Doin' the Friday Shuffle

Act I, Scene I

1. "Danced with a Girl" - Michael John LaChiusa - Marie Christine (Original Broadway Cast)
Medea set in early-20th Century New Orleans. Here, the Medea character, Marie Christine, is seduced by her Jason, Dante.

2. "Rebel Prince" - Rufus Wainwright - Poses
Just got this after reading much praise for Wainwright and was heavily impressed. Melodic, quirky, interesting pop songwriting.

3. "Suzanne" - Leonard Cohen - The Songs of Leonard Cohen
I need to get a cover of this song--it's a great song, but Cohen's not much of a singer.

4. "Bad" - U2 - Rattle & Hum
My favorite rendition of this song, recorded during the Joshua Tree tour, with Bono in probably the best vocal shape he was ever in. A little less flabby than the album cut or the live version recorded on the EP Wide Awake in America.

5. "In the Arms of Sheep" - Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
I hear some Radiohead in this song, with the electronic tone over the strummed acoustic guitar.

6. "Secret of Night" - Stephen Sondheim - Follies in Concert
The only film score Sondheim ever composed was for a film called Stravisky. The score was included on the second disc of this 2-disc Follies recording to fill it out. Interesting historically, but not a favorite.

7. "The Death of Saul" - Alan Menken and Time Rice - King David (World Premiere Recording)
One of the better songs from this score (see the previous post), an anguished, shifting lament with choir, synthesizer, pounding drums, electric guitar and some dramatic singing.

8. "Rain on the Roof" - Stephen Sondheim - Follies in Concert
I get the novelty factor here, and how it makes sense in the context of the show, but ths song is not a favorite on CD. Still, it's very cool to hear the acclaimed writers Comden and Green have such obvious fun with it here.

9. "Sleigh Ride" - Johnny Mathis - A Time-Life Christmas
Classic.

10. "Heaven" - Ricky Ian Gordon - Bright Eyed Joy: The Songs of Ricky Ian Gordon
Not really a musical but a song cycle by the composer. This is a very short, plucky, joyful song introducing the rest of the material.

Until Whenever