tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218985326921858943.post9085810999060163415..comments2024-01-24T01:27:11.111-05:00Comments on Café Muscato: As If We Always KnewMuscatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04657061324487851341noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218985326921858943.post-42900129794925327992014-10-05T18:32:34.273-04:002014-10-05T18:32:34.273-04:00It can work, but what a difference it makes when i...It can work, but what a difference it makes when it is part of the scene for which it was written. <br /><br />Downtown, at the Public. <br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWGMNJEMZlw<br /><br />For some deeper context, here's Priscilla Lopez in the red and white checked coat and Baayork Lee in a red coat, dancing here for Michael Bennett, and both later in the original cast of A CHORUS LINE. <br /><br />(In the black coat is Joyce Ames, from the movie "Hello, Dolly!" and in the blue, not quite in step is, of course, Pia Zadora. No intro needed for the wonderful Alice Playten.) <br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6lyv67Peo4w#t=65George W. Tushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13050905945846094987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218985326921858943.post-86409974920055472622014-10-05T11:45:12.595-04:002014-10-05T11:45:12.595-04:00Well, it is what one brings to it, and in that sen...Well, it is what one brings to it, and in that sense a far blanker canvas than most standards ("These Foolish Things," a lyric that is practically a standalone novella, it ain't). To me that's why technical excellence alone (and who has more of that than Leontyne?) only highlights the emptiness you point out, while someone willing to pull it apart (Franklin) can use it as the basis for something wonderful.<br /><br />But your point really does highlight why it's not the lasting sensation it seemed for a while it would be. Muscatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657061324487851341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218985326921858943.post-62095791791655707432014-10-05T11:09:26.641-04:002014-10-05T11:09:26.641-04:00Even in the show, it's a good song, an attract...Even in the show, it's a good song, an attractive song, but not a great song. Taken out of the exact context of the moment in A CHORUS LINE for which it was written, it's almost a meaningless song. Sure, the music is piled high with schmaltz, but the lyrics are annoyingly vague, as if Ed Kleban had been pushed to write a love song, a part that could be sold separately. "Love" is not what the singer will remember. It's the love of an otherwise foolhardy passion, crazily pursued to an early retirement at 35 years of age, but still worthy of every bit of heartbreak that it brings. It's the context that gives the song its heft. <br /><br />Without the context, ya ain't got much to work with here. A diva with just a microphone and a spot light can't communicate any of that with these crummy lyrics, there is so little in them. Miss Price had the great benefit of singing the song at the farewell gala for Beverly Sills. (And who would care, given that final note she delivers. Wow!) <br /><br />Outside of retirement parties, this song is pointless. It's the only dramatically inert portion of A CHORUS LINE, but the schmaltz has carried it long and far. It will never be a great song. To borrow from GYPSY, if it could have been, it would have been... and that's show business.George W. Tushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13050905945846094987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218985326921858943.post-35536023086664771412014-10-05T07:36:18.579-04:002014-10-05T07:36:18.579-04:00As much as I adore Dame Shirl, Señorita Gormé and ...As much as I adore Dame Shirl, Señorita Gormé and the Queen of Soul, The Merm's version of this is quite heart-rending. An old trouper, full of memories and yet still very much the showgirl - it is the über-camp rendition this song deserves. JxJonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15501010362663971583noreply@blogger.com