CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Young Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks Musical

from: Decca Broadway

Release Date December 26, 2007
Don't believe what you read in the New York Times, especially those caustic reviews by Ben Brantley. He needs to go! Get Clive Barnes back! "Young Frankenstein" is a wonderful, hilarious romp parodying the musicals of Cole Porter and Friml and Youmans. It takes you back to when musicals were fun and frolicsome. There are great performances from everyone. Only Roger Bart doesn't match the mayhem and I think that is more of a directorial matter. I would love to see someone like Bill Irwin or even Robin Williams takeover the role.

The audience simply adored the show when I saw it. And the CD is well worth the price. If you're in New York take in "YF" and another Brantley reject "A Catered Affair." Take a pass on "In the Heights" which ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

The Producers (2001 Original Broadway Cast)

by: Mel Brooks, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Cady Huffman, Jesse Levy, Grace Paradise, Jennifer Smith Tony Kadleck

Release Date April 17, 2001
I saw the making of the CD on TV. The cast does a great job. I have the CD in my car stereo and listen to it often.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

The Producers (2005 Movie Soundtrack)

by: Various Artists, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Mel Brooks

Release Date November 22, 2005
The music is addictive, all of it top notch. The whole cast is so incredibly talented!

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series)

from: Sony

Release Date October 19, 2004
Of course there should have been much more. I remember there been a Metropolian Opera series called CAST ALBUMS- 100 YEARS that was put out for a limited time only and had like five volumes.
As Peter Filichia noted they left out SHE LOVES ME, BRIGADOON and SWEENEY TODD. Also nothing from PACIFIC OVERTURES, BIG RIVER, CHESS, CRAZY FOR YOU, JEKYLL & HYDE, TITANIC, THE SCARLET
PIMPERNEL, FOOTLOOSE- THE MUSICAL, THE FULL MONTY, URINTOWN...
But they couldn't have put it all. I would have done without Lee Remick's
"Anyone Can Whistle", because the show was a flop. I guess because it was Sondheim's first "serious" show...

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Frogs (2004 Broadway Cast)

by: Stephen Sondheim, Nathan Lane, John Byner, Michael Siberry, Roger Bart

Release Date January 25, 2005
...doesn't mean it deserves 5 stars. Or even 4. It was Sondheim's first score and it shows. Other than one or two cute numbers, it is barely listenable. While the show may have been improved since it's original 1974 production at Yale, it just doesn't come together. I think it is a lovely academic excercise, but it is too anaesthetic and lopsided to serve as anything other than an academic excercise. Sondheim enthusiasts will no doubt rate it highly as they do anything he writes, but objectively, this recording exists solely to satiate showtune collectors.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Schubert: The Masterworks [Box Set]

from: Brilliant Classics

Release Date November 30, 2004
Brilliant Classics' "Masterworks" series, if you can get them cheaply (and currently they go for about $1/CD from Amazon's France Web site), are a great way to amass a significant library of the works of several great computers. The production values and the performances themselves are uneven, and the interpretations are not always historically-informed (unlike the bulk of Brilliant's "Complete Editions" of the works of Bach and Mozart). But there are numerous gems in the rough in The Masterworks, and the economic value is unsurpassed, even if you were to throw away half of the CDs in each set.

You're unlikely to throw away much of this Schubert collection though. This seems to be the finest of the Masterworks sets, with a succession of solid, often ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Broadway: America's Music 1935-2005

from: Decca Broadway

Release Date October 18, 2005
Brilliant Classics' "Masterworks" series, if you can get them cheaply (and currently they go for about $1/CD from Amazon's France Web site), are a great way to amass a significant library of the works of several great computers. The production values and the performances themselves are uneven, and the interpretations are not always historically-informed (unlike the bulk of Brilliant's "Complete Editions" of the works of Bach and Mozart). But there are numerous gems in the rough in The Masterworks, and the economic value is unsurpassed, even if you were to throw away half of the CDs in each set.

You're unlikely to throw away much of this Schubert collection though. This seems to be the finest of the Masterworks sets, with a succession of solid, often ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Nederlands Blazers Ensemble: Si Dolce

from: VPRO

Release Date November 15, 2005
Brilliant Classics' "Masterworks" series, if you can get them cheaply (and currently they go for about $1/CD from Amazon's France Web site), are a great way to amass a significant library of the works of several great computers. The production values and the performances themselves are uneven, and the interpretations are not always historically-informed (unlike the bulk of Brilliant's "Complete Editions" of the works of Bach and Mozart). But there are numerous gems in the rough in The Masterworks, and the economic value is unsurpassed, even if you were to throw away half of the CDs in each set.

You're unlikely to throw away much of this Schubert collection though. This seems to be the finest of the Masterworks sets, with a succession of solid, often ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Nederlands Blazers Ensemble: Si Dolce

from: Nbelive

Release Date November 08, 2005
Brilliant Classics' "Masterworks" series, if you can get them cheaply (and currently they go for about $1/CD from Amazon's France Web site), are a great way to amass a significant library of the works of several great computers. The production values and the performances themselves are uneven, and the interpretations are not always historically-informed (unlike the bulk of Brilliant's "Complete Editions" of the works of Bach and Mozart). But there are numerous gems in the rough in The Masterworks, and the economic value is unsurpassed, even if you were to throw away half of the CDs in each set.

You're unlikely to throw away much of this Schubert collection though. This seems to be the finest of the Masterworks sets, with a succession of solid, often ... Read More: