The musical Rinkitink

Last year, Karyl Carlson announced that there would be CDs of her son's efforts to put music to the songs in Rinkitink in Oz. Well, Karyl's son Sean Carlson delivered!

The Songs of L. Frank Baum's Rinkitink in Oz is a 23 minute concept album in which Sean sings as Rinkitink (and speaks as Bilbil on one track), putting all of Rinkitink's ditties and songs from the book to music, reminding us that this was a very musical book.

Sean uses synthesized music as well as his own instruments, and he noted specifically that he used a ukulele and a didgeridoo. Synthesized music can sound good, and it does here. It doesn't feel like you're suddenly listening to a computer game from 1998. In addition to the songs, the album has four instrumental tracks of just music inspired by the story.

It should be noted that this is one interpretation of Rinkitink, not a definitive one. For me, when I read Rinkitink's songs in the book, I imagined Rinkitink having a deep baritone voice, and he'd belt out all his songs. Sean is not a baritone, so his Rinkitink is different with a much more gentle voice, giving more of the idea that Rinkitink is coming up with these songs on the spot and singing to himself and his friends. It's a viable interpretation, and the results are very pleasing.

Sean also doesn't try to keep the music in line with the time it was written. Perhaps I have a bad ear for genre, but the album uses all sorts of song styles for Rinkitink's songs, which lends to the idea that Rinkitink is coming up with these on the spot. Also, it helps with the idea that this story takes place in Fairyland, which has a culture that doesn't always mirror our own.

The CD comes in a digipak case (heavy cardstock with a hard plastic disc holder glued to a fold-out panel), decorated with art by John R. Neill in full color. The fold out panels include lyrics for the songs, and a track list, which reveals some of Sean's inspirations for these songs.

The CD was for sale at Oz Con International for $12 a copy (this is a small run of a concept album by an independent artist, so it will become a collector's item), and several copies will be available at Oz Con Philly next month, so if you're going or know someone who is going, your chance to get one is not far off. All sales will help fund future Oz Con events.

To order online, go to http://Paypal.Me/OzConInternational, enter $17.00 ($5 to cover shipping) and log in.

"Dreamer of Oz" on DVD

I was one of the lucky people to watch this tele-movie when it first aired on TV and I would rent the video whenever I could (it had a nice cover).

Once I knew enough, I made it a point to watch this movie every year on L Frank Baum's birthday, even if it is just one (inaccurate) portion of his life.

I also had and enjoyed listening to the CD (and reading its vastly illustrated and written booklet) whenever I could (which you can buy here on Amazon).

Personally I would have Track 16 say "Magic Land"
or "the Munchkins" rather than "Oz"

And like many other viewers, if not all, I wished and wished and waited for it to come on DVD (I particularly wanted a "Commemorative" Special Edition to be made after John Ritter's death) ... but one day WB included it in their set for MGM's the Wizard of Oz.

But I am here to talk about another DVD release it has had - as well as a comparison of the two prints.

Warner Bros has the movie in a Set, you have to unpack to get out the disk, together with the Special Features that may focus on Frank Baum, usually the earlier Silent Films and 1933 Ted Eshbaugh cartoon.
  The picture is not restored or remastered, due to the type of video used for filming for TV in those 90s days, so the lines and quality often looks double-exposed or "side-by-side".

This version of the video is by a fully licensed and famous studio that distributes widely, in store and online.

Screenshot of the Opening Title from the official WB release

Another version of the movie's DVD release is simpler and lesser known.

As you can see above, the cover uses the art from the CD soundtrack.

Menu screenshot from the "rare and collectible" single-disk version

Surprisingly, the picture is a little different:  by comparison it is not as colourful nor is it out of focus and the size when playing is different to WB.
But also note how the colours are not as strong nor is the contrast as deep, so the green is a bit paler, the darker areas are a bit greyer and the picture is still overall soft.

However there is no trailer or short video ad that reveals the distributor or DVD manufacturing company; the Menu uses the Opening Title as its design and the movie itself will not play on my computer's VLC player (hence explains why I do not have anymore screenshot comparisons).
On DVD/Blu-ray Player, however, it repeats the movie as soon as it finishes.

And as you can see from the above Menu, there are no other options whatsoever, NONE AT ALL ... so no subtitles.

Most likely this is a bootleg copy, piracy of which is a crime, so I will not include the link of where I got this to support that kind of purchasing (even if that site has another movie I've been wanting on DVD).
Hopefully this post will make others aware of unlicensed copies.

