THE SONGS THAT GOT AWAY
( Polydor - 1989 )

My CD Review

1. Meadowlark - From the musical "The Baker's Wife" by Stephen Schwartz. This is a very nice song, with a solid performance by Sarah. The vocals range from soft and gentle to strong and powerful, with a beautiful piano accompaniment.
2. I Am Going to Like It Here - From the musical "Flower Drum Song" by Rogers and Hammerstein. A song with a gypsy sort of feel to it, and Sarah utilizing her beautiful and charming theatre voice. The melody is smooth, and contains some unique solo instrumental playing blended with the orchestral accompaniment.
3. I Remember - From the musical "Evening Primrose" by Stephen Sondheim. Some absolutely exquisite theatre singing by Sarah in this tune, with very nice string accompaniment.
4. Mr. Monotony - From the musical "Miss Liberty" by Irving Berlin. A jazzy tune in which Sarah displays a different side of her voice, and is very expressive! Also contains some effective trombone playing. For what it's worth though, they could have let this one get away.
5. Dreamers - From the musical "Jean Seberg" by Marvin Hamlisch and Christopher Adler. A very nice song with tasteful orchestration and solo instrument accompaniment, and Sarah at her best.
6. Silent Heart - From the musical "Bless the Bride" by Vivian Ellis and A. P. Herbert. Sarah puts on quite a powerful performance for this tune. Her singing of this lovely melody is superb, and the solo piano accompaniment is very well done!
7. Lud's Wedding; I Love My Wife - From the musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" by Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner, performed with Ritchie Pitts and the Stephen Hill Singers. For me personally this is another one that they could have let get away. A latino flavoured tune in typical broadway style.
8. Three-Cornered Tune - From the musical "Guys and Dolls" by Frank Loesser. There are three different vocal lines overlapped in this song, and all performed by Sarah. A very high-spirited song that builds in intensity, and is very well done!
9. If I Ever Fall in Love Again - From the musical "The Crooked Mile" by Peter Greenwell and Peter Wildeblood. A beautiful song that is well performed by Sarah. The orchestration is somewhat dramatic, and the piano accompaniment is effectively done.
10. What Makes Me Love Him? - From the musical "The Apple Tree" by Jerrold Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Smooth vocals by Sarah on this one, with a very nice string accompaniment. The percussion in this tune gives it a musicbox sort of feel.
11. Chi Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta - From the opera "La Rondine" by Puccini. Easily the standout on this album! It's hard to imagine that Puccini could have a flop, but La Rondine was apparently one. This aria, sung in Italian, is superbly performed by Sarah! Even at this stage of her career, Sarah was showing prowess as an opera singer, and this is a good indication of what was soon to follow.
12. Away From You - From the musical "Rex" by Rodgers and Harnick. A gentle song that is beautifully sung by Sarah, utilizing some pwerful vocals! This tune contains a nice melody, and is well orchestrated.
13. If Love Were All - From the musical "Bittersweet" by Noel Coward. A nice song with Sarah again singing gentle vocals. Tasteful accompaniment makes for a beautiful song.
14. Half a Moment - From the musical "Jeeves" by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn. This is clearly a Lloyd Webber composition, and is an awesome song! It contains lush orchestration, and a superb vocal performance by Sarah! For me there are shades of the song Memory (Cats) evident within. It's hard to imagine that this musical was not popular, but I guess it's not just the music that makes a successful production.

Additional Comments

This is an album of songs that came from musicals that never quite reached any level of popularity. With a few exceptions, the tunes are not real memorable ones. However, Sarah displays strong vocals throughout this set. She sings in a wide variety of ranges and colours, from light and tender to strong and powerful, and blends in her usual emotion and expressiveness. Even at this early stage of her career she proved what an awesome voice she has! In my opinion there are one or two that they could have let get away, but not because of Sarah's superb singing! The orchestrations and accompaniments are tasteful and very well performed. And while this album may not appeal to all listeners, it's definitely an album that all true Sarah fans will want in their collection!