Well, dear readers, the rains have returned, so I slept very well as I always do when it is raining. Yesterday was a Meltz and Ernest day – spent collating their wonderful songs, and going through the archives which, as you might imagine, are yielding many surprises, oh, yes, they are yielding many surprises. Isn’t “yielding” a Jerry Lewis word? Let’s all put on our best Jerry Lewis voice right this very minute and, on the count of three, say “yielding”. One, two, three – “Yielding.” Excellent. We were so Jerry, weren’t we?
Last night I dreamed I was at Manderley. In my dream, I’d gone to Taco Bell and gotten four count them four regular crunchy tacos. When I got them home to eat I discovered, to my dismay that they’d left out the cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. There was only the meet (someone pointed out that I made this interesting typo – meet for meat – I wonder what it means, meat/meet-wise?) sitting in a lump within the shell. First I called them to tell them I was bringing them back, but the woman said I had to take a phone survey first, and then switched me to an automated survey. I hung up, and drove over to the Taco Bell place. I gave them back their incomplete tacos and the woman asked me if I was sure I hadn’t inadvertently removed the cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. I said to her, “And did what with them?” After much arguing they gave me the new complete tacos. Then I woke up.
Wasn’t that a lovely dream? So filled with portent and meaning, even though I haven’t a clue as to what the portent and meaning was/is. As I mentioned the other day, I received Miss Melissa Errico’s CD. I have now listened to it a few times and here is my full report as promised. First, let’s just say that it’s a wonderfully produced (by Arif Mardin) CD, the sound is clean and clear and Miss Errico’s voice comes through beautifully on every track. If theater people are expecting an album filled with Miss Errico’s favorite theater tunes they will not be happy and will probably stay away from the CD. That would be a shame however, and their loss. There is only one count them one popular song on the album, the exquisite Rodgers and Hart gem, He Was Too Good To Me. All the rest of the songs fall into a sort of pop/folk vein and, in one way or another, they are all ballads. Now, the thing is, I haven’t liked any of these CDs by theater people who fancy themselves rock stars, because I think they are not to the manner born – I find that they are rock poseurs and I only hear the effort. Miss Errico’s album is not exactly rock, but it’s definitely in a pop mode. But she is to the manner born, there is nothing “poseur” about it – she fits into these songs like a glove, doesn’t overact them, doesn’t underact them (so that they are a bland pudding), she just does them. For me, it’s a bit like it was hearing Maria Muldaur and Ricky Lee Jones for the first time (or Joni Mitchell), only better sung. It’s not a show-off album, it’s just Melissa Errico doing songs she believes in and doing them lovingly and well. I especially like her lower and mid-range, which is warm and smooth, and the way she caresses words is everything I love in singing. The album, entitled Blue Like That is a mood piece, and it was perfect listening as I drove around in the rain the other day. Her musicians are all top-notch New York players. My favorite songs on the album were the aforementioned He Was Too Good To Me, Love Junkyard, And So it Goes and Randy Newman’s When He Loved Me. I commend Miss Errico for doing the album she wanted to do, and I commend Angel/Manhattan for letting her do it and do it so well. I recommend this without reservation, and I think if theater lovers come to this with an open mind that they will really enjoy it.
What am I, Ken Mandelbaum all of a sudden? Don’t I have excellent questions to answer? Let’s all click on the Unseemly Button to find out if I answered them, shall we?
I did, I did, I did answer them. Who am I, Tweety all of a sudden?
William E. Lurie asks when I hear a cast album for a show I’ve not seen, do I imagine how the numbers were staged? Not so much now, but definitely when I was a wee sprig of a twig of a lad of a youth I did – I would look at the photos on the album jacket and I would picture in my head what I imagined they were doing. Sometimes I’d even dance around the room imagining what they were doing. If I later saw the show did the actual staging exceed what I’d pictured or was I disappointed. Oh, no, they always exceeded what even I had pictured. What numbers from shows that I’ve never seen would I most like to see? Be a Santa, for sure.