It would be so much better and a pleasant surprise if WB would put in the effort to restore and remaster "the Dreamer of Oz" for a new release, on its own or with MGM's "Wizard" again, especially since there are many photos out there that could be put together for a Gallery and there was once a bunch of videos on YouTube that had some of the actors (Munchkins) talking about the telemovie on a Daytime Show.
Not to mention, WB could also include the new and improved remastered 1933 cartoon on future releases, now that Thunderbean Animation has put their DVD+Blu-ray version out.

The Royal Podcast of Oz: Alexiel De Ravenswood and Oz

In this episode, Jay talks to Alexiel De Ravenswood, who recently released a suite retelling The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Hear Alexiel's inspiration for the suite and how it was created.

You can listen, download, and subscribe at the podcast site or use the player and links below.



Download this episode (right click and save)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Symphonic Suite

I just recorded an interview with Alexiel de Ravenswood for a podcast episode next month. Alexiel just released a symphonic suite on Bandcamp, which is a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz wholly in music.

The suite is a beautiful experience for any Oz fan by someone who really loves Oz and wanted to present their version of it in a new form suited to their talents. And at only $9.99, it's nicely priced.

If you want a sample, a single track, "The Yellow Brick Road," is available for $1.99, but the Bandcamp page lets you listen to a minute of it.

Check back in early May to hear Alexiel talk about the suite.

Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz

After Diana Ross filmed The Wiz in 1978, Motown (the label she was signed to) decided to hurry and get her to record covers of several of the movie's songs. They'd release it in January of 1979, and it would serve as a companion to the movie soundtrack, or make a nice single disc option for someone who might not want to buy the 2-disc soundtrack album, a piece of movie merchandise, and also another album for her fans.

Except, as we know, The Wiz movie was not the expected box office smash. And so, Motown decided to shelve the record... until now!!!

Except it's available only through digital music providers. You can get the 13 track album from iTunes, Amazon MP3 or wherever else you might get music digitally. You'd think there'd be enough demand from collective fans of Oz, The Wiz and Diana Ross to guarantee sales of a CD or even a vinyl. (Imagine if it was finally released on the format it'd originally been intended to be on!)

Seems all providers allow you to buy each of the tracks individually, or all of them in an album at a nice discount with a PDF of a booklet that explains the history of the album with some photos of Diana Ross that they say some of which have never been published before. ... Well, she doesn't look much like her Wiz appearance in them... I don't know much about Diana Ross outside of The Wiz, so I guess I don't have much more to say about that.

So, let's get to the tracks.

1. The Feeling That We Had - I rather enjoyed Diana's take on this song. It's fairly simple, ever soulful, just as it should be. Almost makes me think she could have made a very effective Aunt Em at some point.
2. He's The Wizard - Here Diana lets you know what you're in for as she begins to say some dialogue to briefly retell the story. I almost wish she hadn't as it gives the songs a crowded feel, but she sings the song quite well, trying a slightly different voice for "Miss One."
3. Soon As I Get Home - Again, Diana quickly says some dialogue as she sings a more upbeat but uniformly slow version of the song. I like this version better than the movie soundtrack version. Diana also adds in a bit of dialogue during the song, saying, "Come on, Toto."
4. Trio Medley - Diana sings through "You Can't Win," a very brief "Slide Some Oil To Me" and "Mean Ole Lion," with Diana shifting her voice slightly to bring to mind each of the characters. She seems to enjoy getting into these characters. As I said to a friend, "And now listening to Diana Ross as Michael Jackson."
5. Ease On Down The Road - This take plays loosely with the music, but generally has Diana singing all three versions of the song as one version with three verses with some nice extra rhymes during a musical bridge. "Get up off your knees and sing! Me and my pals gonna do our thing! Come on, let's take it step by step! First your right, and then your left!" "Down the road is where it is, come on, we're gonna see the Wiz!" While some might understandably prefer her version with Michael Jackson, this is quite a nice version!
6. Be A Lion - Like "The Feeling That We Had," Diana still gives a soulful rendition, just now minus additional vocals by Ted Ross. To make up for that, on the final "Be a lion!" she sings, "Stand up! Stand up! Stand up!" just before it.
7. So You Wanted To Meet The Wizard - The looseness of some of these covers hits its high here as the music doesn't resemble the original song at all, and Diana cackles and nearly shrieks the lyrics and additional dialogue and rhymes. Andre DeShields, where are you?
8. Is This What Feeling Gets? - This song was written for the film, and its theme is often heard through the film as it is subtitled "Dorothy's Theme." (Sam has noted that the final notes can be heard as we see Dorothy in an Emerald City hotel room after they first meet the Wiz. We needed to say that sometime...) This is a more confident take on the song and makes for a nice contrast with the soundtrack version. (Because it did make it to the soundtrack!)
9. No Bad News - While I don't think she topped Mabel King, Diana's Evilene is a nasty bit of work and well-performed.
10. Wonder Wonder Why - This was billed as a "bonus track" in some press announcements, suggesting that it wasn't originally intended for this album. This song was originally written for the original musical, but was cut before the Broadway debut. Later, it was reincorporated into a revival for Dorothy to sing as she cleans Evilene's castle. There's apparently rumors that it was recorded for the film, but was not included. (I couldn't imagine where it'd fit in.) This soft, simple take on the song marks its first commercial recording, and may likely be the first time many fans are hearing the song at all.
11. Brand New Day - This version isn't as gripping as the movie soundtrack, but it's much shorter and is still a worthy cover. I just can't tell if Diana has backup singers or if they recorded her singing her own backup.
12. Believe In Yourself - Diana proves a worthy Glinda in another fairly simple and respectful cover.
13. Home - Again, another respectful cover, though Diana does add some nice, vocal flair.

