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| Lobby | On the Record | Stage | Stage Door | Backstage |
Jonathan Dokuchitz, Marcia Mitzman, Des McAnuff & Michael Cerveris in studio
Musical Numbers Act One 1 - Overture 4:41 Orchestra & Bill Buell 2 - Captain Walker 1:45 Paul Kandel, Marcia Mitzman, Michael McElroy, Timothy Warren 3 - It’s a Boy :53 Lisa Leguillou, Marcia Mitzman, Jody Gelb, Pam Klinger, Alice Ripley 4 - We’ve Won 1:01 Donnie Kehr, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Michael Arnold 5 - Twenty-One 4:41 Marcia Mitzman, Lee Morgan, Carly Jane Steinborn, Jonathan Dokuchitz 6 - Amazing Journey 3:12 Michael Cerveris 7 - Courtroom Scene (dialogue) 1:16 Tom Flynn, Bill Buell, Norm Lewis, Marcia Mitzman 8 - Sparks 2:14 Orchestra 9 - Amazing Journey (reprise) 1:04 Michael Cerveris 10 - Christmas 5:04 Jonathan Dokuchitz, Marica Mitzman, Bill Buell, Jody Gelb & Ensemble See Me/ Heal Me Michael Cerveris 11- Do You Think It’s Alright 1:09 Marcia Mitzman, Jonathan Dokuchitz 12 - Fiddle About 1:35 Paul Kandel 13 - See Me, Feel Me (reprise) 1:08 Michael Cerveris 14 - Cousin Kevin 3:35 Anthony Barrile & Ensemble 15 - Sensation 4:14 Michael Cerveris & Ensemble 16 - Sparks (reprise) 1:55 Orchestra 17 - Eyesight to the Blind 2:50 Michael McElroy, Lee Morgan & Ensemble, Lee Morgan (harmonica solo) 18 - Acid Queen 4:01 Cheryl Freeman 19 - Pinball Wizard 3:50 Donnie Kehr, Christain Hoff, Anthony Barrile & Ensemble ACT TWO 1 - Underture (Entr’acte) 2:37 Ensemble 2 - It’s a Boy (reprise)/There’s a Doctor 1:13 Marica Mitzman, Jonathan Dokuchitz 3 - Go to the Mirror 3:36 Norm Lewis, Alice Ripley, Marcia Mitzman, Jonathan Dokuchitz Listening to You Buddy Smith, Jody Gelb, Tracy Nicole Chapman, Michael Cerveris 4 - Tommy Can you Hear Me? 2:00 Anthony Barrile, Michael Arnold, Paul Dobie, Christian Hoff, Donnie Kehr, Norm Lewis, Michael McElroy, Lee Morgan, Timothy Warren & Sherie Scott 5 - I Believe My Own Eyes 4:01 Jonathan Dokuchitz, Marcia Mitzman 6 - Smash the Mirror 2:41 Marcia Mitzman 7 - I’m Free 2:52 Michael Cerveris 8 - Streets of London 1961-63 (dialogue) :36 Paul Kandel Miracle Cure Tom Flynn, Paul Dobie, Timothy Warmen, Michael Arnold, Michael McElroy 9 - Sensation (reprise) 2:21 Michael Cerveris & Ensemble 10 - I’m Free/Pinball Wizard 3:55 Michael Cerveris, Marcia Mitzman, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Anthony Barrile & Ensemble 11 - Tommy’s Holiday Camp 1:57 Paul Kandel 12 - Sally Simpson 3:35 Anthony Barrile, Sherie Scott, Paul Kandel, Bill Buell, Pam Klinger, Security Guards 13 - Welcome 3:20 Michael Cerveris & Ensemble 14 - Sally Simpson’s Question 1:13 Sherie Scott, Michael Cerveris 15 - We’re Not Gonna Take it 3:03 Michael Cerveris & Ensemble 16 - See Me, Feel Me (reprise) 5:07 Michael Cerveris & Buddy Smith Listening to You (reprise) Michael Cerveris & Company Musical Director: Joe Church Recorded May 9, 10, 11 1993 at the Hit Factory, NYC. Mixed and mastered at Air Studios Lyndhurst, Hampstead, London.
This album was recorded by George Martin in less than 30 hours with the original cast and musicians of Tommy currently performing at the St James Theatre on Broadway. I sat in on the sessions and watched in amazement as this eminent and graceful man urged the project along like a skilled rider driving a race-horse. Most of the great cast albums of the last 20 years have been recorded in this hectic but impressive way. There are so many people involved ( in our case what seemed like about 150) and their remuneration is so complex that the only way to capture a show is to hire a massive recording studio, run the show, then fix up the odd mistakes later. That is very much how George worked. It was astonishing to me that so much sound could be created and captured (sounding like rock-and-roll) in such a short time. It reminded me of the early days of Who recording when our first album was recorded in 8 hours. As an example of the speed of that particular process : the backing vocals were laid down track by track without stopping the tape machine in between songs! I am much happier these days to be able to take my time- a lot of time if necessary- as we did when we were working on the original Tommy album in London in 1968. That took several months to complete, with frequent breaks for additional writing and revision. But watching this cast album session was so exciting that I had to keep leaving the room. I get rather frustrated watching other musicians record; I keep wanting to join in. With singers, musicians and orchestrations of this quality, I was really superfluous other than to pop into the control room and feed the horse a carrot every half-hour. What I particularly love about this version of Tommy is that it has a George Martin sound. Now I'm not sure I realized that George Martin had a sound of his own, but he does. It is carried, I think in the way he contributes all the traditional skills of studio recording developed during the late '50s and '60s and combines them with brand new techniques. He is a real font of technological focus in this respect. And he is a producer., George is a perfect pivot for what the Broadway version of Tommy really is. For this Tommy is a bridge between the old, respected and beloved traditions of music theatre and the relatively new and experimental world of rock-and-roll. The music team on Tommy have done such a great job. Joe Church, the music supervisor, and his assistant, Jeanine Levenson, have carried their affection for my original album into this project. Both of them write great music of their own, but they are also capable of selfless commitment to the composition of others. At times I felt my music and I were being borne on a cloud of skillful love. Steve Margoshes' orchestrations and faithful to my original ideas, and never fail to honour their simplicity and sometimes their naivety. But wherever there is another job to be done, to move the show along, to get the cast dancing, or to buy time while scenery is shifting, his work is creative and intense - so perfectly in tune with my own harmonic sensibilities that I have blushed at hearing my small work so elevated. Tommy is a very different kind of Broadway show. And this is a very different kind of cast album. It conjures up the spirit of the theatrical experience, but it also generates a new excitement of its own. This is really the fourth definitive version of Tommy; certainly only the second in which I have had a guiding hand. This is a rock record. Firmly rooted in mood, style and methods of the '60s., it is at the same time totally contemporary work, alive today in its most successful incarnation yet. I hope you enjoy this cast album. If you have seen the show, this record brings back the life and colour of Des McAnuff's extraordinary direction, the brillance of John Arnone's design, Chris Parry's dazzling lighting design, Eriksson Design and Wendall Harrington's fabulous projections, Wayne Cilento's smart choreography, David Woolard's colourful and imaginative wardrobe. Most of all I hope it brings back the music you have heard, the sound of the young and vital cast, the excitement of the show. If you have not seen the show yet, I know this record will send you a single message: the music lives on. I am not sure how. But I think it has more to do with you than me. Come and see us. We are entering a new millenium both for music theatre, and for rock-and-roll. - Pete Townshend.
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