Ok as most of you will know we in the Uk are currently enjoying Imelda Stanton in full show stopping mode in Gypsy - with the 40 year gap between the last West End version and most of us missing the Bette Midler video its like seeing a brand new show and a stunning one at that as while we knew the songs we hadn't seen the show.
So having fallen totally for this musical and started the rounds on getting the versions any hints on the ones to get or miss
Patti Lupone - Bernadette Peters - Bette Midler and Tyne Daley seem easy and cheap to get on CD
Dame Angela Lansbury version does not seem to be currently out on CD or download Amazon had one CD via a seller at around $300! - the vinyl lp can be picked up easily and cheap so would be cheaper to buy that and a vinyl usb player! . Seems odd her version is so hard to get as it does seem to have some of the best reviews
The Rosalind Russell version is again about on vinyl but no CD (I have already have picked up hints this is the last version to look for)
Currently I have the Imelda one and the original Broadway cast with Ethel herself (and Jack Quincy " Klugman which was a surprise)
Skip the Tyne Daly version. It's not that good. They say she was sick when she recorded it, but I saw the show live and her voice just isn't there for the role.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
I have to agree with JoseLee, that the Patti version is my favorite and I too own them all. While Merman is VERY close second, in fact there're probably neck and neck, but Patti pulling ahead because the score comes out amazing on the cd, including the amazing overture.
LuPone (great lead performance, supporting cast and quality)
Peters (great lead performance, decent supporting cast)
Lansbury (great lead performance, terrible orchestrations)
Merman (I prefer the way the stars above try to 'act' the role)
Imelda (I don't find anything particularly interesting about this recording)
Daly (terrible lead vocal performance on record ).
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Like fine wine, olives and uncircumcised penises, Bernadette's voice is an acquired taste.
From the NYtimes
"Working against type and expectation under the direction of Sam Mendes, Ms. Peters has created the most complex and compelling portrait of her long career"
"What may be the angriest, most disturbing version ever of 'Everything's Coming Up Roses.'
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000