So, overall, it's a nice album. For fans of The Wiz and Diana Ross, it's a must, though the more picky might want to pick a track or two. But I wish I wasn't at the point of recommending a digital-only album release...

Return to Oz complete score CD review

Several years ago, I had a dream that the soundtrack for Return to Oz was reissued. I'd like to think that I dreamed of a 2-disc set, but the main thing I remember is that it featured a photo of Ozma in her royal dress from the end of the movie, holding her OZ scepter... under a lunch pail tree.

While I don't believe any photo like that exists (though if any artists who read this blog want to take a shot, be my guest!), my dreams surprisingly came true with Intrada's new release of the complete score of Disney's Return to Oz, which I finally got my copy of today.

Spread across two discs, the entire score of the film is represented. Often soundtrack albums only include major moments of the score and sometimes, they don't feature the music as heard in the film at all, but new arrangements by the composer, who redesigned the score for an album issue. (And sometimes, their involvement isn't there.) In this case, you hear every bit of music you heard in the film and then some as some music bits were cut, but have now been restored. (So if you were wanting to match this up to the film to create an isolated score version—Sam—it might not work.)

The original CD release cover art

Return to Oz did get a soundtrack album in 1985, which I own on vinyl. It was reissued four years later on CD by Bay Cities, but it quickly went out of print. This led to it becoming a popular bootlegged item online. However, Intrada has you covered now. To fill up otherwise empty space on Disc 2, after a handful of tracks featuring alternate cues, the original soundtrack album's tracks are presented.*

One may well argue that Return to Oz features one of the best scores an Oz film has enjoyed. The truth is that Oz in film has enjoyed a rich musical history from Nathaniel P. Mann's scores for The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays to Louis P. Gottschalk's score for The Patchwork Girl of Oz to MGM's The Wizard of Oz to Journey Back to Oz to The Wiz and even up to Danny Elfman's score for Oz the Great and Powerful. But one must admit that David Shire's score for Return to Oz is certainly a milestone. (Unless you have no ear for great film music.)

Shire's music is certainly magical. Instead of going for a sound you'd hear in music from the beginning of the 20th century—when the story takes place—or music to draw in contemporary audiences, he instead created a score that feels timeless. This is because he based it on the characters instead of periods. Creating themes for each character and the situations in the film, Shire composed an excellent, multi-layered score to go along with the film's visuals, sound effects and dialogue. This makes the music quite inseparable from the film, from the stirring opening, to the escape in the storm, to Tik-Tok's heavy marching theme, to Jack Pumpkinhead's hollow-sounding music, to the Nome King's growing anger theme, to the lively Rag March and of course, the beautiful closing credits.

Some might argue that the film score should be enjoyed with the film, and that's certainly a good point, but there is no reason why a soundtrack album cannot present the music to be enjoyed separately and Intrada definitely produced a perfect presentation right here.

In addition to the great music you'll hear on the CDs, there's a nice 28-page booklet that features Drew Struzan's classic "Escape From The Emerald City" poster art and on the other side, his pretty scary "Mombi" poster. (One can switch the booklet around to show either one.) Inside the booklet is a nice rundown of the production and release of the movie, illustrated with movie stills, set photos, behind the scenes photos, and two pieces of concept art by Mike Ploog. Also there is a cue assembly list for the tracks and a little afterword about the creation of this album.

This isn't just a great release of the score of the movie, this is a definite Return to Oz collector's item!

The CD can be ordered directly from Intrada and Amazon. Creature Features was offering a limited number of copies autographed by David Shire, but they have already sold out. However, check out their podcast section as their fourth episode interviews Walter Murch, and they discuss—you guessed it—Return to Oz.

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* Just about the only thing not carried over from the original soundtrack CD is the original liner notes. While some may pass and others seek it out for completion, there is a complete set of scans for viewing and downloading here.

