CD Review: Lost Broadway 1961 – Various Artists

LOST BROADWAY 1961 – Various Artists (Stage Door Records – STAGE 9063)

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I have a selection of CDs and vinyl that are catalogued under ‘Great to Be Alive’. They consist of shows that lift your spirits, singers who bring joy to the ear and compilations that hit the mark with each and every track. My copy of Lost Broadway 1961 from Stage Door Records has just joined that selection.

Playing this double CD set I was instantly transported back to my youth and where my love of musicals began. I was also into light opera and Gilbert and Sullivan at the time so when I heard The Happiest Girl in the World and knew it was Offenbach’s music used to tell the story of Lysistrata – I was hooked and played it until the needle on the record player (remember those?) was almost worn out. That’s what started my fascination and delight for musical theatre. So, to find the first couple of tracks on this compilation is from that musical just set the tone for my listening enjoyment.

The first CD contains lots of treasures. These tracks I already have on vinyl but to hear them remastered and crystal clear is a revelation. Tracks from Milk and Honey, Subways are for Sleeping, Sail Away, Let It Ride, Carnival, The Gay Life, Kean, and others. Then we move on to CD2 which are Covers and Rarities. OMG – it is like slipping into a marshmallow cloud. Like being wrapped up in a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night. Artists such as Mel Torme, Jane Morgan, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Gordon MacRae, Doris Day, Judy Garland and many, many more take on show tunes and do them great justice.

There are 58 tracks altogether on this collection and, as you would expect from Stage Door Records, they are presented in beautifully remastered splendour. The booklet is packed with details about each track: who wrote it, when it opened, when it closed, who was in it and a brief precis of the story.

I seem to spend my life praising Stage Door Records for their tireless work in bringing these treasures to the fore once again but, I can’t help it. They are a company who have a love affair with the musical and, like me, don’t want shows from the past to be buried and forgotten. If I could give it more than five stars I would.

Nick Wakeham