Mandy Patinkin Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Recorded live in concert in Philadelphia, this album features Mandy Patinkin running through a number of Sondheim's works fresh off of a string of performances by Patinkin in Sunday in the Park With George. The songs covered are presented in a manner definitely less than chronological, but instead in an order with some meaning to Patinkin (at least according to his introduction in the liner notes). The format is straightforward, with each song beginning immediately after the previous; no breaks taken and no chatting with the audience indulged in (as is usually Patinkin's habit). Patinkin is an outstanding singer, with an intimate knowledge of the lyrical content of Sondheim's works, which is arguably the most important aspect in his pieces. He's able to run through the high speed pitter-patter lyrics that were essential to some of the songs. His vocal range gets rather tested in the high ends from time to time, but as long as he stays in a decent middle range, he can power the songs just as needed, switching back to softer, gentler vocals as needed as well. Pianist and co-arranger Paul Ford also provides some ample ability in accompaniment. While Sondheim had only one real hit, Patinkin treats each song with the same reverence of a Broadway follower. It might get a bit melodramatic at times, but that's really part of the point of Broadway in the first place. For someone looking for a nice introduction to Sondheim's sound, this wouldn't make a bad start. For those who are already aficionados of the collection of music, this vocalist might not be a bad one to hear. Either way, the album deserves a listen or two. ~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Many recording artists who make children's albums shade them at least a little toward the parents, but Mandy Patinkin has made that tendency explicit starting with the title of Kidults. As on his previous albums, he borrows mostly from Broadway for material, but he is also trying to find songs for late baby boomers as well as babies, with mixed results. "School Days Medley," for example, which moves from Frank Loesser's "Inchworm" to "School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)," ends with a charming version of Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" that Patinkin shares with Kristin Chenoweth. But another departed '70s singer/songwriter does not benefit from such efforts. It's not clear what the old Paul Whiteman hit "Japanese Sandman" has to do with Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle," but though the latter song is a rueful favorite of absentee parents everywhere, it not only remains as heavy-handed and obvious as ever, but actually suffers from Patinkin's typically committed performance; when Chapin sang it straight, it was just a bad song, but when Patinkin acts it out, it's nearly insufferable. Elsewhere, however, the singer's acting instincts range from the sweet ("If I Only Had a Brain," with different voices for the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion) to the hilarious (a schizophrenic "Holiday for Strings" that alternates between a sincere ballad performance and a raucous, up-tempo one). Children are likely to find much of this album delightful, and the only real danger for parents is that their kids will want to play it over and over again so they can memorize "April in Fairbanks." Patinkin clearly can have a career as a children's entertainer, if he chooses to pursue it among the many other acting and singing opportunities he has. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Documenting the Jewish-American experience in song, Mandy Patinkin weaves a rich tapestry of legend, oral history and popular song, all in Yiddish. The most interesting tunes on Mamaloshen include Paul Simon's "American Tune" and "Maria" from West Side Story which become perfectly adapted to Patinkin's use. The lush arrangements by Paul Ford lend a sweeping cinematic air to the project, making it at once humble and grand, much like the dreams of millions of immigrants. ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The relationship between Oscar Hammerstein II and Stephen Sondheim is among the most confounding in the American musical theater. On the one hand, Hammerstein was Sondheim's spiritual father, the guiding force who led him to become a writer of theater songs. On the other, the optimistic, wholesome attitude expressed in Hammerstein's lyrics and librettos could not be more different from the skeptical, subversive wit of Sondheim. Mandy Patinkin confronted this dichotomy head-on in his fourth album, alternating songs by the two, following Hammerstein's "If I Loved You" with Sondheim's "I Wish I Could Forget You," Hammerstein's "Honey Bun" with Sondheim's "Not a Day Goes By." Those juxtapositions emphasized the differences, but Patinkin also found similarities in some pairings. The odd thing was that, although Patinkin is identified with Sondheim, here he was more comfortable with Hammerstein. He is able to appreciate the ambivalent anguish of "I Wish I Could Forget You" and the savage wit of "Remember," but he's too nice to plumb the cruelty of either song. On the other hand, Hammerstein's embrace of sentiment is similar to Patinkin's, and in songs like "If I Loved You," "Bali Ha'i," and "Honey Bun," he was able to indulge his energy and back-wall-of-the-theater bellow. Sondheim can thank Patinkin for making his songs seem more conventional and acceptable than they really are. Here, Patinkin even found surprising warmth in two of the austere songs from Passion. But, despite Patinkin's obvious affection for Sondheim, that doesn't make him the ideal interpreter. On the other hand, listening to this record makes you wonder what he could do with Hammerstein standards like "Ol' Man River" or "Oklahoma!" ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Mandy Patinkin, who can wring the greatest drama or the most manic comedy out of a theater song, used only his most tender interpretive talents for his third album, Experiment. As usual, the selections came almost exclusively from Broadway shows (the exception, Harry Chapin's "Taxi," was a classic story-song), and one-third of them were by Stephen Sondheim. They dated back to the 1920s (Irving Berlin's "Always") and up to the '80s (Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer's "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables), but Patinkin brought a consistency to them by singing gently in his trembling, innocent tenor, starting with "As Time Goes By" (complete with its rarely sung introductory verse) and ending with Cole Porter's "Experiment." The album was in a sense one long suite or, given the brevity of many of the selections, one long medley, the songs often segueing seamlessly into each other. The album seemed designed to answer Patinkin's critics, who had found his previous recordings melodramatic and hysterical. He was reined in on the ironically titled "Experiment," but even if this was Mandy Patinkin Lite, it was appealing. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
An enormously ambitious collection of show and film music dominated by suites and medleys taken from Stephen Sondheim's obscure Evening Primrose (with guest Bernadette Peters) and Pal Joey. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Patinkin has reserves of emotion that seem boundless on this tour de force collection mainly given over to show songs. Employing a vocal range that begins in a clear high tenor and plunges to a gruff baritone, Patinkin is able to act and sing duets with himself or sing beautifully alone. But feeling -- sometimes overflowing feeling -- is the core of his sense of interpretation. As a result, some very old songs sound newly written in his hands. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