The Music from Oz: Home by Breaking Benjamin

My sister and her friends didn't believe me when I told them there was a Breaking Benjamin song based on The Wizard of Oz. I guess they hadn't heard their first album Saturate.



The song is a little difficult to figure out if you're trying to pin it to certain Oz characters. Sure, the lyrics start off with the first verse closing with "I'm gonna get you and your little dog too!" But then the singer seems to shift to identifying with Dorothy's quest for home.

Perhaps the song—like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—lends itself to several interpretations. Whatever the case, we see someone expressing themselves through anger like the Wicked Witch, then eventually realizing what they need is peace like Dorothy wanting to go home.

Oh, and the track has got one helluva beat.

The Music from Oz: The Wizard of Oz by Toybox

In searching for Oz videos or music, there's a little song that might pop up: "The Wizard of Oz" by a Danish group called Toy-Box.



The song seems to be a fun bubblegum pop song, a little reminiscent of "Barbie Girl." But a closer examination of the lyrics reveals it to be a little less about the classic Oz of Baum and MGM and a little more of something else... Something more adult. (Lyrics in bold indicate a male voice. Otherwise, it is sung by the female lead.)

Just like the story 'bout the Wizard of Oz
I have a wish to be a very special girl
I really really wanna know so much
So tell me are you the Wizard of Oz?

Okay, so far, so good. There's some lyrics that might be interpreted suggestively, but it could be innocent.

Will you take me to the land of Oz
Yes, I will, come on (Let's go then)
But that's your house, and not the land of Oz
But this is much more fun (Really)

You can be my wizard
But don't tell anyone

Wait, he takes her to his house? Seemingly against her will, although he's able to talk her into it?

Just like the story 'bout the Wizard of Oz
I have a wish to be a very special girl
I really really wanna know so much
So tell me are you the Wizard of Oz?

Wizard, wizard
Will you be my wizard?

I am searching for the magic land
Follow me, my girl (Okay)
Do you have to touch me with your magic hands
It's part of the ritual (Hey, hands off, Mister)

Okay, now he's touching her, and she's not cool about it.

Listen to the wizard
And you'll be magical

Do we want to know what "being magical" means here?

Just like the story 'bout the Wizard of Oz
I have a wish to be a very special girl
I really really wanna know so much
So tell me are you the Wizard of Oz?
(Love you)

Wizard, wizard
Will you be my wizard?

Ho ho ho ho ho
Welcome to the land of Oz
Is this the land of Oz?
Wow! It's so beautiful
It's magical

When I showed the lyrics to my sister, she suggested that the song was actually about sex and drug use, so with this interpretation, she might now be on a trip or a high thanks to some drugs he gave her.

Wizard, wizard
Will you be my wizard?
(Excuse me, which way to fly?)
Wizard, wizard
Will you be my wizard?
(Shh, it's a secret!)

Just like the story 'bout the Wizard of Oz
I have a wish to be a very special girl
I really really wanna know so much
So tell me are you the Wizard of Oz?

Wizard, wizard
I have a wish to be, be, be
Be, be, be
Wizard, wizard
So tell me are you the Wizard of Oz
Tell me are you the Wizard of Oz

(Of course I am)

You know what? Bravo! Here's a song with a working subtext. And if it disturbs you, good.

The Wizard of Oz Original Motion Picture Soundtrack — Deluxe Edition

Even the toughest critics of MGM's The Wizard of Oz find it hard to fault the music. One major fan of the Oz books says that even though he doesn't care for the look of the movie or the story adaptation, he does like the songs. As with every other part of the movie, the songs and score went through a long development process before finally becoming the familiar tunes we know and love today.

MGM of course recognized that the songs were viable outside of the movie and sheet music was made available with the movie's premiere of the songs and "The Jitterbug." Decca Records released a set of records that featured their own singers covering most of the film's songs. ("If I Were King of the Forest" was dropped.) Fortunately for them, they had Judy Garland contracted and she sang "Over the Rainbow" and "The Jitterbug." Both of these early commercial versions contained additional and alternate lyrics to help the songs be sung outside of the film.

In the mid-1950s, MGM finally released a proper soundtrack album, featuring most of the songs. Since the songs would be too short for a full record, actual audio from the film was included to retell the story. The sound on the record is severely chopped as can be expected. Eventually, other record albums showed up with more proper "soundtrack" tracks and pieces of score, and soon went over to audio cassette and CD. And, of course, the songs were licensed for covers on record albums not by MGM.

