Album Review: New York, New York Cast Recording Reminiscent Of Cast Albums From Days Of Yore

Do you remember your first cast album?  Mine was Hello, Dolly!  Actually, there were three first cast albums for me because I caught my mother on a good day.  Being only seven years old, I was at the mercy of The Mommy when it came to my early-in-life obsession with musical theater.  I guess she assumed that record albums were better than candy or comic books because my Mam took me to the record store, where I was allowed the cast recordings of Hello, Dolly!, My Fair Lady, and Funny Girl.  Many other albums would follow but those three albums sort of spoiled me for the others because even though there was only one vinyl disc, the record jackets opened up like a book, inside of which were lots of liner notes and photos to help me feel, while listening to the record, like I was there… or at least like I had some semblance of informed knowledge about how the musical story came to life on the Broadway stage.  I knew I would never get to Broadway to see the shows I listened to, so these detailed record productions were the manna to my mindset… and the Random House hardcover play scripts that I found at the library that had one or two photos from the Original Broadway Productions.  That is how I learned about Broadway, and even though albums like Mame and Dear World had beautiful cover art and lots of notes on the back, they did not open up into a display filled with photos, and that affected my ability to enjoy, at least, a little.

In June, I was editing Broadway World’s CD reviewer Bobby Patrick’s review of the digital download of the new musical New York, New York.  The album had recently dropped on Spotify and other streaming platforms and was available for purchase on Apple Music and other for-sale platforms, and Bobby had the job of writing up the musical that I had yet to see.  While reading that review, I thought, “I gotta hear this recording.”  While listening to that recording, I became obsessed with New York, New York, obsessed with the reinvention of the songs from the film upon which it was based, obsessed with the repurposing of compositions from Woman of the Year, The Happy Time, Flora The Red Menace, Funny Lady, and even snippets and themes from Cabaret and Curtains, or songs composed especially for Liza Minnelli over the years.   While reading Bobby’s review (HERE) and growing my obsession with the play New York, New York, I developed a determination to see the new musical, the last one by Kander & Ebb, whose works had always, particularly, resonated with me.  And when I did see the musical, I found myself a fan (a fandom documented in a piece I wrote for Sandi Durrell’s Theater Pizzazz HERE, as it didn’t quite fit the Broadway World aesthetic).  When the play that had captured my attention and my heart closed, there had not been enough time for the production to create a souvenir program.

Well, there is a souvenir program, now, and it exists in the creation of a gorgeous cast album released on September 15th on the Wine And Peaches label.

The cast recording to New York, New York has been given the old-school cast album treatment.  This two-disc set comes in a tri-fold package that opens up onto a gallery of photos that one would either have to swipe off of the internet or that one would have had to document by snapping photos at the St. James Theater before the play closed.  Exquisitely designed by Robbie Rozelle, the generously produced CD booklet features (beyond all of Paul Kolnik’s glorious photos) liner notes that include the play synopsis, the lyrics to the score, a note from John Kander, and all of the credits (for those wondering which songs are Kander/Ebb and which are Kander/Miranda).  Those lyrics, by the way, come in handy to people like this writer who like to sing along but who are hard of hearing.  It’s thirty-six pages of Broadway heaven, including the names of the musicians, and the technicians that made the recording itself one of impeccable creation.

When the album was only a digital entity, I was listening to it non-stop on Spotify.  The only problem is that I have a family Spotify account.  Many is the time that I would be out in the city, listening to New York, New York on my phone, and it would stop because somebody at home decided to use the Spotify account by way of the computer or the Echo Show.  It is very frustrating to be in the middle of “Along Comes Love” and suddenly find oneself listening to The Monkees (no slight to The Monkees, of course, but Anna Uzele… come on, now).  So when the physical CD became a reality, I imported the recording into my iPhone so that I could listen to it without the threat of interruption.  And.  It.  Mattered.  Listening to the cast recording (which I had already played so many times that I could actually spot the discernible difference) as imported into my phone from the CD, the sound was crisper, it was louder (remember, I’m hard of hearing, so I notice these things), I could hear nuances in the band that I hadn't previously noted, and it was altogether richer in sound experience.  Because of the presence of the album on my phone, I was able to relinquish the full-time use of Spotify to other family members, happy to listen to Meghan Trainor and Coldplay.  Owning the disc mattered when it came to the listening pleasure of an album I was playing on repeat.  Yes, it is true that we have reached the age of digital downloads and streaming platforms, but at the end of the day there is nothing like a live physical recording - even CD listeners will tell you that they prefer vinyl to digital.  It’s a matter of personal taste and this writer, music lover, and Broadway aficionado is here to say it: the disc is better.  And there is a special kind of bond when a Broadway buffs holds the cast album from their favorite show in their hands, flipping through the booklet, reading the lyrics to "Music, Money, Love" and either remembering or imagining the thrill of being there, in person, to see the play.  There are many people for whom this cast album will be their only link to the Broadway musical - and they are lucky that the producers and designers put so very much effort into making it a full cast recording experience.

There was a CD signing event yesterday for the release of the New York, New York album.  The Drama Book Shop was flooded by people like this reviewer who saw something in the musical that struck a chord in them - a major chord that yearned for a right and proper bonafide cast album, like the ones that we all cherished throughout our lives, whether or first one was Hello, Dolly!, 1776, Dreamgirls, Into The Woods, Spring Awakening, or the newest member of the Broadway cast recordings family, New York, New York.  Be a part of it.  Get a copy.

New York, New York is a 2023 album on the Wine And Peaches Label.  It is available on all streaming and digital download platforms and available for purchase where CDs are sold.

THIS is the New York, New York website and HERE is the Instagram page.

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