Patti Lupone - Patti Lupone at Les Mouches - Opera / Vocal - CD

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In 1980, during her Tony-winning run as the title character in Evita on Broadway, Patti LuPone also performed a once-a-week, Saturday-night-at-midnight nightclub act at a club called Les Mouches for 27 weeks, starting on March 1. Having rushed downtown and put on a tuxedo, she fronted a piano/guitar/bass/drums quartet in an act that combined traditional pop standards (Cole Porter's "Love for Sale") with songs associated with her ("Meadowlark" from her show The Baker's Wife and, inevitably, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina") and some contemporary pop/rock numbers (Patti Smith's "Because the Night," the Kinks' "[Wish I Could Fly Like] Superman"). Her performances were not recorded professionally, but somebody, probably musical director David Lewis, taped some of the shows off the soundboard, and those cassette tapes moldered in a shoebox in a closet for more than a quarter-century before being retrieved and restored for this album. The result doesn't have the sound quality of a typical live recording, of course, but LuPone's voice is clear and the band, though under-recorded, is audible. The more densely arranged songs suffer the most, so that, for instance, the amusing "Heaven Is a Disco" is muddy and distorted. But listeners should have no trouble overlooking the audio deficiencies and enjoying the show. LuPone is giddy and giggling, often seeming nervous. (Much of the disc seems to have been recorded at the closing performance attended by several VIPs, among them Stephen Sondheim.) But that doesn't keep her from singing well. She is best at her signature songs, particularly "Meadowlark," but she gets points for trying unlikely choices like "Because the Night," even if they don't quite work. (Here, a louder band performance would have helped, but LuPone simply is no rocker.) This is not the definitive LuPone recording, but fans will welcome it as a historical artifact and a fun show. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi

Performer	Patti LuPone
Music genre	Opera / Vocal
Music subgenre	CD - VOCAL
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2008-11-11
Edition	Standard
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Patti Lupone - Patti Lupone at Les [CD]
Track listing	Intro, Latin from Manhattan / I Got Rhythm, I've Got Them Feelin' Too Good Today Blues, Love for Sale, Not While I'm Around / Come Rain or Come Shine, Meadowlark, Squeeze Me, Heaven Is a Disco, Downtown, Street of Dreams, Because the Night, Mr. Tambourine Man, Everything I Am, Rainbow High, Don't Cry for Me, Argentina, Look to the Rainbow, Superman (I Wish I Could Fly), It Goes Like It Goes, Thank Yous, Goodnight Sweetheart
Record label	Ghostlight Records
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N