Name: Richard Rogers: Command Performance by Richard Rodgers
Brand: Richard Rodgers
SKU: 632433250129
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (161 reviews)

COMPILATION

Volume 1

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The Girl Friend - Richard Rodgers
1

The Girl Friend View on Youtube

02:52

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02:52

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2

The Blue Room (From "")

02:52

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02:52

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Volume 2

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Garrick Gaieties - Richard Rodgers
1

Mountain Greenery (From "")

02:55

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02:55

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2

What's the Use of Talking? (From "")

02:57

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02:57

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Volume 3

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Peggy-Ann - Richard Rodgers
1

- Where's That Rainbow? (From "")

02:47

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02:47

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2

- A Tree in the Park / Where's That Rainbow? / Maybe It's Me, a Little Birdie Told Me So (From "")

06:33

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06:33

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Volume 4

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A Connecticut Yankee - Richard Rodgers
1

My Heart Stood Still (From "") [Ampico Piano Roll Recording]

02:45

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02:45

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Volume 5

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Spring is here - Richard Rodgers
1

- With a Song in My Heart / Baby's Awake Now / Yours Sincerely / You Never Say Yes / Why Can't I? (From "") [Ampico Piano Roll Recording]

05:50

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05:50

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Volume 6

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Mississippi - Richard Rodgers
1

No Bottom (From "")

01:21

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01:21

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2

Roll, (From "")

01:13

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01:13

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3

Soon (From "")

02:28

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02:28

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4

Pablo, You Are My Heart (From "")

02:15

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02:15

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5

Down by the River (From "")

02:44

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02:44

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6

The Steely Glint in My Eye (From "")

01:14

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01:14

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7

The Notorious Colonel Blake (From "")

01:02

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01:02

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8

It's Easy to Remember (From "")

Jerry Cooper

02:56

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02:56

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Volume 7

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A Little of You on Toast - Anonymous
1

Radio Air Check: - , Pt. 1 (From "Radio Aircheck")

02:43

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02:43

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2

Radio Air Check: - , Pt. 2 (From "Radio Aircheck")

Don Ameche

04:01

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04:01

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Volume 8

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The Boys from Syracuse: Falling in Love with Love - Love Me Tonight: Lover - Richard Rodgers
1

- Falling in Love with Love (From "The Boys from Syracuse") / Lover [From "Love Me Tonight"]

03:09

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03:09

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Volume 9

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A Connecticut Yankee - Richard Rodgers
1

My Heart Stood Still (From "")

01:19

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01:19

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Volume 10

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South Pacific - Richard Rodgers
1

A Wonderful Guy (From "")

Bernice Saunders

02:59

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02:59

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Volume 11

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Cinderella (Original Television Cast Recording) - Richard Rodgers
1

- Waltz for a Ball (From "Cinderella")

03:48

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03:48

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Volume 12

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Richard Rodgers Talks About Hart and Hammerstein
1

