Sunday Cover Story: West Side Story

While in New York a couple of weeks ago, I attended a performance of the Broadway revival of West Side Story. I'm not sure if it was a matter of sitting in the balcony, or that the 1961 film casts such a large shadow (having watched the big-screen version numerous times), but I didn't feel emotionally connected to what was happening on the comparatively small stage below. And so I Ieft the theater that night disappointed by the production, a feeling magnified by the knowledge that this revival was directed by the musical's original librettist, 91-year-old Arthur Laurents.

But even as the evening's performance didn't move me, the songs composed by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim remain as resonant as ever. West Side Story resides in the pantheon of American theater for a reason, of course. And one of the show's most unforgettable tunes, "Somewhere," has been covered countless times by artists across all musical genres (from Phil Collins to Devo), with three very different versions ranked as my favorites (none of which happen to be from Phil Collins or Devo).

The first time I recall hearing the song outside of the film soundtrack was via Barbra Streisand's The Broadway Album. The closing track on her 1985 Sondheim-worshiping set, Streisand's "Somewhere" was set not in New York City, but in the darkest reaches of outer space. Released as a single that November, "Somewhere" reached #5 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, and #43 on the Hot 100. Some folks feel that David Foster's synthesizer-heavy production sounds much too dated now, but perhaps because I encountered this cover of "Somewhere" as an impressionable youth, La Streisand's powerhouse performance renders it wonderfully timeless to me:



Purchase Barbra Streisand - "Somewhere" via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

Several years later, picking up the Aretha Franklin box set, Queen of Soul, I discovered another wonderful take on "Somewhere." Recorded for 1973's Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky), and produced by Quincy Jones, Aretha serves up six minutes of soulful, hopeful loveliness, the centerpiece of which is a jazzy saxophone break.

You best believe there's a place for us. Unless you're fool enough to doubt the Queen of Soul:



Purchase Aretha Franklin - "Somewhere" via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

Fast-forwarding to 1997, Pet Shop Boys recorded "Somewhere" to promote their residence at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End. The 7-inch version of the dance duo's cover makes room for two other tunes from West Side Story, opening with a bit of "One Hand, One Heart" (on the Extended Mix, the usually vocally-reticent Chris Lowe recites the lyrics) and closing with "I Feel Pretty." Also incorporated into the track is dialogue from the 1993 urban drama Menace II Society, which Neil Tennant explained in the liner notes to 2001's Bilingual/Further Listening 1995-1997:

"We used the film samples because we wanted to set the song -- which comes from West Side Story, which is Romeo and Juliet in the ghettos of New York -- in the Los Angeles riots ... The Leonard Bernstein estate weren't very keen on us putting that dialogue on, and in fact, we had to write and explain it to them. They refused at first, but eventually they agreed."

Their version of "Somewhere" does all come together quite nicely. Tennant and Lowe commit to a performance that's totally, uniquely Pet Shop Boys. It's at once both urgent and distant. Dramatic and intimate. Earnest and wry. Essential and yet utterly frivolous. Hear here:



Purchase Pet Shop Boys - "Somewhere" via Amazon MP3.

In a freer time and place, Messrs. Bernstein and Sondheim might have turned it out this way the first time around. Consider this evidence of that alternate universe.

Sunday Cover Story: Michael Jackson

I was in New York City last week for work, and though my hotel room was surprisingly spacious for midtown Manhattan, the wi-fi was neither free nor reliable. I had the beginnings of at least one post, but trying to work with a stubbornly intermittent signal proved extremely frustrating, ultimately preventing completion of further research and editing.

Being away from home base also meant no TiVo (the horror!), instead faced with an unfamiliar channel lineup. Otherwise, I'm 100% certain that when I'd returned to my room on Wednesday, I never would have landed on George Lopez's new late-night show on TBS, Lopez Tonight. Lopez was interviewing his musical director, Michael Bearden, who had served as Michael Jackson's musical director for the cancelled "This Is It" tour.

The "This Is It" band had last performed together at the Michael Jackson memorial service in July, but reunited once more to treat the Lopez Tonight audience to a soulful rendition of "Man In The Mirror." Judith Hill, who would have served as a backup vocalist on the "This Is It" tour, handled lead vocal duties (as she had on the memorial's closing number, "Heal The World").

Though only two weeks have passed since featuring a different Michael Jackson cover in this space, this one is also worth a listen. Hill is a talent destined for great things indeed. Hear here:



Visit Judith Hill's official site for a free download of "I Will Always Be Missing You," written in tribute to Michael Jackson.

Saturdance: Beautifully broken

With the movie Precious now playing in theaters, synapses in my brain triggered memories of Depeche Mode's 2005 song by the same name. Written by Martin Gore (who has penned the vast majority of the band's songs), "Precious" was the first single from Playing The Angel, and addressed the impact his then-recent divorce had on his three kids (sample lyric: "I pray you learn to trust / Have faith in both of us / And keep room in your heart for two").

Released in October 2005, "Precious" enjoyed its biggest success on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play and Hot Dance Singles Sales charts, topping both. Though they weren't the only fellas called to dancefloor duty, the epic remix by Victor Calderone and Mac Quayle was largely responsible for Depeche Mode's #1 showing. Listening to their primo production again, I'm reminded just how disappointing the remixes issued from this year's Sounds Of The Universe were (yes, even Peter Rauhofer's "Wrong"). But four years later, "Precious" remains a (re)work of heartbreaking art. Hear here:



Purchase Depeche Mode - "Precious (Calderone & Quayle Damaged Club Mix)" via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

A fine ‘Mess’

Despite containing two youth-culture slang words that drive me absolutely bonkers ("hella" and "boo," for anyone who cares to keep count), I otherwise can't resist "Hot Mess" by Cobra Starship (or space-snake captain Gabe Saporta, for that matter).

The title track from the band's third LP serves as the follow-up to their #7 hit "Good Girls Go Bad," which sported a vocal (and visual) assist from Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester. Like its inescapable predecessor, "Hot Mess" was written by Cobra Starship with Kevin "Let It Rock" Rudolf and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi (among others). And just like "Good Girls Go Bad," good luck in extricating this amped-up piece of pop from your head:



Shake it, shake it, shake it, yeah, you know what to do. With the release of second single "Hot Mess," Cobra Starship goes two for two. I'm loving it, hell yes.

Purchase Cobra Starship - "Hot Mess" via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

Poster children

Have yet to see Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, whose reviews have been universally good (many ecstatically so), but am very aware of the need to be emotionally prepared for the experience (thanks Oprah!). The film, about an illiterate, obese teen who suffers unimaginable physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by her parents, reportedly pulled in $1.8 million this weekend in limited release, showing in just 18 theaters.

While the stars of Precious have been getting a bunch of positive press (including Mo'Nique and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) and the requisite jump-start on an Oscar push, the movie posters deserve major accolades. Powerful in their simplicity, these pieces are nothing short of brilliant. While the goal is commercial, they're true works of art.

On the left is the Saul Bass-inspired preview poster from a few months ago. On the right is the one currently showing in theaters, the title character's near-invisibility interpreted through an oil painting. The use of a Carrie-like necklace as the movie title is a stroke of artistic genius. (Click images for a closer look.)

For more about Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, including local showtimes, visit the film's official site.