I've had the original cast album for A Little Night Music kicking around on my Ipod for awhile, but never really got to listen to it. That was until last week. I sat down, threw my earbuds in, and decided to take a listen to the music from this classic Sondheim musical.
After the overture, the album starts out with Now- Later - Soon. When I first realized that this song was over 10 minutes long, I got a bit concerned. Songs with this length are either amazing or they're extremely repetitive and boring. This song turned out to be the former. It gives you a good sense of what's going on with the characters and provides a nice introduction that makes you want to listen to the rest of the music.
The album continues on with The Glamorous Life, one of my favorite songs from this musical, and goes onto even more memorable Sondheim tunes, including The Miller's Son, an interesting look at one of the main characters, the famous Send in the Clowns, and another one of my favorites, You Must Meet My Wife. Now, there are some boring tracks on this album, but the good songs outnumber the less interesting ones.
So what would I give this cast album? I'd say an 8 out of 10. Even if there are a few boring songs scattered throughout, this is one of those recordings that I'll definitely go back and listen to over and over again. If you're a musical theatre fan or a Sondheim fan, go and take a listen!
