A Pleasant Surprise, or I've Still Got A Long Way To Go

I freely admit to being someone so constitutionally averse to risk and the unexpected that the concept of  pleasant surprise seems comparable to the idea of being hit in the head with a brick covered in felt--you are forced to acknowledge that your circumstances are not as bad as they could easily have been, but you had still made rather definite plans not to be hit with a brick today.

But that is my cynical side speaking. With the benefit of hindsight, I am frequently forced to admit the extent to which I relish discovering a great musical number or track in a work that I thought I knew back to front. I knew all my favorite numbers in Fiorello, for instance, and yet until I listened to the score again, I had failed to spot a clever and terrific eleven o'clock number called "(I'll Marry) The Very Next Man." (note: the version below is performed at an unusually fast tempo, but it is also very well-played and captures the spirit of the song quite nicely)



Similarly, on re-listening to Elvis Costello's album My Aim Is True, I realized that between the hits like "Alison" and "Less Than Zero" was a charming little song called "Sneaky Feelings."



I particularly love how well the music and lyrics coordinate on the line "but I've still got a long way to go..." As felt bricks go, this one was relatively gentle. I would also like to add that "Felt Bricks" sounds like the title of an Elvis Costello album.

Musical Site Recommendation: BlueGobo.com

One of the best things about the theatre is also one of the worst things about the theatre; once a show has closed, it’s gone. It can be revived, of course, but only rarely (like with South Pacific) does a revival manage to recapture the spirit of the original. For this reason, BlueGobo is a godsend, collecting rare videos of musical number performances from variety shows, Tony performances, promotional recordings and the like. As might be expected, the site has very little content from before the 1940s and 50s, since prior to the advent of television there was little to be gained from filming a stage performance of a song. That said, some videos go back surprisingly early and the site makes full use of the nostalgic musical numbers from the 1971 Tonys, featuring Tom Bosley performing a number from Fiorello.
http://www.bluegobo.com/