Bernadette Peters Music Albums

'Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein'

Release Date 3/12/2002

Tracks 13

Label Angel

What The Critics Say

Bernadette Peters marks the Richard Rodgers centennial with this collection of songs, all but one of which were written with Rodgers' second major lyric partner, Oscar Hammerstein II. (The exception is the album-closing "Something Good," written for the film adaptation of The Sound of Music, for which Rodgers wrote his own lyrics since Hammerstein had died.) The song selection combines some of the songwriting team's biggest hits, "If You Loved Me" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel, "It Might as Well Be Spring" from State Fair, "So Far" from Allegro, and "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific, with some lesser known compositions. Peters takes delight in digging up worthy songs that have not gotten much exposure, such as "I Haven't Got a Worry in the World," written for Anita Loos' successful 1946 play Happy Birthday, which Rodgers & Hammerstein produced. She also looks for ways to recast songs that are well known. For example, in selecting from South Pacific, she ignores the songs you might have expected her to sing, "A Wonderful Guy" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair," and instead takes on two songs not sung by the show's female lead, "Some Enchanted Evening," which is the big ballad number for the male lead, and, even more unusual, "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame," a song written for a chorus of bawdy sailors. Singing in the second person, she makes the latter a tribute to female superiority. Although Peters is an accomplished Broadway star, this is very much a song album; arranger Jonathan Tunick creates calm, understated settings, and Peters sings in a conversational manner. The album might have benefited from having more contrasting moods, but it makes for a warm, inviting celebration of its composer's 100th birthday. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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'Sondheim, Etc., Etc.: Live at Carnegie Hall -- The Rest of It'

Release Date 1/1/1999

Tracks 12

Label Angel

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What The Critics Say

At the conclusion of a review of what can now be considered the first volume of recordings from Bernadette Peters' December 1996 concert at Carnegie Hall, released in 1997, All Music Guide wrote, "Performed before a wildly enthusiastic audience, Sondheim, Etc. is a triumphant debut worthy of an encore." The reviewer (the same one writing now) was making reference to the concert's being, technically, Peters' first as such, albeit preceded by decades of work on the musical stage. And she followed it up with appearances in concert halls around the country and overseas, while maintaining her career in musical theater. But it seems that Sondheim, Etc. was worthy of an encore in more ways than one, as this release demonstrates. It "contains all the music and dialogue that was not on the initial release," and that turns out to be another 52 and a half minutes to add to the initial 71. Inevitably, "The Rest of It," as the subtitle puts it, is not as impressive as the first disc, as might be expected since this is what Peters chose to leave out before. But it also gives a better sense of what the show was like as a whole, not only because it begins with an overture, but also because more of Peters' bubbly personality is on display, whether she is singing "We're in the Money" in pig Latin, joking about her physical endowment, or playfully evoking her Carnegie Hall predecessor, Judy Garland, before borrowing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for a closer. And typical of a collection consisting of the rest instead of the best, there are buried gems and rarities, the most notable of which is a previously unperformed Stephen Sondheim song, "(They Ask Me Why) I Believe in You." Unlike its predecessor, this album is more "Etc." than Sondheim, with only five compositions by the man who wrote songs in Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods for Peters, but one of them is "Children Will Listen," which she sang in Into the Woods. And another of her career songs to be included is "Unexpected Song" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Words and Music, the show, as she points out, that won her her first Tony Award. So, the collection is not devoid of Peters' hits, either. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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'Sondheim, Etc.: Live at Carnegie Hall'

Release Date 3/11/1997

Tracks 14

Label CCT

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What The Critics Say

The first amazing thing about this recording, made at Carnegie Hall on December 9, 1996, is that it represents the New York concert debut of a performer who made her Broadway stage debut more than 28 years earlier and has long since become a major musical comedy star, known for her appearances in such shows as Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and The Goodbye Girl. Bernadette Peters was 48 years old at the time of this recording, but she retained the charming, childlike quality she had always brought to her work, as well as the authority that comes with decades of experience. Both were necessary to bring off a show largely devoted to the emotionally complicated work of songwriter Stephen Sondheim, author or co-author of 12 of the 15 tracks, especially since Peters chose such a wide range of material, notably the Into the Woods songs "No One Is Alone," "Hello, Little Girl," and "Any Moment," none of which she had sung in the musical. Peters did recall her long career, however, especially in a powerful performance of "Time Heals Everything" from Mack & Mabel, in which she starred. In her stage remarks, shorn of a character to play, she turned out to be funny and appealing. The final trio of songs (all by Sondheim) could hardly be improved: "Not a Day Goes By" (to which Peters gave the definitive reading) suggests you can't live with a relationship; "Being Alive" suggests you can't live without one; and "Move On" (which Peters sang in Sunday in the Park with George) suggests that life presents broader considerations. Performed before a wildly enthusiastic audience, Sondheim, Etc. is a triumphant debut worthy of an encore. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

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'I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'

Release Date 8/20/1996

Tracks 12

Label Angel

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What The Critics Say

I'll Be Your Baby Tonight is an odd collection from Bernadette Peters, one of the most popular Broadway singers of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. Instead of sticking to traditional Broadway material, Peters branches out to sing material from pop, rock, R&B and country composers like Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Sam Cooke, Lyle Lovett and Billy Joel. Although Peters is well-suited to sing Lennon/McCartney's pop material and the pseudo-show tune stylings of Joel, she sounds a bit lost when she tries grittier material like the country-rock of Dylan's title track or Sam Cooke. Still, there are enough fine performances -- including a few cuts written by Stephen Sondheim and Rodgers & Hammerstein -- to make the missteps tolerable for dedicated fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide