Sunset Boulevard
Original Cast Recording
Really Useful Records, 1994
REVIEW BY: JB
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/24/1997
As an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, I've done the requisite attend- Phantom-twice and spend hours analyzing Liz Callaway vs.Elaine Paige vs. Betty Buckley in the role of Grizabella. Cats being my ultimate favorite (being a cat-lover and a Star Trek fan to boot), I tend to listen to "the Other" ALWrecords with prejudice; but I don't need to do that with thelavishly gargantuan Sunset Boulevard.
This show has everything; sure, the usual John Napier sets, Don Black inthe lyrics team (though like everyone else, I miss the Tim Ricecombo), and a perfect "diva" role which seems to be all the ragethese days. But this latter part of "everything" became the originof even jucier "everything"s. Producer fires star (stars, in thiscase). Star sues producer. Producer hires someone who can't singthe role, but this miscast pulls off the show to almost unanimousrave reviews.
But in time when it all settles and the controversy wears off,the show (which has a considerably longer lifespan than a movie) isleft to its own devices, which explains why Sunset Boulevard is leaving Broadway after the fraction ofthe runtime Phantom of the Opera or Cats ("now and forever") are enjoying.
The centerpiece of the record is Glenn Close, and this review isno better than any of the other reviews out there. She is not muchof a conventional belter, but the vocals are very serviceable, andher portrayal of Norma Psychotic Desmond is simply mezmerizing;comparable to reading The Vampire Lestat through the silent night. Her voice isthe only thing percieveable on the record but like any capableartist, she shows you much more in songs like "With One Look", "AsIf We Never Said Goodbye" and "The Final Scene". I'm sure thesacked Patti LuPone and Faye Dunaway might have sung the role toperfection; but I seriously doubt they would've come up with thesame effect (which I'd prefer to LuPone's EDGE any day).
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