Bob Fosse, Shannon Lewis, Alex Sanchez - Fosse (1999 Original Broadway Cast)

Fans of Fosse--the Broadway dance revue highlighting the varied output of choreographer-director Bob Fosse--will undoubtedly want to snatch up this cast recording of the music. Though it's missing a few tunes found in the live production, the disc still presents some of the best-loved numbers that made Fosse famous from musicals such as Dancin', Sweet Charity, and Chicago. Jane Lanier, Michael Paternostro, and Alex Sanchez do a fun take on The Pajama Game's "Steam Heat." Shannon Lewis's sultry "I Gotcha" (from 1972's Liza with a Z television special) is one of the disc's catchiest tunes. The Chicago tunes--"Nowadays," "The Hot Honey Rag," and "Razzle Dazzle"--are also obvious highlights filled with vitality. Unfortunately, synthesized music and unaffected vocals mar a few tracks; "Bye Bye Blackbird," for example, sounds empty and dated without the visual cues. Luckily, "Sing! Sing! Sing!" from Dancin' closes out the disc with a brassy and swinging jazz sound--which is exactly how Fosse would probably want to be remembered. --Jason Verlinde Amazon.com

Jazz at its best

This jazz dance music keeps my spirits up and my toes tapping. I was delighted to introduce my 15 year old granddaughter to this Fosse music. She loves it. August 6, 2006

A great musical!

I loved this recording. It's one of the finest I've heard in a long time for a B'way show. The Crunchy Granola Suite is electrifying. This show reminded me of DANCING which I saw some time ago in New York. June 16, 2006

Needs The Visuals

The Tony-winning production of "Fosse" was an excellent revue of Mr. Fosse's contributions to Broadway, but doesn't exactly translate as well to cd. Still, a nice "highlights" buy!

Best tracks include:

Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries
Big Spender
Rich Man's Frug
Hot Honey Rag
Sing! Sing! Sing!

The voices and orchestrations are good, but I would suggest purchasing the original cast albums instead.

Try "Chicago" or "Sweet Charity" for the best examples.
July 14, 2005

Where's Fosse?

On stage FOSSE was overlong but at least enjoyable to see some of his best dance sequences recreated. The show was a fine showcase for some of Broadway's best dancers, and some of the numbers generated real excitement, BUT....we learned nothing about the man the show supposedly celebrates. From all reports he was complex, dark, and driven. The current revival of CHICAGO is more a tribute to Fosse, than this bloated dance cycle. That it won the 1999 Tony award just reflects on how weak the 1998/99 season really was.

Translating a dance show to CD is almost pointless. If any of the numbers had been sung with a strong individule style they might have made an aural impact. None of them do. The songs on this CD are all better heard in their cast or soundtrack albums. No one track here is a true standout.

The star of the recording is the orchstra ...which is sensational in re-creating musical styles from cheesy 1960s TV shows to the big Brassy sound of Broadway to the jazzy sounds of Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" which closes the album. (This song should now be barred from being used in any more shows for 10 years having been featured in SWING!; CONTACT and FOSSE!!!)

The Cd booklet has some color pictures, but no notes on the how or why of the show itself.

Those in search of FOSSE are better served by the VHS/DVD release even though it too pales when compared to the show as seen live on stage. February 2, 2004

All around, FANTASTIC!

Incomprable music celebrating the best of the Broadway works featuring Fosse numbers...lovingly recreated with a stellar cast and orchestrations. Enjoyable listening for anyone, but a must-have tribute for any fan of the Great White Way! August 25, 2002

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