Jrand52 asks if a movie has a credit for Costumes and an additional credit for Wardrobe Supervisor what does that mean. Normally the Costume credit is for the designer, and the Wardrobe Supervisor credit is for the on-set wardrobe person (they may also choose the non-designed costumes from stock).
Laura asks for me to explain why the following people are in the Show Business: Charo – well, she’s obviously a unique personality and she is fun for a certain type of talk show or game show. I had lunch with her once and found her to be captivating and charming. She’s also an excellent guitar player. Roseanne – this I do not know. I find her totally unfunny and totally unappealing, but obviously others take to her in some way. Fabio – Fabio, it has been said by some, is an alien – a Nordic alien from another planet. That is the only explanation I have for his existence.
William F. Orr asks if I have plans to see Anyone Can Whistle and if so, when? I’m told tickets are scarce because of all the Sondheim freaks in Los Angeles, but yes, I will try to see it. Normally, our friend Misty Cotton e-mails me about these things and when she does I’ll see if there’s something she can do.
Arnold M. Brockman asks what popular song best represents the following decades: The 20s – before I start, these types of questions boggle my already boggled mind, so rather than just throw out any old songs, I’m going to make this today’s topic of discussion. So, I’ll get back to this one at the end of today’s notes.
JMK asks when a Broadway show hires a well-known team to ghost write songs for a show in trouble, how do the royalty and licensing fees get worked out, as in the case of Hello, Dolly. JMK find it hard to believe that the writers would not want credit or that they would forego monies due to them. Some people have already sort of answered the specifics of your question in terms of Dolly – it is pretty well known that Elegance and Motherhood were both ghosted in part by Bob Merrill. Strouse and Adams were called in to help with Before the Parade Passes By, but as far as I know that song belongs to Jerry (I seem to remember, however, that the title may have been theirs – can’t remember). In terms of Bob Merrill (or anyone who ghosts), they forego any credit but do get royalties. I know this because I saw the royalty agreements for Dolly. So, Mr. Merrill probably did quite well for himself on that show.
Pam asks if I’m planning to come to Chicago to see Bounce, the new Sondheim show. It depends on what I’m doing, but I would like to see it and if I’m there, yes, we will have a Hainsies/Kimlets Chicago and environs gathering.
Dennis Clancy asks where I feel the music industry is heading – whether brick and mortar stores will all close or go bankrupt and the only way a consumer will be able to purchase a CD will be to pay a fee and download it onto a disc or onto their computer. Well, I must say, when I created my label I’d hoped that the bulk of sales would come from the Internet, that we could get people to buy right from the site. Well, it didn’t really happen as I’d hoped it would. People still like to go to a store, to hold the CD in their hands, to browse, so I would hope that brick and mortar stores will be with us for some time to come. I think it’s the mom-and-pop stores that are dying and will be extinct soon, and that is a shame. As to the downloading stuff – I’m simply not interested, and I hope we never ever come to that. Holding an LP or CD in your hand is a tactile thing, and it’s special – the purchase is yours, you get packaging and you feel like you’re getting something for your dough. Downloading is work and I don’t care about it. I also think there are sound issues (and I don’t care what they say) and so I’ll stick to merchandise I can go to a store (either real or online) and purchase and receive in a conventional manner.
Tom from Oz’s personal favorite of my CDs is the Stephen Schwartz Album. Were there any songs which I did not have room for on the CD or that were eventually discarded before recording? If so, what were they, and do I have any favorites that I did not record. Oh, sure, there are lots of his songs that I really love. However, we both made lists, then I called him, he read me his list, I read him mine, and they were almost exactly the same. The only one I insisted on was Gifts of Love (he wanted to do With You) – I ended up figuring out a way the two could go together, but it required him writing a new lyric to the end of Gifts of Love, so that it would dovetail better with With You. He did this, rather generously I thought, and did a beautiful new lyric that was not so show specific as the original. Have I ever seen a satisfying and successful version of The Baker’s Wife? I’ve only seen it once, in its tryout engagement, with Topol and Patti Lupone. It didn’t really work, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It’s a hard show, difficult to pull off. The most difficult thing is finding a way not to hate its leading lady for cuckolding her husband. I don’t know that they’ve ever been able to fix that problem.
