unerring taste in selecting their hilarious, sassy sketches and songs by future titans Sheldon Harnick, Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, Tom Jones, Harvey Schmidt and Arthur Siegel.
In 1971, Ben embarked on a new and impressive career. He founded Painted Smiles Records and since then has produced 47 highly distinctive albums of show tunes -- many of them never before recorded.
Vladimir Dukelsky entered this world in 1903 and is certainly one of the most underrated composers in all of The Great American Songbook. Of course, he changed his name to Vernon Duke and for someone who had some very huge hits over the years, mention his name to most people and they won't know who you're talking about. But anyone who wrote with such luminaries as Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin, Howard Dietz, Ogden Nash, Sammy Cahn, E.Y. Harburg is not exactly chopped liver.
His shows included Walk a Little Faster (which produced the classic "April in Paris"), Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 (which included "I Like the Likes of You"), Thumbs Up! ("Autumn in New York"), Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 ("I Can't Get Started"), Cabin in the Sky (which featured the amazing "Taking a Chance on Love"), Banjo Eyes, The Lady Comes Across, Jackpot, Sadie Thompson, Sweet Bye and Bye (which had a book by S.J. Perelman and Al Hischfeld!), Two's Company, and, of course, Ben Bagley's The Littlest Revue. And his little-known classical output included three symphonies, a piano concerto, a cello concerto, a violin concerto, several ballets, including two used in the film The Goldwyn Follies.
For Vernon Duke Revisited, Bagley assembled a truly eclectic cast: Tammy Grimes, Anthony Perkins, Blossom Dearie, Gloria De Haven, Jack Haskell, and, in true Ben fashion, Rex Reed and Joan Rivers. The wonderful arrangements and orchestrations are by Norman Paris. The rarities included are all gems and wonderful discoveries and we really do have to be grateful to the self-described "incurably insane" Ben for giving this gift and its subsequent volumes to us. As we've done for all these releases, we've considerably spruced up the sound for this new release. And the cover art is, of course, by the great Harvey Schmidt.
Like the other albums in this series, they have considerably spruced up the sound. For the CD release, Bagley went into the studio and recorded bonus material to fill out the CD length. And of course you get the great Harvey Schmidt artwork. ((Kritzerland)
RODGERS AND HART REVISITED was limited to 500 copies of the CD
Tracks:
The Theatre Is a Lady
Jack Haskell and chorus
Low and Lazy - Blossom Dearie
Now - Tammy Grimes and Anthony Perkins
Sugarfoot - Blossom Dearie, Tammy Grimes,
and the Keiffer Twins
Just Like a Man - Joan Rivers
Water Under the Bridge - Tammy Grimes
Spring Again - Anthony Perkins and the Ladies
Life's a Funny Present - Joan Rivers
and the Keiffer Twins
Lady - Anthony Perkins
Words Without Music - Gloria DeHaven
If You Can't Get the Love You Want
Tammy Grimes
Roundabout - Anthony Perkins and Tammy Grimes
I Cling to You - Anthony Perkins
That Moment of Moments - Jack Haskell and Chorus
