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Rating: 
Summary: Not perfect but useful and enjoyable
Review: Among my prides and joys is my collection of Broadway shows and operettas on CD. Therefore I very much like the <Gramophone Musicals Good CD Guide> (Gramophone Publications Limited, 1998) with its 264 pages of comments about just about every Broadway show ever committed to CDs. Where there are several versions, the editors have selected either all or some, in the latter case referring us to a list of "Also available" recordings. Therefore this guide makes no pretense to being complete in any sense. Nevertheless it is quite valuable for what it does review. There remains the question of what is not. Although I debate the inclusion of Gilbert & Sullivan into "musicals," I do think that as long as they are included, more of the available recordings should get full treatment and not merely listed as "also available." Another problem is that many CDs available only in Great Britain are included and given glowing reviews, increasing my frustration level greatly. On the positive side, the guide is organized by composer in alphabetical order with a short biography before the reviews proper; and there is an index of shows in alphabetical order to make life easier. (How many musicals are there with composers whose names spring to mind?) I also appreciate having the timings for each CD, which allows us to pass up an expensive import that runs (say) only 35 minutes. I like reading about the concert entries such as the "Kiri Sings ..." series and the soundtracks such as that of the 1946 "Ziegfeld Follies." Yes, their use of "musicals" is not limited to stage presentations, and includes screen versions of musicals as well as compilations such as "Lullaby of Broadway" that offers up selections from Busby Berkeley films.And for those who already own earlier editions, each new review is labeled as such. So like its big brother, "The Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide," this is not a perfect but a very useful tool for the collector. I even find it fun to read! But to each his own.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect but useful and enjoyable
Review: Among my prides and joys is my collection of Broadway shows and operettas on CD. Therefore I very much like the (Gramophone Publications Limited, 1998) with its 264 pages of comments about just about every Broadway show ever committed to CDs. Where there are several versions, the editors have selected either all or some, in the latter case referring us to a list of "Also available" recordings. Therefore this guide makes no pretense to being complete in any sense. Nevertheless it is quite valuable for what it does review. There remains the question of what is not. Although I debate the inclusion of Gilbert & Sullivan into "musicals," I do think that as long as they are included, more of the available recordings should get full treatment and not merely listed as "also available." Another problem is that many CDs available only in Great Britain are included and given glowing reviews, increasing my frustration level greatly. On the positive side, the guide is organized by composer in alphabetical order with a short biography before the reviews proper; and there is an index of shows in alphabetical order to make life easier. (How many musicals are there with composers whose names spring to mind?) I also appreciate having the timings for each CD, which allows us to pass up an expensive import that runs (say) only 35 minutes. I like reading about the concert entries such as the "Kiri Sings ..." series and the soundtracks such as that of the 1946 "Ziegfeld Follies." Yes, their use of "musicals" is not limited to stage presentations, and includes screen versions of musicals as well as compilations such as "Lullaby of Broadway" that offers up selections from Busby Berkeley films.And for those who already own earlier editions, each new review is labeled as such. So like its big brother, "The Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide," this is not a perfect but a very useful tool for the collector. I even find it fun to read! But to each his own.
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