From last night:
I am listening to Larry Kert & the Company Ensemble doing “Being Alive.” I didn’t know there was a recording with Larry Kert.
It wasn't actually a new recording. According to the Cast Albums Database listing:
Not a true Original London Cast Recording, but a re-release of Company [1970 Original Broadway Cast], with Larry Kert's vocals replacing Dean Jones's. Kert, who replaced Dean Jones on Broadway two weeks after opening, Teri Ralston, Beth Howland, Steve Elmore, Elaine Stritch, and Donna McKechnie all reprised their Broadway roles in London.
Original tracks were recorded on May 3, 1970. Larry Kert's tracks were recorded on November 2, 1970, but weren't released until the London production opened in 1972.
I didn’t care for Mr. Kert’s “Being Alive.”
I agree completely. It sounds too self-congratulatory, too Vegas.
I worked with Larry Kert a couple of times, but he could be difficult. I scored "The Way You Look Tonight" for him for a Kern gala, and I told him, since he was a late addition to the cast, that I wanted to keep the orchestration small, and he said, let's keep it short and sweet.
Well, we got to the dress the afternoon of the gala, and when he heard how short one chorus was, he decided he wanted it longer. I spent the break between rehearsal and performance, adding fixes to provide a repeat. Still, I liked him a lot. By the way, that orchestration was later recorded on PS Classics by Phillip Chaffin.
