Varèse Sarabande VSD-5452
Original Release Date: May 24, 1994
Produced by Bruce Kimmel
Engineer: Vincent Cirilli
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics
by Howard Ashman
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Lyrics
by
Tom
Eyen
Lyrics by
Jack Feldman
Musical Direction, Arrangements and
Orchestrations by
David
Lawrence
Special Guests:
The Vineland Gospel Chorus on Seize the Day and Daughter of God
Jay
Gruska
Karen
Mason
Mary
Gordon Murray
Ken
Page
Gary
StockdaleMichele
Gruska
SONG LISTINGS
1. I Want to Be a Rockette
2. Poor Unfortunate Souls
3. You Are the Only One
4. Crystal, Ronnette & Chiffon
5. Santa Fe
6. One Jump Ahead
7. Growin' Boy
8. Seize the Day
9. We'll Have Tomorrow
10. Daughter of God
11. Part of Your World
12. Suddenly, Seymour
13. Beauty and the Beast
14. Take Care of My Heart
Part of Your World: Debbie Shapiro Gravitte Sings Alan Menken
was withdrawn. Repackage with a new name with an additional track of two songs as:
The Alan Menken Album
Varèse Sarabande VSD-5471
Original Release Date: August 27, 1996
Produced by Bruce Kimmel
Engineer: Vinnie Cirilli
Musical Direction, Arrangements and Orchestrations by David Lawrence
Someday/God Help the Outcasts Orchestrations
by
Steve
Orich
Someday/God Help the Outcasts Arrangements by
Michael
Orland
SONG LISTINGS
1. I Want to Be a Rockette
2. Someday/God Help the Outcasts
3. Poor Unfortunate Souls
4. You Are the Only One
5. Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon
6. Santa Fe
7. One Jump Ahead
8. Growin' Boy
9. Seize the Day
10. We'll Have Tomorrow
11. Daughter of God
12. Part of Your World
13. Suddenly, Seymour
14. Beauty and the Beast
15. Take Care of My Heart
Howard
and Alan the Disney era.
Bruce
Kimmel had this to say about Debbie (Shapiro) Gravitte:
Debbie – I’ve known Debbie since she was nineteen. She’s a diva (in a good sense) and we love working together. She’s used to doing her thing, and I’m very strong about interpretation and subtlety and playing the lyric for all it’s worth, and she’s phenomenal to direct. I really do love singers who can take a note you give them, make it totally their own and unique and give you something fresh and wonderful.
The story why the first album was withdrawn, a new track added, repackaged and re-released.
The first release sold really poorly, for whatever reason. Not a great cover was one of them (it is a wonderful album, however). After I’d done The Andrew Lloyd Webber album with Laurie Beechman, and we’d sold it more based on the composer than the artist (the result was over 40,000 copies sold), we decided to try it with Debbie’s album. We went in and did the extra track and repackaged it to look like the Lloyd Webber album. We ended up selling a few thousand more, so that it came much closer to breaking even.
A message from composer Alan Menken
Sometimes, something nice happens out of the
blue. For me, this is one of those "out of the blue" experiences. Debbie Shapiro
Gravitte called me late last year and said she had been approached about
recording an album of "Menken songs." She told me her approach and that of her
arranger/producer, Bruce Kimmel, would be to combine well known with little
known from my body of work. Although I've followed and enjoyed Debbie in her
many guises on Broadway, my only previous experiences with her performing my
material was a demo she recorded of Daughter of God, a song Howard Ashman
and I wrote independent of any project. I found her vocal performance thrilling
and her demo irresistible. The cassette lived in my car tape player for months.
I said "yes" and over the next few months. Debbie visited my studio and combed
through old shows, demos, lead sheets, outtakes, computer files and CDs. So,
what you have in your hand is a mixed bag of material from very well known to
unknown, with vocal and instrumental interpretations ranging from faithful to
completely new and original. Rockette and You Are the Only One are relics from
the legendary KICKS: THE SHOWGIRL MUSICAL. It was written in workshop with
lyrics by Tom Eyen (of DREAMGIRLS fame). Debbie's husband Beau Gravitte lived
through the unforgettable experience of our three (count-em three) wild workshop
productions.
Growin' Boy is from BABE, a musical Howard and I started (and abandoned) based
on the life of Babe Ruth. It's one of many "food" songs Howard was noted for. (Be
Our Guest, Feed Me, and Cheese Nips, from GOD BLESS YOU, MR.
ROSEWATER are others.) Debbie chose other little known Ashman/Menken songs .
We'll Have Tomorrow was cut from the original stage production of LITTLE SHOP OF
HORRORS and Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon was written to go over the end credits
for the film version of LITTLE SHOP. Daughter of God is one of my favorite
collaborations with Howard. The known songs are One Jump Ahead (one of my
collaborations with Tim Rice from ALADDIN). Part of Your World (from THE LITTLE
MERMAID), Santa Fe and Seize the Day (from NEWSIES), Suddenly Seymour (from
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), Beauty and the Beast (from, of course, BEAUTY AND THE
BEAST) and Someday/God Help the Outcasts (from THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME).
Debbie ends the album with Take Care of My Heart from an abandoned Disney
adaptation for THE LITTLE PRINCESS as a movie musical. As in NEWSIES, the lyrics
are by Jack Feldman. In every case Debbie Shapiro Gravitte has taken the
material and made it her own. Equal parts pop and theater and jazz and cabaret,
she and Bruce have made an album that I find enjoyable, satisfying and moving.
Once again Debbie lives in my tape player. And all I had to do was say "yes."
Thanks Debbie.
-Alan Menken
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