It's happening again.
I try to keep my bookmarks list clean and tidy, sorted into appropriate folders and pruned of the errant entries resulting from stray keystrokes. As you probably now, I also collect theatre related URLs. And occasionally these start to collect in the corners of my favorites list, awaiting a sorting.
Here's a batch of some of the most recently accumulated URLs -- not necessarily the most deserving, but at least of some interest.
Many years ago (1997! Aaaaaaiiiiieeeeee!), I wrote a couple of articles about shopping for show music CDs (entitled "See the show! Buy the CD!" and "See more shows! Buy more CDs!"). While a number of the sites and companies mentioned in the articles have disappeared in the dotcom bust, here are links to some survivors.
And right after you finally got around to copying that scratchy old LP to CD, here's the Columbia Broadway Masterworks division of Sony Music Entertainment getting around to reissuing some old favorites, many of especial interest to show music fans and collectors. The site is pretty bare bones, but they've got a cute sample player that will stream four or five short samples. And you'll learn that "all titles feature bonus tracks, original artwork, informative essays, cast listings and much more!". You can make your purchase directly from the site, but whether you want to purchase or not feel free to click on the [BUY] links where you'll get much more detail about the CDs. Don't look for a massive catalog, just be thankful for original cast recordings of such perennial favorites as A Chorus Line, A Little Night Music, Annie, Gypsy, Bells Are Ringing, Kismet, Kiss Me, Kate, Mame, My Fair Lady, No, No, Nanette, Bye, Bye Birdie, On the Town, Cabaret, The Pajama Game, Camelot, The Sound of Music, Company, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Sweet Charity, and West Side Story.
Wandering quite a bit further afield than Columbia Masterworks, Harbinger Records presents cast recordings from less well-known shows -- shows such as The Adventures of Maya the Bee, Big City Rhythm (the songs of Barry Kleinbort), O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf (Peter Eksröm), The Jello is Always Red (the songs of Clark "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" Gesner), Mayor the Musical (music by Charles Strouse), Lola, Postcards On Parade (these last two featuring lyrics by Kensward Elmslie). They also offer recordings of theatre- and/or cabaret-based singers (such as Jamie deRoy, Lorna Dallas, Heather MacRae, and Susan Johnson) and songwriters (Burton Lane, Irving Berlin, P.G. Wodehouse, Carolyn Leigh), as well as some classic reissues of historic recordings (Mercer, Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Gershwin, Kern and Arlen). The site features a generous dollop of very short RealAudio samples.
Of course, you could also support your humble author by visiting his online store, but...
Looking for rock bottom prices? If they've got it you'll be hard pressed to be DeepDiscountCD's prices -- with free shipping to boot. Problem is they don't got much in the way of show music (I tried a bunch of relatively large releases with no luck, finally trying The Producers, which turned up The Producers - a "2 LPs on 1 CD" release by the band, "The Producers"). Keep checking the "Soundtracks/Broadway" link for specials (at press time there were only "Soundtracks," no "Broadway"). See also DeepDiscountDVD.
You'll find more rock bottom prices and more theatre music at Berkshire Record Outlet. Their website is balky and they don't have everything, but what they do have is seriously discounted. For instance the original cast recording (see Columbia Broadway Masterworks above) of Company for US$3.99, or the Tyne Daly-starred revival cast of Gypsy for US$2.99? You can't beat it with a stick!
Next week: Still more links!
Originally published at Suite101.com Theatre, 10/1/02
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