Doin' the Friday Shuffle

1. "Pilate's Dream" - Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar (Original Concept Album)
Lovely little acoustic guitar-backed song in which Pilate dreams about Jesus' crucifixion and subsequent rise to figure of worship.

2. "Escape to Paradise" - Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell - Chicken Run (Film Score)
Rousing, somehow very British, cut from the film.

3. "Your Fault: Last Midnight" - Stephen Sondheim - Into the Woods (Original Broadway Cast)
Great late-show patter number in which all of the surviving characters turn on each other before the Witch silences them all with a wonderfully sinister solo.

4. "Blue Chair" - Elvis Costello - Blood & Chocolate
Kind-of-standard forthright pop-rock from Costello.

5. "A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis Presley - Elvis 30 #1 Hits
Can't hear this song without picturing Robert and Amy's wedding dance from Everybody Loves Raymond.

6. "Now" - Stephen Sondheim - Putting It Together (1993 New York Cast Recording)
The synthesizers and revised-for-the-revue lyrics really kill the mood on this song, a pity in that the original featured one of the all-time greatest lyrics ever, with a lawyer pondering, in strict logical fashion, how to get his young, virgin bride to sleep with him.

7. "Finale" - Jonathan Larson - Rent (Original Broadway Cast)
The emotional - if a bit ant-climactic and cheating - ending to Rent.

8. "When in Love" - Alan Menken and Tim Rice - King David (World Premiere Recording)
The kind of slow, emotional, big-melody ballad Menken could write in his sleep.

9. "Daphne Descends" - Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
This song, off of the forgotten, but pretty good, Adore, has a very effective driving, melancholy beat.

10. "Fallen" - K.D. Lang - Hymns of the 49th Parallel
Torchy, gorgeous, and sad - a great ballad and performance.

Until Whenever