Sandra asks exactly what is a sieve tube member? Oh, there are so many ways I could answer the question. I believe that a sieve tube member is a member of the sieve tubes, a popular Ska band from the eighties.
Jay asks how the book signings I’ve done work? Do I get a fee for signing or just the proceeds from the sales of books. Do I chat with the people getting my autograph? Do I enjoy these events? What’s my favorite memory of a book signing and least favorite memory? There is no fee for a signing – I mean, maybe there is for a J.K. Rowling, but certainly not for most authors. They do signings to publicize the book and get the word out. I really enjoy doing them a lot – normally, I read from the book as well. I do chat with people quite a bit. My favorite signing so far has been the Ray Courts memorabilia show, because it was the first, and because there were interesting people all around me (including our very own Susan Gordon). But I also really had fun at my first store signing in Glendale, at Bookfellows. In fact, that is where I’ll be doing the first signing of Kritzerland. My least favorite memory of a signing is, of course, the last-minute aborted Barnes and Noble signing. Feh on them, say I.
KT asks if I want to view her copy of Tell Me You Love Me, Junie Moon. Yes, that would be lovely. By the way (BTW, in Internet lingo) I may be in Las Vegas in the next few weeks, so perhaps we’ll have a Hainsie/Kimlet get-together while I’m there. What was it about the Exodus DVD that I considered “shoddy treatment”? Well, to start, they used the old laserdisc transfer, which is very old and simply doesn’t look good. This film was shot in 70mm and 6 track Stereo Sound, and it should be given the class A treatment, like Warners did with The Cardinal and King of Kings. Unfortunately, Exodus, for whatever reason, didn’t go to Warners, it stayed with MGM/UA, and they have proven time and again that they just won’t go the extra mile for what they perceive are lesser titles. Well, Exodus isn’t a lesser title – it’s Preminger, it’s Paul Newman, it’s Leon Uris, and it was a huge roadshow event.
Hapgood asks if there are any names, male or female, that I particularly love. Not male, but I do love certain female names – Rebecca, Gillian, Sophie, those spring to mind. What is my opinion of Miss Barbra Streisand? Well, I loved her when I first discovered her, and I have enjoyed certain things over the years. But she’s just become too much – it’s very hard to even look at her anymore, it’s all so put on and not real, at least in appearance. But she was something else at the beginning, a force to be reckoned with. Where did I go to college? LACC.
Craig asks what if I could team any composer and lyricist together – who would they be? Well, I certainly think Mr. Hamlisch and Dorothy Fields would have been an interesting combination on Sweet Smell of Success. I’ve always thought it might have been interesting for Harvey Schmidt to write with another lyricist occasionally, say a Bob Merrill or even Stephen Sondheim. What shows do I think would have been served by a different composer/lyricist. Oh, maybe The Red Shoes. Definitely Martin Guerre (although I don’t really know if anyone could have made that work). What style of song is my favorite? The overture? The patter song? The eleven o’clock number? The I Want song? And who do I think writes best for those categories. I don’t know that I’d play the who writes best game for the latter question because everyone is writing for a specific show. I’m partial to great opening numbers like It’s A Typical Day, Magic to Do, or Comedy Tonight, or even character opening numbers such as It’s a Perfect Relationship. And, of course, I love ballads. Stephen Schwartz knows how to write an I Want song (Corner of the Sky) as well as anyone, and so did Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Jule Styne and whatever lyricist certainly knew how to write memorable ballads and also memorable eleven o’clock numbers.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must go out in the rain because I love driving in the rain, I must sup with Cissy Wechter and I must do lots and lots of stuff. Today’s topic of discussion: I’m opening Arnold M. Brockman’s question to the assembled Hainsies/Kimlets (even the errant and truant) – What popular song best represents the following decades:
The 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s? I shall be checking in often to see your excellent choices.