Jacques Brel Is Alive & Well & Living (Bonus Tracks) (1974) (Remastered)

Product Summary Label: Cbs/epic/wtg Records UPC: 00696998999824 Release Date: 5/28/2002 Buy.com Sku: 60555921 Item#: M234XR Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Marathon ~ Original 1968 Cast 2. Alone (Seul) ~ Original 1968 Cast 3. Madeleine ~ Original 1968 Cast 4. I Loved (J'Aimais) ~ Original 1968 Cast 5. Mathilde ~ Original 1968 Cast 6. Bachelor's Dance (La Bourree Du Celibataire) ~ Original 1968 Cast 7. Timid Frieda (Les Timides) ~ Original 1968 Cast 8. My Death (La Mort) ~ Original 1968 Cast 9. Jackie (La Chanson De Jacky) ~ Original 1968 Cast 10. Desperate Ones (Les Desesperes) ~ Original 1968 Cast 11. Sons Of... (Fils De...) ~ Original 1968 Cast 12. Amsterdam ~ Original 1968 Cast 13. Bulls, The (Les Taureaux) ~ Original 1968 Cast 14. Old Folks (Les Vieux) ~ Original 1968 Cast 15. Marieke ~ Original 1968 Cast 16. Brussels (Bruxelles) ~ Original 1968 Cast 17. Fanette (La Fanette) ~ Original 1968 Cast 18. Funeral Tango (Le Tango Funebre) ~ Original 1968 Cast 19. Middle Class, The (Les Bourgeois) - (previously unreleased) ~ Original 1968 Cast 20. You're Not Alone (Jef) ~ Original 1968 Cast 21. Next (Au Suivant) ~ Original 1968 Cast 22. Carousel (La Valse A Mille Temps) ~ Original 1968 Cast 23. If We Only Have Love (Quand On N'a Que L'Amour) ~ Original 1968 Cast   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Music and lyrics written by Jacques Brel. English lyrics translated by Eric Blau and Mort Schuman. Principal cast: Elly Stone, Mort Schuman, Shawn Elliott, Alice Whitfield. Recorded at Columbia 30th St. Studios, New York, New York on January 29 & February 5, 1968. Originally released on Columbia (779). Includes liner notes by Richard Jay-Alexander. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Director: Moni Yakim. Photographers: Abe V?lez; Don Hunstein. Arranger: Wolfgang Knittel. One of the most fascinating figures in French pop music history, singer/songwriter Jacques Brel is renowned for his overt theatricality and witty lyrics, which could range in tone from playfully bawdy to outright morbid. Though quite popular in Europe Brel's bold aesthetic eventually won a cult following in the United States, thanks to the occasional English translation and interpretation of his compositions. In 1968, New York City-based playwright Eric Blau and singer/songwriter Mort Shuman translated a large number of Brel's tunes and based their theatrical production, JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE & WELL & LIVING IN PARIS, around them. It's no surprise that many of the performances echo the work of another beloved cult musician Scott Walker, particularly since the American-born singer has interpreted dozens of Brel songs in his own distinctive, brooding velvety manner. Fans of Brel, Walker, and inventive musicals in general will appreciate this reverent and celebratory production. One of the most fascinating figures in French pop music history, singer/songwriter Jacques Brel is renowned for his overt theatricality and witty lyrics, which could range in tone from playfully bawdy to outright morbid. Though quite popular in Europe Brel's bold aesthetic eventually won a cult following in the United States, thanks to the occasional English translation and interpretation of his compositions. In 1968, New York City-based playwright Eric Blau and singer/songwriter Mort Shuman translated a large number of Brel's tunes and based their theatrical production, JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE & WELL & LIVING IN PARIS, around them. It's no surprise that many of the performances echo the work of another beloved cult musician Scott Walker, particularly since the American-born singer has interpreted dozens of Brel songs in his own distinctive, brooding velvety manner. Fans of Brel, Walker, and inventive musicals in general will appreciate this reverent and celebratory production. Jacques Brel occupied a position in French popular music roughly comparable to that of Bob Dylan in the U.S., writing and singing personal, serious songs of greater depth and individuality than most pop. Unlike Dylan, however, Brel's music, drawing upon cabaret styles, had an overtly theatrical flair. America in the winter of 1968 was well-primed for such an artist, and veteran songwriter Mort Shuman, along with associate Eric Blau, hit upon the idea of translating Brel's songs and presenting them in a musical revue. Using only four performers (including Shuman), they staged Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at a Greenwich Village nightclub starting on January 22, 1968. When it finally closed, 1,847 performances later, it was the third-longest-running show in off-Broadway history. One reason was the performers, particularly the gruff, melodramatic Shuman and the reedy-voiced Elly Stone, who recalled Edith Piaf. (Smooth tenor Shawn Elliott had several excellent ballad solos, such as "Fanette," while Allison Whitfield largely offered support.) But the main reason was those songs, which explored the glories and humiliations of love (notably "Mathilde" and the deceptively cheery "Madeleine"), the passage of time ("Marathon," "Carousel"), and, unflinchingly, death ("My Death," "Funeral Tango"). The material worked theatrically because each song defined a character and told a story, whether of an unmarried man ("Bachelor's Dance") or an army recruit losing his virginity to a prostitute ("Next"). David Bowie became so enamored of "Amsterdam," a song in which a sailor salutes the city's prostitutes, that he recorded a cover version, but he did not improve on Shuman's rendition. Columbia Records recorded a double-LP box set of the show that included 22 of its 26 songs and captured its enormous appeal. The 2002 reissue adds one of the missing numbers, "The Middle Class." ~ William Ruhlmann Producer: Edward Kleban; Didier C. Deutsch (Reissue) Engineer: Pete Dauria; Fred Plaut; Murray Zimney   Technical Info Release Date : 05/28/2002 Original Release Date : 1974 Catalog ID : 89998 Label : Legacy Recordings Number of Discs : 1 Runtime : 77m : 21s Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00696998999824    Product Image