Company cast recording: original or revival?

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 11:56am

I want to familiarize myself with the show. Which recording should I get?

[BNN]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 11:58am

Fall in love with the original, and then admire the revival.
The OBC of Company is easily one of the best cast recordings ever, in my very humble opinion,

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 11:58am

Both!

I think most people would argue that the only way to familiarize yourself with a show is through the original. I'm not about to get into an argument over why the original doesn't always HAVE to be the definitive, but while I recognize that the original is the original and every musical theater fan should absolutely hear it, I'd also be doing a disservice if I didn't recommend the 2006 revival. (And, to complicate your decision, you know there was a 1995 Broadway revival too, right? )

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 11:59am

That's a hard call. The OBCR has the advantage of having Stritch; the 2007 revival has the advantage of having the best Bobby ever -- Raul Esparza.

[little_sally]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:03pm

Listen to the original first, and then listen to the 2007 revival. By no means listen to the 1995 revival.

[jennamajig]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:04pm

I'm a huge fan of 2006 revival recording. It also has some more dialogue in it if you're a fan of that, but I second Ed in saying it has the best Bobby, Raul Esparza. His "Being Alive" is worth the price for me.

However, Stritch is why I also have the OBC. I often listen to the revival, then listen to "The Ladies who Lunch" and "The Little Things You Do Together" off the OBC.

[Hest882]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:09pm

Agreed with everyone else. Start with the OBC. I think for any show, especially older ones, it's important to first set your baseline with what the show was originally conceived to be. The OBC has incredible performances in it.

Then do the 2006 revival, which I adore.
Updated On: 4/16/09 at 12:09 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:13pm

The original, in this case, is the blueprint, so start there.
The 1995 revival had an amazing cast and worth a listen.
The actual singing of the score was quite a let down in the recent revival. (unless you are a RABID EZSPARZA FAN).
And I quess Mottershead has seen every production ever of COMPANY to make such a ridiculous statement.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:15pm

By no means listen to the 1995 revival.

Skip it for now. Don't use that one to get acquainted with the show. But if it turns out you like the show, it's another interpretation you might want to check out. It's not awful, but ranks nowhere near the other two. For some of the performances, if you like the score, it's worth listening to.

[Craww]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:48pm

I don't even like the OBCR overly much, and I'd still have to say start there. (The recording itself is wonderful. I just have some subjective performer issues.)

I've mostly listened to the recent revival recording. Occasionally I'll listen to Ladies Who Lunch or You Could Drive A Person Crazy from the OBCR.

[ratherbewhaling]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:51pm

also buy the dvd of the revial to familiarize yourself with the show

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:55pm

I agree going with the OBC then the Doyle revival.
The 1995 Roundabout Bway revival isn't that great, it sounds too glossy and plastic, not to mention the synthed orchestrations are terrible. However, Debra Monk delivers a pretty vicious Ladies Who Lunch that I truly love.
There is the 1996 London Revival directed by Sam Mendes. Some people say it's an absolute mess, but I think it has it's charm. It's definately the darkest version of the show. The unconvincingly-masked-British-accents-with-even-more-unconvincing-New York-accents are sometimes horrendous but a lot of the time the actors and orchestration deliver the perfect feelings of anxiousness, desperation and suffocation that make Company such a superb musical. Their 'Have I Got a Girl for You' and 'Poor Baby' are probably my favorite of all four recordings.

I'd probably rank the recordings as such
OBC
Doyle
London
Roundabout

Updated On: 4/16/09 at 12:55 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 12:57pm

I think the Donmar production is fascinating. Also not the way to familiarize yourself with the show, but neither is it an "absolute mess."

[madbrian]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:01pm

I have a very strong preference for the original cast. However, given that the original question was how to familiarize oneself with the show, I don't know that any cast recording accomplishes that task for Company.

[RevolutionaryCostume]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:07pm

I prefer the original. . There's this deliciously-60's sound to it. Plus it has the best versions of "Another Hundred People" and "You Could Drive A Person Crazy".

The orchestrations on the revival recording are interesting. . but I don't necessarily think its the best way to first hear the songs.

-Jacob.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:09pm

Start with the OBC (or even the OLC if you can find it), then the 1995 revival, which is a bit sterile, but not without its charms. I can't recommend the other two. I like Esparza, but not in Company. I listened to the recording of the recent revival once and have never felt the need to hear it again.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:19pm

Make sure you buy the re-release of the OBC that has Larry Kert's "Being Alive" as an additional track.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:20pm

CurtainPullDowner,

The question was which recording you'd recommend if you weren't
familiar with the show. I gave my opinion and never intimated that I'd seen every production of Company. Why the snarky remark?

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:29pm

Both. I prefer the original "Another Hundred People", Ladies Who Lunch" and "Not Getting Married Today". However I love the expanded version of "Another Hundred People" on the revival recording. I too suggest the remastered original cast recording. Also check out the DVD of the recording of the original cast recording.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:31pm

All dialogue on the revival recording makes everyone sound so bored. I've listened to that recording once and never listened to it again.

[Pippin]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:58pm

no question. if you can only buy one, it has to be the OBC.

Phyliss, I agree with you. the only songs I listen to from the Doyle production are Raul's solo songs. The talking hurts me.

[musikman]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 1:59pm

Call me biased since I've never listened to the revival recording, but I would take a full sized orchestra playing Sondheim over 12 actors playing their own instruments any day of any week. You'll also have the songs, and interpretations as they originally were meant to be. Once you've familiarized yourself with that, listen to whichever recording you'd like.

What annoys me about all this is that orchestras are always another character in the show. Composers, score writers and orchestrators write for a certain amount of musicians and instruments for a reason. Taking them away takes away a whole character and meaning for the show.

Case in point with the recent Sondheim revivals. The new Sunday production had 5 players in the pit. Not only did it sound tiny, and not do justice to the score, Sondheim and his orchestrator Michael Starobin chose to have 11 musicians in the pit, because Seurat used 11 different colors while painting Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Or, the Sweeney revival which had 10 tinny sounding actor-musicians. Talk about taking another character away from a show when you decrease the size of the pit from 31 to 10. So much depth, and emotion, excitement, and thrill is lost when you take away that huge sound.


Oh yea...pick the Original cast recording of Company.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 2:08pm

The original is the only way to go...and if you are insisting that you must have a second one, go with the Roundabout.

The OBCR has the best overall performances, and who can hate the great 70s sound? Also, Tick-Tock is present on this recording, and I personally consider it a major crime when it's removed from the show.

The Roundabout has a great cast...the sound isn't the best, and I'm not a fan of the reduced orchestrations, but the fact that the cast has a personality, and talent outweighs it's bad points.

While the 2006 Revival was adored by a bunch, I can not stand ANY person in the cast (and usually Barbara Walsh will make me love anything). Raul's performance leaves me cold, he's too intense, too manic. And, while I respect Ed's opinion, he is one of the *worst* Bobby's I have ever heard.

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 2:16pm

I enjoy the dialogue on the revival recording. To each his own I guess!

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 2:17pm

I actually really like the 1995 recording. It doesn't stack up to the original, but the cast is fantastic, and if you don't mind the synth-y orchestrations (which I don't, really), it's a good recording to put on when you just want to hear the score. The 2006 revival was amazing live, but I don't really like the recording (aside from Walsh's Ladies Who Lunch - the ending is chilling).

It all really comes down to personal taste, obviously. But I wouldn't write off the '95 recording so quickly.