Defiant Dames

Louise Gold featured as one of the strong women performers on the album, recorded at Angel Recording Studios on 26 September 2002.

Album sold in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign  

 

Cast

 Featuring

Sharon D. Clarke

Janie Dee

Louise Gold

Yvonne Howard

Diane Langton

Marie McLaughlin

Elaine Paige

Eddi Reader

Joan Rodgers

Claire Sweeney

Ruby Turner

 

Also includes

Giles Adams

Pupils From Alleyn’s Junior School

Lani Bannach

Douglas Brown

Anne Elliott

Emma Hancock (violinist)

Carys Hughes (harpist)

Eva Stanley Refnov

Jane Spiers (flutist)

Lone Tonsgaard

 

Accompaniment

Jason Carr (pianist, and, arranger)

Barbara Dalton (conductor)

Wendy Gadin (pianist)

Michael Hancock (pianist)

Murray Hipkin (pianist)

Clement Ishmael (pianist)

Ian Laws (guitarist)

Steve McManus (bass player)

Gerald Moore (pianist)

Gareth Roberts (drummer)

 

Production Team

Producer - Lani Bannach

Recording Studio Time - Gloria Luck and Gary Thomas at Angel Recording Studios Ltd

Musical Director - Wendy Gadian

Production Assistant - Andrew Lynwood

Creative Services - The Elliot Partnership

Marketing - Frances Tew of Testdata Web Design

Composers - A. Agalbato, E. Angus, Banks, Irving Berlin, Leslie Bricusse, Eriksen, Hampton, Jimmy Haynes, Hewerdine, Jackson, Kreisler, Jim Marr, Anthony Newley, Wendy Page, Henry Purcell, Eva Stanley Refnov, Richard Rodgers, Rossini, Schubert, Stephen Sondheim, and, Arthur Sullivan

Lyricists - A. Agalbato, E. Angus, Banks, Irving Berlin, Leslie Bricusse, Eriksen, Jacopo Ferretti, W. S. Gilbert, Oscar Hammerstein II, Hampton, Jimmy Haynes, Hewerdine, Jackson, Jim Marr, Anthony Newley, Wendy Page, Eva Stanley Refnov, and, Stephen Sondheim

Thanks To - Clive Rowe, John Abulafia, Nina Mehra, Sue Anderson, Sandra Blanc, Robert Fitzgerald, and, Jonathan Gee

 

 

Track Listing

1. Feeling Good (by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse from The Roar Of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The Crowd) - Performed by Elaine Paige

2. Four Legs In A Bed (by A. Agalbato and E. Angus) - Performed by Janie Dee

3. La Gitana (by Kreisler) - performed by Emma Hancock (violin), accompanied by Michael Hancock (piano)

4. Hark The Echoing Air (by Henry Purcell) - Performed by Joan Rogers, accompanied by Gerald Moore (Piano)

5. The Girl Who Fell In Love With The Moon (by Hewerdine and Eriksen from Simple Soul)- Eddi Reader

6. The Sun Whose Rays (by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert from The Mikado) - performed by Louise Gold, arranged and accompanied by Jason Carr (piano)

7. Goodbye For Now (by Stephen Sondheim from Reds) - Jane Spiers (flute) and Carys Hughes (harp)

8. Do-Re-Mi (by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II from The Sound Of Music) - performed by Pupils From Alleyn’s Junior School, conducted by Barbara Dalton

9. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better (by Irving Berlin from Annie Get Your Gun) - performed by Lani Bannach, Anne Elliott, Eva Stanley Refnov, Lone Tonsgaard, Giles Adams, and, Douglas Brown

10. Angel In Disguise (by Eva Stanley Refnov) - performed by Eva Stanley Refnov, Ian Laws (guitar)

11. ‘Ave Maria’ Opus 52 No. 6. (by Shubert) - Marie McLaughlin, accompanied by Gerald Moore (piano)

12. Non Piu Mesto (by Rossini and Jacopo Ferretti, from La Cenerentola) - Yvonne Howard, accompanied by Murray Hipkin (piano)

13. If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me) (by Banks, Jackson, and, Hampton) - performed by Ruby Turner

14. I’m Still Here (by Stephen Sondheim from Follies) - performed by Diane Langton, accompanied by: Wendy Gadin (piano), Gareth Roberts (drums), and, Steve McManus (bass)

15. Don’t Quit (by Jimmy Haynes) - performed by Sharon D. Clarke, accompanied by Clement Ishmael (piano)

16. When You Believe (by Wendy Page and Jim Marr from Claire) - performed by Claire Sweeney

 

 

Janie Dee and Clive Rowe appeared at the Regents Park 70th Gala

Diane Langton sang I’m Still Here in Follies, she has also appeared in Chicago & Company, The Royal Variety Performance (1982), and, Mary Poppins her recording credits include Cole Porter - Night And Day, The Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales, The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears, and, The Great Musicals - From Broadway to Hollywood.

