Doin' the Friday Shuffle

Busy week; my regrets for the lack of posts. A quick shuffle before I dive back into the maelstrom:

1. "Follow the Fold" - Frank Loesser - Guys and Dolls (1992 Broadway Revival Cast)
Throway bit of Salvation Army mockery.

2. "Wheels of a Dream" - Lyyn Flaherty and Stephen Ahrens - Ragtime (Original Broadway Cast)
Big, melodic, Copeland-tinged, big voiced, unabashed Broadway anthem. God bless Flaherty and Ahrens.

3. "Isn't It?" - Stephen Sondheim - Saturday Night (2000 Off-Broadway Revival Cast)
Sweet little waltz from Sondheim's near-first produced show. (It famously lost its backing in the 50s only to be resurrected in the late 90s, with Sondheim fanatics (myself included) demanding every bit of music the man ever wrote to be released.)

4. "Slow Dancing" - U2 - Bootleg
Taken, I think, off of a radio show, just Bono and the Edge on acoustic guitar on this Willy Nelson homage.

5. "Addison's City" - Stephen Sondheim - Bounce (World Premiere Recording)
See above. Another Sondheim show that keeps flopping but has made it to disc nonetheless. Not a bad score, but the material is a bit dry. This near-patter song is a bit underwhelming, I do have to say.

6. "Cheerful Little Earful" - Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Sings the Gershwin Songbook
Jazzy Gershwin number.

7. "Never Again" - Alan Menken and Tim Rice - King David (World Premiere Recording)
A gorgeous, completely forgotten score from the man who gave us Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, and Little Shop of Horrors. This is a gorgeous ballad of sad defiance.

8. "Frequent Thing" - Thomas Newman - Meet Joe Black (film score)
Delicate melodic work from Newman on a fine score.

9. "Fool to Think" - Dave Matthews Band - Everyday
Not one of my favorite DMB songs (the wife is more the fan), but the chorus has a cool syncopated driving beat thing going for it.

10. "By Strauss" - Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Sings the Gershwin Songbook
Brilliantly funny lyric, and a great piece of Strauss-pastiche from Gershwin.

Until Whenever