Track Listing

1. Overture
2. May We Entertain You
3. Some People
4. Small World
5. Baby June And Her Newsboys
6. Mr. Goldstone
7. Little Lamb
8. You'll Never Get Away From Me
9. Dainty June And Her Farmboys
10. If Momma Was Married
11. All I Need Is The Girl
12. Everything's Coming Up Roses
13. Together, Wherever We Go
14. You Gotta Get A Gimmick
15. Let Me Entertain You
16. Rose's Turn
17. End Credits

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21796 in Music
• Released on: 1993-11-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack

VideoHound's Soundtracks
The old girl from the world of showbiz, Mama Rose, proves both indestructable and a fine vehicle for singing female stars. Originally created by Ethel Merman, for whom it was written, the part has been variously handled by Rosalind Russell in the film version (not available on CD), Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and more recently Bette Midler, among many others. The quintessential backstage musical, and for many the best ever written, Gypsy related the real-life story of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and her sister June Haver, and how each was shaped into a star of the first magnitude by their monster of a stage mother. With a fine, solid book by Arthur Laurents, and a splendid score by Jule Styne (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), the show has endured through repeated revivals, losing none of its freshness and its strength, even though by now its plot and tunes have become remarkably familiar. The three recordings listed here are all superb in their own right, the personality of the actress playing Mama Rose being the main focus. Merman, the belter and originator of the part, is still the best, though the recording itself, an early transfer to CD from the original analog tapes, leaves a bit to be desired sonically. Tyne Daly, in the 1990 Broadway revival, added her own touch to the role, but without significantly altering it, in a performance that has its moments of excellence. As for Bette Midler, in the 1993 television treatment, she camps the part a bit, but she is also remarkably true to the spirit of the original in a performance that has been justifiably lauded. -- © 1998 Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Excellent soundtrack recording
Every once in a while, network television does something right. That's the case in this production of "Gypsy." If anything, I like the soundtrack recording more than I did the television production. Bette Midler does an admirable job as "Mama Rose," and her interpretations of the material are outstanding. The score, which is almost 50 years old, is so much smarter than anything coming out of musical theater today, which is sad to say. At least there are revivals.

Falls Flat
I just saw GYPSY and the well-known actress, Patti LuPone, playing and singing Mama Rose was superb. Her voice was a miracle of covering all the emotional turmoil that is Rose. She soared from sexy to demented to determined to clever.

I came home and put on Midler's Gypsy, and it sounded flat, stale, weary, unprofitable. I have always liked Bette Midler, but this CD seems to have no dynamic, no sparkle. I think that you need a true Broadway diva to sing Rose, and perhaps even one with some operatic experience.

I can only fervantly pray that the Ravinia Festival will release a DVD or a CD of the LuPone production.

It may be unfair to compare Roses. Midler does excel in different material but I don't think that she was able to find the turmoil that is Madame Rose and to sing it.

Gypsy. 1993 TV version. CD
Gypsy was a popular stage show & vehicle for Ethel Merman and made into a film with Rosalind Russell & Natalie Wood as Gypsy Rose Lee or Louise Horvick. In 1993 a TV version was made with Bette Midler as Mama Rose at the same length as the original film release time. The soundtrack CD appears to be taken from the film's soundtrack with the incidental dialogue intact thru the songs. There are many hits from this show and overall the CD is pleasant listening and an added bonus to the DVD of the show.