Claire Sweeney was the Lady-Opener at Dress Circle’s Grand Reopening. She also presented the BBC series A Week In The West End, and appeared on ITV’s 50 Greatest Shows.

Janie Dee, and, Diane Langton may have appeared in Comedy Tonight for which Steve McManus probably played Bass.

Louise Gold and her accompanist Jason Carr have worked together quite a number of times. They have performed The Sun Who’s Rays in her cabaret act Louise Gold...By Appointment (and in it’s tryouts, see “Louise Gold Sings Some Nice Songs”). They have also worked together on such shows as: Chicago & Company, Broadway To Brighton, A Time To Start Living, Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It, Oh Kay, 110 In The Shade, One Touch Of Venus (2000 Production), A Lost Musicals Occasion, Final Chic Cabaret 2003, Dead By 12, The Water Babies, Somethin’ Good, and the album Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It.

Steve McManus also played in A Time To Start Living, plays bass on the album Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It, and, Oliver! (Recording). He has gone on to play in the pit orchestra for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and, Oliver!.and on stage for Happily Ever After.

Louise Gold has gone on to appear on stage in the G&S operetta, The Gondoliers, in 2003.

Janie Dee may have previously appeared in Dear Ralph; she has gone on to appear in Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary Gala.

Sharon D Clarke, and, Jason Carr may have taken part in Thing A Thon.

Diane Langton, and, Elaine Paige’s recording credits include 100 Hits Musicals.

Carys Hughes went on to work on Gypsy.

Gareth Roberts went on to perform on Candide In Concert.

 

Review

by Emma Shane

This album is a bit of a mixture. Which, given the purpose for which it has been compiled is probably a good thing, in that it will attract a wide ranging audience, ranging classical to easy listening. But one won’t necessarily be enamoured of every single track, but of course the great thing about a CD is that once you’ve heard it all, you can so easily just play your preferred tracks. Any listeners liking of individual tracks  probably depends a good deal on their personal tastes in music, and indeed in performers. For example, when I played the CD through, for me it got off to a bad start, because I really wasn’t all that keen on the first track, Feeling Good, - well it didn’t make me feel particularly good, but if you like Elaine Paige then you’d no doubt enjoy it. Similarly I wasn’t too convinced by I’m Still Here (preferring Millicent Martin’s recording on the original Side By Side By Sondheim cast album) but again, if you happen to be keen on Diane Langton, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Overall I wasn’t too struck by some of the more operatic bits, but I liked them enough to find them to be entirely pleasant background music, and I was rather impressed by Joan Rodgers’s performance of Hark The Echoing Air. My tastes in music do tend towards good old showtunes, so naturally I was very interested to hear the ones on this album, such as: Do-Re-Mi, and, Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better. I enjoyed Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, for the simple reason that one can hardly go far wrong with a good Irving Berlin song from Annie Get Your Gun. Here it is given something of an unusual arrangement, and performance, this is definitely not a purists version of the song. But like many good Irving Berlin songs (especially from the Annie Get Your Gun score) it stands up well to the treatment, and is altogether rather run to hear. Of the good old show tunes on this album, I’d say I liked Do-Re-Mi the best. It just seems to be such a nice performance by the children of Alleyn’s Junior School.

So in general does this seem to be an album which one might buy almost by more for charitable purposes, to support the Breast Cancer Campaign, then because of the individual tracks? Well it almost might be, except such is the wide range of performances on it, it is quite likely you may find some tracks on it that make it well worth buying, recordings you just have to have in your collection. Which tracks those are will depend largely on your individual taste. But for me, two which really stand out, and make the album worth having, are: Four Legs In A Bed and The Sun Whose Rays. The former is a hilarious number, expertly performed by Janie Dee, a singer who seems to know how to portray a sweet girl who you initially think might be innocent, but who comically isn’t so innocent. Four Legs In A Bed really brings out that quality in her. The Sun Whose Rays, as sung by Louise Gold does not come across as operatic, rather more it is a sweet but at the same time defiantly powerful musical theatre song. This is partly thanks to its arrangement by Jason Carr, who also plays it, but above all this version of the song is fierce and bold in fiery Gold, her glory’s all effulgent.

 

Critics Comments

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Links about Defiant Dames

 Order Defiant Dames form that CD’s own website: http://www.defiantdames.info/

 

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