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Tarfumes.com - Annie: The 30th Anniversary Cast Recordings
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List Price: $24.98
Our Price: $22.99
Your Save: $ 1.99 ( 8% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Time Life Entertainment
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0610583221626
Format: Cast Recording
Label: Time Life Entertainment
Manufacturer: Time Life Entertainment
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Time Life Entertainment
Release Date: 2008-06-03
Studio: Time Life Entertainment
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Editorial Reviews:
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Leapin'Lizards it is the World Premiere Complete Recording of Annie -the Broadway Musical the 30th Anniversary. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of one of the longest running and most beloved Broadway productions, Time Life is proud to release "Annie: The Broadway Muscial 30th Anniversary Production." Disc 1 contains a full recording of "Annie," the 1st time the entire score has been available. Disc 2 features a fully orchestrated collection of songs from "Annie 2" as well as three additional bonus tracks.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Leapin' Lizards! It's an Annie for Today and Tomorrow!
Comment: Cast album producers are usually ignored by the general public, but without many of these producers who take risks, we wouldn't see many rare shows worthy of a cast recording.
Robert Sher is one of those producers. From his OBC of Sugar Babies to the lost score of SHERRY! Sher is willing to gamble to bring musical theatre lovers items of interest. So, Why ANNIE? As divine as the Columbia OBC is, with benchmark performances by Andrea Mc Ardle and the incomparable Dorothy Loudon, The OBC has a very 1970's sound and feel that seems inescapable for a show that is set during the great depression. Ah, but this is more than a complete recording. This recording includes a second disc featuring songs from the 1992 mega disaster ANNIE 2 - Miss Hannigan's Revenge.
If you'd wonder why you'd want to hear songs from this flop, the answer is simple: Charles Strouse's tunes are always interesting and often unexpected. In fact, some of his best melodies have been featured in scores from flop shows - Nick and Nora is just one example. Secondly, this second disc is narrated by Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, who arguably was the best thing about the 1982 ANNIE feature film. Burnett lends her comic narrative to fill in the blanks around the score. Burnett,alas, doesn't sing Miss Hannigan in the ANNIE 2 Score, which is slightly disappointing, so you settle for Sally Struthers and Kathy Lee Gifford, who are both perfectly fine, but still leave you wondering what it would have been like if Burnett had performed the songs. Sadly, a lot of ANNIE 2's best melodies were recycled for the next ANNIE incarnation Annie Warbucks, albeit with different lyrics.Those songs were not included on this recording due to rights issues. The best three tracks on the second disc aren't from Annie 2 at all. They are the added songs for various productions of ANNIE. "Why Should I Change a Thing?", added for the 2004 Australian production is a welcome addition for Warbucks. "Don't Mess With Mother", added for the 30th Anniversary Production, is a revamped lyric of "You Make Me Happy", added for Nell Carter in the 20th anniversary production. Kathy Lee Gifford shines here and makes me regret not having caught her as Hannigan. The final song "It's Christmas" is from the 1977 NBC TV ANNIE Christmas Special, and features Andrea Mc Ardle reprising her role as Annie. This second disc is an oddity, but it is deserving of a place in any collector's library.
This 30th Anniversary recording sounds timeless and lush. No, the new cast won't erase your fond memories, but it's chock full of performances that are fresh and just as valid. The orchestrations have been updated, while staying relatively faithful to the original concept and structure.
Alene Robertson, who has made a cottage industry of playing Miss Hannigan, is delightful. Her voice is rich and deep.. and more than a tad butch.. but it works. The Divine Shelley Burch, plays Lily St. Regis on the 1st Disc, and on the Annie 2 disc, turns in a beautiful performance as Grace Farrell. I wish she'd played Grace on the first disc as well, as her voice is far superior to Elizabeth Broadhurst.
Conrad John Schuck is a fine Warbucks, but doesn't posess the vocal depth, range or power of either Reid Shelton nor Harve Presnell.
Of course ANNIE rises and falls on Annie herself. Marissa O' Donnell is perfectly lovely, but she still has to battle with the ghost of Andrea Mc Ardle's indelible performance. Mc Ardle's voice has always been something of an oddity: She had an adult belt from the time she was a baby, and she never sounded cutsey or sugary as Annie. Invariably, every subsequent Annie has that saccharine quality. That's simply no fault of O'Donnell's, she's just no Andrea Mc Ardle.. and who is?
Grab this CD. It's not going to ever replace your OBC, but you will give it repeated play, as you hear this classic score reinvented and "gussied up" for an entirely new generation.. and of course, the 40th anniversary production isn't too far away.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Another "Annie" with extras
Comment: Based on the recent 30th anniversary tour of this enduringly popular musical, this ANNIE features the tour's cast on the first disc and Carol Burnett, who starred in the first film version of ANNIE, narrating the story and deleted songs (or songs from the failed sequel, ANNIE WARBUCKS. The extras will please only the most fanatical ANNIE fans and musical theatre buff, while the tour's cast gives a solid, if uninspired, rendering of the show's score. The original cast album (and the hard-to-find original London cast) remain the definitive ANNIE albums.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Annie 30th Anniversary Cast Recording
Comment: I like this recording very much. I collect recordings of musicals and feel this is the best and most complete recording of the musical Annie available today. Many of the selections contain dialog that help tell the story better. When listening to it I almost feel like I'm watching the play. The 2nd CD with songs from the sequel Miss Hannigan's Revenge is also very good. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Annie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Comment: wow! i was thrilled with this purchase. the kids voices are absolutely terrific...esp the little girl playing Molly in Annie. A must!!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Two Good!
Comment: This two-disc CD set is a joy! I was not in the market for another recording of ANNIE, but when I saw that it was a "complete recording" and it had songs from ANNIE 2, I got it. And I was thrilled with it from the very beginning. The CD brought ANNIE to life again right in front of my ears. The orchestra sounds full, rich and bright, and while I haven't seen the 30th Anniversary production, the performers are all very entertaining on this CD. "NYC" is particularly good.
The second CD is ANNIE 2, the sequel to ANNIE that closed out of town. There are not too many of the traditional musical theatre composers like Charles Strouse working today, so it's a treat to be able to hear "new" old songs from him and Martin Charnin. Some of them are wonderful - "Coney Island" being the show-stopping standout. Plus, the three bonus songs at the end of disc 2 that were written for other productions of ANNIE and the ANNIE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL are really terrific.
And one more note - the whole package with the booklet with illustrations of the real performers and scenes from the show in the style of the ANNIE cartoon strip is very well and cleverly done and show the same care that went into this recording.
I, for one, miss the old-fashioned, big Broadway musicals. We're lucky that this season we are getting a number of rich sounding, well-produced CD's of revivals - SOUTH PACIFIC and hopefully GYPSY (due this summer and if it's anything like the show I saw on Broadway it will have dazzling performances and sound). This 30th Anniversary CD of ANNIE will be right up there on my shelf with the best of these revival recordings.
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