Richard Rodgers Talks About Hart and Hammerstein View on Youtube

01:19

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01:19

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The music of Richard Rodgers has worked its way into the general consciousness of American popular music to such an extent that it almost seems spontaneously generated; arguably, no civilized person has missed contact with some part The Sound of Music, but even some listeners devoted to American Musical Theater remain inexplicably incurious as to the man himself. We do not extend to Rodgers the same fascination that we have, for example, with George Gershwin, who died so young, or with Irving Berlin, who lived so long. Yet in Salzburg, they have opened a museum to The Sound of Music, and many experts agree that this work is the greatest musical of all time. Certainly, others with music written by him -- Babes in Arms, Oklahoma, South Pacific and The King and I -- would place very highly in any ranking of great musicals one could conceive.
Harbinger's Command Performance is about the first package in any format -- tape, LP, or disc -- to concentrate solely on Rodgers as a performer. Command Performance skims the various, scant groups of recordings retaining Rodgers pianism, conducting, alleged singing, and commentary, ranging from Ampico piano rolls cut in 1926 through a bit of a radio interview recorded in 1971, where he discusses the nature of his collaborations with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. Clearly, Harbinger is aiming for overall comprehension, yet sticks to the best material available. Eight of Rodgers' 14 known piano rolls are included, and these represent the only instance where he created records of his own playing for direct public consumption. Rodgers was not a flamboyant showman like Gershwin, and reserved what performing he did for purposes of promotion, both in-house to prospective backers and in limited public engagements such as radio guest appearances and the obligatory first night stint leading the band. In the first category are eight extraordinary 1934 demos that apparently feature Rodgers' own reedy, but surprisingly tuneful and endearing, singing voice in demos made for the film Mississippi (1935); as these demonstration records are uncredited, the identity of the vocalist is a little uncertain. Rodgers was not particularly fond of his own singing voice and reportedly didn't even do it in the shower. Another recording of this kind is South Pacific cast member Bernice Saunders singing "A Wonderful Guy" in a version with a first draft lyric from 1948, as is Rodgers performing "Waltz for a Ball" from the TV musical Cinderella taken from a rare promo LP. The rest is all from broadcast sources -- a guest appearance with Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen in 1937, "My Heart Stood Still" from the opening of WMGM radio in New York in 1948, and so forth.
Rodgers was a fine pianist, though again, not a heart-stopping virtuoso like Gershwin or an uproarious cut-up like Cole Porter, just a fellow whose playing worked in the service of his art. One of the reasons for the general sense of incuriousness regarding Rodgers is that, apart from his activities on the Great White Way, he was an intensely private man, and one wonders how he would have found the time to produce more than 900 songs if he hadn't been so. That's one of the real benefits, and joys, of Harbinger's Command Performance; hearing Rodgers play affords a rare glimpse of his personality, something he wasn't always dying to reveal to the public at large. Many of the songs are obscure, and one would have loved to hear him play, say, "Carousel Waltz" or "March of the Siamese Children" from The King and I -- but such recordings were never made. Equally fascinating are the vintage photos included, featuring Rodgers in his twenties, freshly scrubbed and looking like an accountant for a Wall Street firm. This Harbinger release enters the field as an invaluable resource for understanding one of the greatest composers in American Popular Song, and as such, recommends itself. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis

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Richard Rogers: Command Performance

Product information

Release options

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4

Volume 5

Volume 6

Volume 7

Volume 8

Volume 9

Volume 10

Volume 11

Volume 12

Volume 1

1. The Girl Friend

2. The Blue Room (From "The Girl Friend")

Volume 2

1. Mountain Greenery (From "Garrick Gaieties")

2. What's the Use of Talking? (From "Garrick Gaieties")

Volume 3

1. Peggy-Ann - Where's That Rainbow? (From "Peggy-ann")

2. Peggy-Ann - A Tree in the Park / Where's That Rainbow? / Maybe It's Me, a Little Birdie Told Me So (From "Peggy-ann")

Volume 4

1. My Heart Stood Still (From "A Connecticut Yankee") [Ampico Piano Roll Recording]

Volume 5

1. Spring is Here - With a Song in My Heart / Baby's Awake Now / Yours Sincerely / You Never Say Yes / Why Can't I? (From "Spring Is Here") [Ampico Piano Roll Recording]

Volume 6

1. No Bottom (From "Mississippi")

2. Roll, Mississippi (From "Mississippi")

3. Soon (From "Mississippi")

4. Pablo, You Are My Heart (From "Mississippi")

5. Down by the River (From "Mississippi")

6. The Steely Glint in My Eye (From "Mississippi")

7. The Notorious Colonel Blake (From "Mississippi")

8. It's Easy to Remember (From "Mississippi")

Volume 7

1. Radio Air Check: A Little of You on Toast - A Little of You on Toast, Pt. 1 (From "Radio Aircheck")

2. Radio Air Check: A Little of You on Toast - A Little of You on Toast, Pt. 2 (From "Radio Aircheck")

Volume 8

1. The Boys from Syracuse: Falling in Love with Love - Love Me Tonight: Lover - Falling in Love with Love (From "The Boys from Syracuse") / Lover [From "Love Me Tonight"]

Volume 9

1. My Heart Stood Still (From "A Connecticut Yankee")

Volume 10

1. A Wonderful Guy (From "South Pacific")

Volume 11

1. Cinderella (Original Television Cast Recording) - Waltz for a Ball (From "Cinderella")

Volume 12

1. Richard Rodgers Talks About Hart and Hammerstein

Technical Specifications