Rhino Records finally came around with new CD releases in the 90s. They issued a single CD with the songs

Almost indicating what's on
each disc, Billie Burke's Glinda
graces disc 1 as she appears in
the finished film. Margaret
Hamilton wears an early
version of the Wicked
Witch's costume on disc 2.

and major pieces of score from the movie, utilizing some audio from the MGM archives to present extended versions of "If I Only Had A Brain" and "If I Were King Of The Forest," as well as "The Jitterbug" and "Ding Dong! Emerald City." They also issued a new CD version of the dialogue and songs album, which took advantage of the longer running time of CDs to present a better edited version.

But most desirable of all was a 2-disc Deluxe Soundtrack set. Instead of releasing the complete score of the finished film, Rhino went back to that archival audio and recreated the score and songs of the movie's original two-hour cut. The tracks were all seamlessly extended where available. The audio was not remastered in stereo, but it could easily be argued that this is representative of the intentions of the original composer since it wasn't made to be heard in stereo. (The same archival recordings would later be utilized by Warner Brothers to create the multi-channel audio track you can hear on today's home video and theatrical releases.)

The complete score and songs is excellent enough, but after one hour and forty-three minutes of music representing the movie (which is actually about two minutes shorter), there is over half an hour of alternate versions of the score, including instrumental-only versions of "If I Only Had A Brain" and "The Merry Old Land of Oz." (It's almost like they predicted the karaoke trend.) Probably the track a lot of people will want to hear is Buddy Ebsen's version of "If I Only Had A Heart." While the orchestration and arrangement is the same, Buddy's voice lends itself well to the character of a man who's been living in the woods. (But one could also imagine this same voice playing the Scarecrow, the role Ebsen was originally cast to play.) We can also hear demo and rehearsal versions of some of the original songs and a partial take of "Over The Rainbow" in which Judy suddenly coughs right after starting to sing the song. Although these audio elements aren't exactly the most complete selection of Oz audio outtakes (owners of The Ultimate Oz laserdisc note audio that is not on the CD set or on any subsequent Blu-Ray or DVD release), they present a good look at the evolution of the classic movie music that has delighted generations.

The set has one of the best liner notes ever: a booklet by John Fricke, detailing the creation of the music of The Wizard of Oz and how the movie was made, focusing on how changes in the script, casting and editing affected the music. A complete track listing with notes is included, as well as a synopsis of the movie. About the only thing that could have made the book more complete would have been the lyrics. But even without that, it's hard to complain about this lovely little book.

This set is now out of print and it seems that Rhino no longer has the rights to re-release it. It can be found online, but it's hard to find for under $40. (I luckily got my copy before the price went up.) Collectors hope that the set can be re-released soon. Hey, Warner Music, the 75th anniversary of the movie isn't quite here yet! I'm sure there's plenty of time for a reissue!

Songs in the Key of Oz

One of the undisputed highlights of the 2011 Winkie Convention was a concert given on Saturday night by Joe Cascone and David Haines. Called "Songs in the Key of Oz," Joe and David presented a number of Oz songs from the past 109 years. It was delightful, even though it was just two men and a piano.

This year at Winkies, I was helping at at the Swap Shop and Joe and David arrived and set up a table right next to us. They unveiled a "Songs in the Key of Oz" CD and I had to get one! So, I bought two, one for me, and one for Sam, since I knew he'd want one. (He paid me back.)

The CD is quite different from the 2011 Winkies concert. It's from a later performance, as Joe and David have apparently performed this several times since. You can hear David Maxine introduce them at the beginning of track 1, but that's all there is from Winkies.

The first track is a medley of songs about the Emerald City. I remember that it marked the first time I clearly heard the "There's a garden spot I'm told/Where's it's never too hot and it's never too cold" additional opening lyrics for "The Merry Old Land of Oz." Those lyrics open this medley, then slide right into "One Short Day" from Wicked! Also embedded were lyrics from "The Emerald City" from the Happy Time Players/Mr. Pickwick Players Wizard of Oz story album, the "Seen Green" segment from The Wiz Emerald City song sequence, and original to the CD (not at Winkies), some of "The Emerald City" song from Joe and the late J.P. Doyle's musical adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It makes for a wonderful opening.

Then there's a cover of "The Wonders of Oz," the song from the 1964 Return to Oz. Then, Joe introduces and moves into songs from the original Oz musical extravaganza. The duo perform the Scarecrow's song (which was not performed at Winkies), the quickly-dropped "Guardian of the Gate" song, "When We Get What's A-Coming To Us," and "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay."

Then, there's a lively rendition of "What Did The Woggle Bug Say?" Having once made a MIDI straight from the sheet music, I noted the music was re-orchestrated to be more lively, and sure enough, the reason for that is made clear after they got through all the verses. David got up and held up a banner with the lyrics on it, inviting the audience to sing along!

