A Collector's Sondheim (Musical Compilation)
This three-CD set offers a generous overview of the career of Stephen Sondheim, Broadway's most important composer of the last quarter of the 20th century. It's compiled by Thomas Z. Shepard, the producer instrumental to many of Sondheim's most important cast recordings for RCA. The set's ambitious reach covers music Sondheim composed for theater, film, and television back to 1954 (but not including shows for which he is only credited with lyrics, most notablyWest Side StoryandGypsy), and since much of the older material was recorded for other labels or not recorded at all, RCA fills the gaps by plucking tracks from some excellent revues, then from the original cast recordings beginning with 1976'sPacific Overtures. Rarities include the alternate version of "The Glamorous Life" recorded for the 1978 film, and the 1979 disco rendition of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd." The major shortcoming of this 1985 set is that it ends with 1984'sSunday in the Park with George. Surely an updated retrospective is in order?--David Horiuchi