Strike Up the Band 1930 (2011 Studio Cast)

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Original Soundtracks » Strike Up the Band 1930 (2011 Studio Cast)
Strike Up the Band Studio Cast)
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  1. Audio CD: Release Date 2011-06-21
  2. Publisher: P.S. Classics
  3. Sales Rank in Music: #30531

Product Review

PS Classics marks its one hundredth release with a recording over twenty years in the making: George and Ira Gershwin's 1930 hit Broadway musical, STRIKE UP THE BAND. A result of the late Mrs. Ira Gershwin's efforts to preserve the great unrecorded Gershwin scores, STRIKE UP THE BAND was restored and partially recorded during a period that also yielded acclaimed studio cast albums of the Gershwins' Girl Crazy, Lady, Be Good! and Oh, Kay! An earlier version of the score as heard during the show's pre-Broadway tryout in 1927 was released in 1991, but the final score, extensively revised by the Gershwins and received rapturously by critics and audiences during the 1929-30 Broadway season, was never fully tracked, nor put into post-production – until now. Under the supervision of original producer Tommy Krasker, the recording – featuring Brent Barrett, Don Chastain, Rebecca Luker, Jason Graae, Beth Fowler, Charles Goff, Juliet Lambert, Jeff Lyons and James Rocco, plus a 16-member chorus, a tap-dancing ensemble, and an orchestra of 28 conducted by John Mauceri – was completed during the spring of 2011 with the support of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts and the Music Division of the Library of Congress. Boasting a hit score brimming with soaring melodies and infectious syncopation, and lyrics that both provoke and delight, the 1930 STRIKE UP THE BAND continues PS Classics' forgotten musicals series in high style.
Title Tracks for Strike Up the Band 1930 (2011 Studio Cast)

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Strike Up the Band - 1930, July 5, 2011
D. N. Gunderson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strike Up the Band 1930 (2011 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)
I always enjoy the productions of PS Classics. This was no exception. It is so similar to the 1927 version, but better. It accounts for the fact that the 1927 version was a failure and the 1930 version was a success. I had to listen again to the 1927 version to appreciate the differences and similarities.

I try to congratulate Tommy Krasker when he pulls off another success. This release is obviously a success!

This is part of the E-Mail reply I received yesterday from Mr. Krasker:

"So nice to hear from you, and so glad you enjoyed the 1930 STRIKE UP THE
BAND. The 1927 and 1930 versions were recorded in the same two-week
period in December of 1990; we didn't finish the 1930 version though, so
we continued sometime in the winter of 1991, as I recall, and then, when
Mrs. Gershwin passed that summer, the 1930 edition got shelved. So it was
a particular delight to return to it after nearly 20 years."

This is a...Read more


8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Another superb restoration package from PS Classics - With a great cast (and a line of tapping feet to boot!), July 3, 2011
Steven I. Ramm "Steve Ramm "Anything Phon... (Phila, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strike Up the Band 1930 (2011 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)
This CD "package" - and I call it that because the 76-minute CD is inserted in the slipcase with a gorgeous 32 page book of note, synopsis, lyrics and archival photos - is another gem from the non-for-profit PS Classics label founded by Tommy Krasker and Phil Chalfin. They've released recent musicals - "Grey Gardens" for example - and rare promo recordings by Broadway composers (Sondheim, Loesser) in graphically (as well as sonically) superior editions (all at reasonable prices too!).

"Strike Up The Band" was created by George and Ira Gershwin in 1927 with a libretto by George S. Kaufman, but it flopped, for a number of reasons. Two years later, in 1929, they revived it with new songs - some interpolated from other Gershwin shows, and some new ones - and a new book by Morrie Ryskind. It opened in 1930 and became a hit. But not enough of a hit to have orchestrations survive into the later 20th Century. In 1991 an attempt was made to release a re-recordings and passionate...Read more


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Second version - wonderful, August 16, 2011
Alan Montgomery "Opera lover" (Oberlin, Oh USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strike Up the Band 1930 (2011 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)
Several years ago, part one of this recording was released: the 1927 version of Strike Up the Band. Even without the play portion, it is easy to see why the 1930 version succeeded and the 1927 did not. The score and lyrics are quirkier, brighter, and in general play better.

The performance was actually taped when the 1927 was taped. At that time, only a few tracks were issued. This recording has had to wait too many years for final mixing. The only question I have is that a track issued earlier, "Strike Up The Band" interlude, does not appear on this recording. I wonder if this is a time restraint. The CD is full! As with all of the Gershwin series, the performances are not only historically as accurate as possible, but the performances are filled with enthusiasm and style. BRAVO.

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