Next up are songs from The Woggle-Bug ("My Little Maid of Oz"), The Tik-Tok Man of Oz ("The Clockwork Man"), and Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's abandoned musical adaptation of The Patchwork Girl of Oz ("The Shaggy Man Song"/"A Song of Ozland").

Then, there's "two songs from a movie you may have seen," "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead!" and "The Jitterbug" from the MGM film The Wizard of Oz. "Ding-Dong!" contains the opening lyrics not in the film, "Once there was a wicked witch in the lovely Land of Oz..." "Jitterbug" has a different opening verse than what was intended for the film. ("Listen all you chillun to that voodoo moan/There's a modern villun worser than that old boogie woogie/When that goofy critter spots your fancy clothes/He injects a jitter, Starts you dancing on a thousand toes, There he goes!")

Next up is a medley of songs from the abandoned Disney film, The Rainbow Road to Oz, using two songs from the Disneyland segment ("Patches" and "The Rainbow Road to Oz") and two songs that wound up on The Cowardly Lion of Oz album with some different lyrics ("Living a Lovely Life" and "If You Believe" with different lyrics as "Why Don't They Believe?"). This year at Winkies, Joe and David performed the medley again, but with a new song, "The Lost Princess of Oz," added to the mix. How on earth they turned up all this material is simply astonishing! (To clarify, "Lost Princess" is not on the CD.)

Then comes two songs from one of Joe's favorite Oz films, Journey Back to Oz: "There's a Faraway Land" and "Keep A Happy Thought." These are followed by "The Wonderful Land of Oz," the main song from the Banner Elk "Land of Oz" theme park. Then, there are two songs from The Wiz: "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" and "If You Believe."

Jumping ahead over 20 years, we get to the latest stage versions of Oz with "No One Mourns the Wicked" and "Wonderful" from Wicked, and the original song "Already Home" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. (Trivia: when the song was performed at Winkies, it was actually the first time it was performed in North America.)

The concert on the CD closes out with what Joe and David bill as the quintessential Oz song. What it is, I won't spoil it for you!

A major difference between the concert preserved on CD and the performance at Winkies is that after a break, Joe and David performed several songs from Joe and J.P. Doyle's musical adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, using a bit of narration to tell the familiar story with the songs. Perhaps this was a Winkies exclusive, but at the end of that, they gave an encore piece that mixed several songs to give the performance a grand finish. That finale is not on the CD, so attendees of the 2011 Winkie Convention experienced something that perhaps no other audience has.

The exclusion of the songs from Joe's musical from the CD is all right, considering that there has been two CDs of cast recordings released. The former was for sale by Hungry Tiger Press, the second is available directly from the Civic Light Opera Company. While it's not the same, you can at least hear those wonderful songs at home in some form.

The CD of "Songs in the Key of Oz" contains three bonus tracks: "If I Only Had A Brain," from Joe's CD "Show Tunes I Do," which actually covers the songs of all three of Dorothy's friends from the MGM film, plus those additional opening lyrics! ("Said a scarecrow swinging on a pole/To some blackbirds sittin' on a fence/Oh, the Lord gave me a soul/But, forgot to give me common sense./If I had an ounce of common sense...") The next two tracks are excerpts from the above linked CD of Joe's Wizard of Oz musical, David's Cowardly Lion song "'Fraid Not!" and Joe's L. Frank Baum number, "Just a Touch of Humbug," which is one of the best numbers in the show. (But believe me, picking out a bad number from that one is really tough!)

My only complaint with the CD is that the sound is a little low. I usually rip my CDs, put the files on my mp3 player and listen to it on the go, but unless I was in a quiet place, listening was a little difficult, even with the volume turned all the way up. As such, this is more of an album to sit back and enjoy.

And now you're wondering "How do I get a copy?" Well, Hungry Tiger Press is selling it! You can get your copy here.

Two Ways To Wiz

Original Cast Recording

Since the advent of recorded sound, recordings of music have proved to be a popular item. Oz has been musical since the 1903 musical extravaganza, and since then, there have been recordings of Oz-inspired music available for sale.

In this entry, I'm looking at the score for The Wiz. Back in 1973, radio DJ Ken Harper had the idea to do an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an all-black cast. It soon became a reality on stage with soulful songs by Charlie Smalls, sung by Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battles, Tiger Haynes, Ted Ross, Andre De Shields, Clarice Taylor, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Mabel King.

This cast recorded the first album for The Wiz: the original cast recording, which offered a special keepsake for the musical as well as a way for people to enjoy the songs without going to see the show.

This album was designed to work as a pop music album as well. It opens with a special prologue featuring a chorus singing "Ease On Down The Road" before moving into Tasha Thomas' heartfelt and soulful "The Feeling We Once Had."

