Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Collins, Alexis Smith - Follies (Highlights from the 1971 Original Broadway Cast)

The scene: an abandoned theater, where a group of performers--alumni from the fictional musical revue The Weismann Follies--is holding a reunion shortly before the building is to be turned to rubble. The long-retired players relive their careers through Stephen Sondheim's brilliant pastiches of past songwriters, sometimes accompanied in song or dance by the ghosts of their previous selves. At the same time, four of the people (two married couples) are remembering their pasts and wondering whether they chose their spouses--and the course of their lives--correctly. The 1971 original cast of Follies included many former Broadway and Hollywood stars--Dorothy Collins, Gene Nelson, Alexis Smith, Mary McCarty--and the pedigree and sheer size of the cast kept the show from profitability despite a decent run (and also keep it from being frequently revived).

This recording of Stephen Sondheim's legendary show has become something of a legend itself. The score included 22 songs, but because the cost of recording a two-LP set was considered prohibitive, a number of songs were omitted and others were abridged. As a result, this too-brief 58 minutes can't be considered the final statement on Follies (for more music, try the uneven but sometimes electric 1985 concert recording or the 1998 New Jersey revival), but listen to Yvonne DeCarlo sing the anthem "I'm Still Here" or Collins sing the heartbreaking "Losing My Mind" and you'll know that the original cast had a special magic that has yet to be surpassed. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com essential recording

Incredible

Sondheim produces music that I can never get out of my head. I don't always catch onto the tunes and rhythms right away, but with time they become embedded in my mind. "Follies" is one of my favorites and sadly, one of the Sondheim plays I'm dying to see but think I have no chance. Too bad, because I'd love to see these songs come to life on the stage.

My only real complaint is that since the original ambitious plans for a gatefold, vinyl double album were jettisoned for a smaller production, the ending especially feels cut off. Maybe the original didn't end with a big fluorish and refrain of "Beautiful Girls" but I can't imagine that being true. Despite being recorded in 1971, this cast album is lush and sounds more organic than other recordings of the same show. Excellent. February 29, 2008

Back in Loveland

Here's the bottom line: The original cast recording of Follies is one you should own. This is truly one of the most satisfying cast recordings out there. It's got all the smarty-pants technique of Stephen Sondheim at his most erudite, but it's also chock full of that most elusive quality in Broadway musicals in the last forty years--memorable melodies! And lots of `em!

When Sondheim gives you clever and touching lyrics along with a great melody line, it just doesn't get better. And that, my dear, is how you get classic songs like "I'm Still Here" and "Losing My Mind", both of which are best represented on this recording.

Yes, yes, I know. There's Follies in Concert to consider. And that's a fine recording too with a lot going for it. Get both. But if you can't, get this one instead. It really is the definitive Follies. Yes, it's abridged, hence the four stars instead of five. Even so--by comparison to other CD recordings, these are the performances you want.

The premise of the show examines the anxieties, regrets, and illusions that haunt a group of aging performers, well past their prime as they meet for a reunion before the old theater is torn down. (The characters are mostly chorus girls for the "Weismann Follies".) Wisely, the original cast was comprised primarily of--yep!--aging performers that many regarded as well past their prime. The voices aren't always pretty, yet the songs are often performed with a depth and understanding you simply won't find in a younger, less jaded performer. The full production employed a motif of having much older characters are joined by younger and rangier versions of themselves. This comes to haunting effect, for example, when an elderly, wheelchair bound Justine Johnson wistfully sings "One More Kiss" in duet with her memory of herself come to life. And then there's the legendary moment when Yvonne DeCarlo, having, in reality, just been thrown from the train of her career after the cancellation of The Munsters (she played Lily), brings off a fiercely satisfying delivery of "I'm Still Here".

And I haven't even mentioned my favorite songs yet. Suffice it to say that Alexis Smith (Yes, that Alexis Smith, whose old movies you can never remember, but whose name you know you know) performs two solos that may be some of the most refined vocal acting you'll ever encounter on an original cast recording.

God knows I could go on, but if you're not convinced yet, well then I just don't know what to do with you. Just buy the CD already. We'll all feel better. December 13, 2007

Follies-a masterpiece...

I saw the original play with the great original cast three times. everytime it was better.i have the original cast recording,and it is excellent,although quite abridged.nevertheless a masterpiece.i really enjoyed Dorothy Collins,and her rendition of Losing My Mind.-it is absolutely the greatest. you can feel the emotion of the song as she sang it.a perfect job..i really liked Yvonne DeCarlo and I'm Still Here.her singing voice-was rather low,but her voice fitted the song,and what a tune.she was great singing that so true tune that really reflects life.I really didn't care for Alexis Smith as her voice while singing was sort of talking the songs through,her voice came across better on stage,i thought,rather than on the recording.Harold Prince should have had the complete recording of all the songs,not an abridged version.however,i still give it five stars.buy it-Dorothy Collins,i think, was the greatest singer in the show.her pitch,diction,and emotions and her great acting-fantastic-just came through so great...enjoy it.bob August 5, 2007

For all Sondheim fans

Wonderful performances of Sondheim songs, especially from Dorothy Collins. There are other recordings with equally good performances, especially the one with Barbara Cook, and what one hears in listening to different recordings is how many valid ways there are of performing the songs. March 29, 2007

Enjoying Folly of Follies

Being a lover of Sondheim's music, I have enjoyed "Follies" many times already, and expect to enjoy listening to this CD again and again. February 18, 2007

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