Working (Original 1978 Broadway Cast) | Various Composers, Bob Gunton, ...

Working (Original 1978 Broadway Cast) | Various Composers, Bob Gunton, ... | A different and socially engaged musical

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Working (Original ...

	Working (Original 1978 Broadway Cast) Various Composers, Bob Gunton, ... Varese Sarabande, 2001 average customer review:based on 25 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The original 1978 Broadway cast recording of Stephen Schwartz's Working has long been awaited on CD, and this great-sounding 2001 release proves it was worth the wait. Surely one of the more unlikely sources for a musical was Studs Terkel's 1972 book that compiled interviews of American working people discussing their jobs and what they liked and disliked about them. Schwartz transformed these interviews into a series of songs written by himself, Craig Carnelia, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Micki Grant, and pop singer James Taylor, and accordingly the variety of songs is as great as the variety of the workers featured. There's the lyric beauty of "The Mason," the rueful "Just a Housewife," the retiree's wry "Joe," the waitress's lilting "It's an Art," Taylor's pop-country "Brother Trucker," and the powerful emotion of "Fathers and Sons," realized by a compelling cast that features David Patrick Kelly, Joe Mantegna, Bob Gunton, and Lynne Thigpen, among others.

Six bonus tracks include a new version of the grocery checker song written for the 1999 L.A. Theatreworks production, Carnelia and Grant performing their own songs (unfortunately, Grant's track comes from a poor-quality audio source), and Schwartz's moving performance of "Fathers and Sons" from 1999's The Stephen Schwartz Album. Also welcome are 2001 notes from Schwartz paired with 1978 notes from Terkel, and a detailed listing of the composers and performers of each song. Working was filmed for American Playhouse in 1982. --David Horiuchi

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Keep Working!!!

I had the privilege of seeing a production of this wonderful musical at L.A. Valley College in May 2004. I quickly fell in love with the songs and the entire premise of the musical. Now, with this CD, I can finally sing along to all the brilliant songs over and over again, belting them out like there is no tomorrow.

What makes Working so special is that anyone can relate to the lyrics, they are powerful, beautiful, touching, and extremely real. Anyone who has ever worked a day in their life will feel the lyrics hit close to home. Whether you're a housewife, a valet parker, a fireman, a millworker, a teacher, a cleaning woman, or even a hooker, this musical has a place for you, no matter what job you do.The emotion, sincerity, and love expressed in the songs are amazing, and they are all extremely unique and a pure joy to listen to.

All the songs are fantastic but the stand-outs have to be "All the Live Long Day," "Just a Housewife," "If I Could've Been," "It's An Art," "Father's and Sons," "Cleaning Women," and "Something to Point to." I also have a soft spot for "Brother Trucker" and "I'm Just Movin" from the 1999 revival, which I am so grateful is included in this CD. This is a terrific, feel-great album everyone should listen to. Give Working a chance, it's worth it.

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A different and socially engaged musical

In the history of musicals, sometimes we find pieces that outshine by its originality and "step forward" attitude. This is the case. Nothing compares to the songs, lyrics and orchestrations of this musical. Socially engaged and dramatically focused, it makes it very different from anything you've heard before, although it might be compared to RUNAWAYS and HAIR. An excellent trilogy of social musicals looking for something more than pure entertainment.

a good, if obscure CD

i admit that this is an obscure musical, but nevertheless i found myself in a production of WORKING as Grace, the millworker. upon listening to the cd, i found that each song characterized the character well. the newsboy song is NOT annoying and my favourite songs are "its an art", "cleaning women", "if i could've been" and "lovin al". I would only recommend this CD for a real musical theatre afficionado, as those who don't appreciate the beauty of a musical won't understand these songs.

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Wonderful Lesser Known Gem

I have never seen Working, but would love to, and I would love to perform it so as to revive interest in it. I found out about this recording from an online site, and I fell in love with it. It's a very modern style musical although from 1978. Were it on Broadway today, it would still be revelent to today's working class. My favorite number probably has to be "It's An Art", just because of its sheer fun. I could listen to that song all day and never get bored with it. I do, however, find "Brother Trucker" to be a bit tiring, and "Neat To Be A Newsboy" is just plain old, outdated, and ANNOYING! Other than that, wonderful ablum for an almost forgetten show.

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An underrated musical

This musical seems to be very underrated, because it isn't done in a traditional style. There is no set storyline or characters. It is essentially a grouping of songs about different people and the work they do in their lives. Some of the songs are very powerful, like "Millworker", and some are just fun, like "Lovin' Al". Some songs date the recording, as songs like "Brother Trucker", while good, have a bit of a synthesized 70's feel. The majority of the songs are more traditional.

I saw this show done by my high school years ago, so maybe it holds a bit of nostalgia for me, but it is definitely worth checking out.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Tracks
All The Livelong Day (Schwartz) | Lovin' Al (Grant) | The Mason (Carnelia) | Neat to Be a Newsboy (Schwarz) | Nobody Tells Me How (Rodgers-Birkenhead) | Un mejor Dia Vendra (Taylor-Daniele-Landers) | Just A Housewife (Carnelia) | Millwork (Taylor) | If I Could've Been (Grant) | Joe (Carnelia) | It's an Art (Schwartz) | Brother Trucker (Taylor) | Fathers & Sons (Schwartz) | Cleanin' Women (Grant) | Something to Point To (Carnelia) | I'm Just Movin' (Schwartz) (from the L.A. Theatre Works complete recording of the 1999 revised version) | Hots Michael at the Piano (Carnelia) (previously unreleased demo recording performed by the composer) | The Mason (Carnelia) (previously unreleased demo recording performed by the composer) | Joe (Carnelia) (previously unreleased demo recording performed by the composer) | Lovin' Al (Grant) (previously unreleased demo recording performed by the composer) | Fathers & Sons (Schwartz) (performed by the composer)

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