No other tracks lead into each other. The only instrumental from the musical retained on the album is the stirring Tornado theme. Next up is Clarice Taylor leading a bouncy and jazzy "He's The Wizard!"

Track 5 gives us Stephanie Mills' first solo song "Soon As I Get Home," which she sings rather movingly as she sets down the yellow brick road. Next up is the soulful "I Was Born The Day Before Yesterday," sung by Hinton Battle, in which the Scarecrow sings about his creation and his determination to not just be a sack of straw on a pole.

Track 7 gives us the album's full version of "Ease On Down The Road." While it's placed chronologically where it first occurs in the musical, it is a combination of all versions of the song as performed in the musical, so instead of three versions, you get one "ultimate" version. It's rather jazzy and energetic, featuring the main cast of Stephanie, Hinton, Tiger Haynes, and Ted Ross.

Track 8 presents the lively "Slide Some Oil To Me" sung by Tiger, while Ted gets to sing very impressively next in "I'm A Mean Ole Lion." Stephanie takes over in the next track, singing "Be A Lion," being joined by Ted at the end, making for one of the more sensitive and moving songs on the album.

Track 11 gives us Andre De Shields' first song "So You Wanted To See The Wizard," where he gets to effectively portray the Great and Terrible Wizard. Almost in a stark contrast, Tiger sings again in the next track in a moving song titled "What Would I Do If I Could Feel."

Track 13 gives us the sole song for Mabel King, as she sings the Wicked Witch's song "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," which has a fun, energetic gospel vibe to it.

Next is Luther Vandross' song "Everybody Rejoice!" which is decidedly joyful as the Winkies celebrate the death of the Witch. This is definitely one of the high points of the musical.

Andre returns with "Y'All Got It!" in which he energetically encourages the people of Oz to govern themselves as he takes his leave.

Again opting to have one version of each main song on the album, Andre's version of "If You Believe" has been dropped in favor of Dee Dee Bridgewater's version that she sings to Dorothy as Glinda. Finally, Stephanie Mills closes out the album with an amazing rendition of her signature song "Home."

While the album works well, a number of songs and instrumentals from the musical were dropped. The album gets the main ones, sure enough, but a few of the more minor ones get the axe. "Who Do You Think You Are?" (sung by Dorothy and her friends when they see the Wizard out of his disguise), Andre's "If You Believe," and Dee Dee's "A Rested Body Is A Rested Mind" unfortunately were not preserved on the album.

Soundtrack album

The other album at hand is the soundtrack for the movie adaptation. The film was released in 1978 and sadly decided to not adapt the musical, but re-adapt Baum's book and use the musical's songs. Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, Clarice Taylor, Andre De Shields, and Dee Dee Bridgewater were replaced by Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Thelma Carpenter, Richard Pryor, and Lena Horne, respectively.

This has been referred to as a "kitchen sink" album, meaning that no track has been excised, and the album encompasses two discs. Spanning 26 tracks, the songs and score for the film are represented. In addition, elements of dialogue are lifted from the film to tell the story.

Does this make it better than the Original Cast Recording? It may be a matter of opinion, but I think the arrangements in the Broadway album are much better at representing the songs as they were originally intended. Diana Ross, in her songs and screen presence, is unable to sell the adult Dorothy with her problems of being a confident adult. This isn't to say that she's bad. Unfortunately, to sell this idea, additional songs were written for Diana to sing.

The first of the new songs comes right after "The Feeling That We Have," which has been altered to contrast Dorothy's well-adjusted family to her own personal problems. It's titled simply "Can I Go On," but its presence has managed to take some of the soul from an excellent opening song and on its own, it's not a very good or memorable song at all.

I'll skip over the instrumental tracks, mainly as they are original and tailored for the film by Quincy Jones. The next song is "He's The Wizard," and it has definitely lost a lot of its energy in this outing. Thelma Carpenter's voice is a bit rougher than Clarice's, and admittedly, she's not bad, but the music arrangement is what kills it here. Where the original felt bouncy, this feels like falling down flat. The song also runs longer than it does on the Original Cast album, and it feels like it runs far too long.

Diana Ross sings "Soon As I Get Home," but where Stephanie was calm and brave, Diana is quiet and sad. This is, of course, because of how the character was redeveloped for the movie, but comparing the two already shows this is a change for the worse. There is a huge difference between a character who is a teenage girl setting out alone on her own alone and a grown woman pondering how to start her journey about to break into tears.

Stephanie 1, Diana 0.

Next up is Michael Jackson's sole solo "You Can't Win." The song was originally dropped from the musical and was going to be sung in the Witch's castle. I assume that "I Was Born The Day Before Yesterday" was just too soulful for the talent of the soon-to-be King of Pop. The problem is that the song is whiny. Jackson doesn't get to show off much of a vocal range, but he sings the song well. Frankly, it hardly serves the same purpose as the song on the original cast album. It's not a really bad song, but moving it from the Witch's Castle to the Scarecrow's song doesn't complement his character.

Next is the first version of "Ease On Down The Road," featuring Michael and Diana, and to be honest, they put a lot of energy into this one! It manages to be decidedly different from the original cast recording, though longer. As we're looking at the album, not the film, I'll have to say I do like this version.

"Ease On Down The Road" is reprised twice on the first disc with Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross joining in. However, they add little to it, especially as the song is not played to its fullest potential as it is the first time.

Now we come to the two songs by the Tin Man, which have been placed into the scene in which Dorothy and the Scarecrow meet him. The big problem here is that Nipsey Russell was not a singer: he was more of a comedian. One may well wonder why Motown didn't select someone else to sing the songs and have Nipsey lip-synch to them (as he was probably doing to his own songs anyway) instead of speak with the music. So, his renditions of "What Would I Do If I Could Feel?" and "Slide Some Oil To Me" pale in comparison to Tiger Haynes' original. This is also why he adds very little to the first reprise of "Ease On Down The Road." In fact, he may actually be detracting from it.

Ted Ross reprises his original cast role in "I'm A Mean Ole Lion," but aside from the music arrangement, there's not much difference in his performance in the two different versions of the song. And though he doesn't add much to "Ease On Down The Road" in its final reprise, he definitely doesn't detract. His additional vocals are actually much better than Nipsey's addition in the last version.

The second disc opens with "Be A Lion," and admittedly, Diana does do a great job, though I prefer Stephanie's more soulful version.

The next song is not from the musical, and is an overlong and unnecessary piece. It's called "Emerald City Sequence," and is sung by the many people outside of the Wizard's tower. The subject: it's the big fashion to wear green and they're all doing it, so they all fit in. Then the voice of the Wizard, Richard Pryor, changes it to red, then after a reprise about them singing how that's the fashion, he changes it to gold. Um... Why did we need this? Is this some sort of social commentary that just didn't age well?

There's also a track called "So You Wanted To See The Wizard," but it's audio from the scene instead of a song because Richard Pryor didn't sing. (Why, oh, why did they cast two people who didn't sing in the main cast in a musical?) It also includes audio from later in the film where they catch him outside of his giant head, which is a rather puzzling and unnecessary touch.

Next up is a song deleted from the film, "Is This What Feeling Gets?" sung by Diana. It's a touching piece, but it's easy to see why it was dropped. There was enough of a dour tone already and no need to drag it on. However, it is quite a bit better than "Can I Go On," in that it's actually memorable.

Mabel King brings back much energy with her "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," which has more of a southern church revival feel to it's gospel-like tone. I won't say it's really better, but it's definitely a lively piece on its own. I'm very glad they got her for the film, because no one else could have done this song justice.

Next is "A Brand New Day," which runs for almost eight minutes. There are additional pieces of music added by Quincy Jones and more of a lead from Dorothy, which make it quite a bit more jubliant and triumphant, but we must remember that now the Witch's slaves are not given a voice as they were on the original cast album. So, while this version is more stirring, when it comes to it, I prefer the original cast version overall as it was the song of the people Dorothy has freed rather than her own freedom.

Now comes the first version of "Believe In Yourself," which was sung by the Wiz in the stage version, but as the guy playing him didn't sing, this time, it's given to Diana Ross as she tells her friends they had what they wanted all along. Diana's performance is finally shining here.

Next is Glinda's version of "Believe In Yourself" but sung by Lena Horne. Lena has a great voice, but for some reason, Dee Dee Bridgewater was able to bring a voice much better fitting the character of Glinda. (Lena's added "Whoo! Yeah! Yeah!" doesn't help, either.)

Wrapping up the album is Diana Ross' take on "Home." Her Dorothy is far too gentle compared to Stephanie Mills' moving performance. Diana's not bad, but I think the original was better. (You can clearly hear Diana inhaling while she sings.)

For those that collect Oz music, I'd say both albums have enough pluses to justify adding them to your collection, whether you collect music on vinyl or CD. (Or both.) But if you're wanting an album to represent what The Wiz should be, then definitely go for the original cast album. The music arrangement is not as grand as the film's soundtrack, but this better showcases how these songs were originally meant to be heard. Sure, the Original Cast Recording drops a few songs, but it's not like the film included them!

Buy the Original Cast Recording
Buy the Movie Soundtrack