I am suffering though the 2CD set of "Chess", the 1984 musical by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice. It's a big, sprawling mess, very ambitious and almost hit-free with its symphonic breaks, mock Russian choruses, and boring balladeering. You all know the stand-out, the song that made me buy the whole sorry set: Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok". As it is, I am getting rid of the 2CD set, and if "Bangkok" is not on a Tim Rice comp, I am going to chase down the 2016 single CD remaster. The initial West End run for "Chess" was only three years, a relative failure for Tim Rice. But subsequently, and after several revisions, its reputation grew, and most amazingly, "Chess" placed seventh in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the UK's Number One Essential Musicals. It's interesting to hear how Andersson and Ulvaeus had lost their magic touch so soon after ABBA's split, for the last of ABBA's albums, the 1981 break-up album, "The Visitors", stands as one of their finest and most personal works. I will never buy another full West End musical, they only work selectively on the hits comps.
I see that "Bangkok" is available on "The Best of Tim Rice", but then I have to eat Freddie Mercury and Celine Dion as well. Ugh.
Björn and Benny's grand folly
- GoogaMooga
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Björn and Benny's grand folly
Last edited by GoogaMooga on 05 Jun 2022, 14:04, edited 1 time in total.
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck
- GoogaMooga
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Re: Björn and Benny's grand folly
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"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck
- The Fish
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Re: Björn and Benny's grand folly
GoogaMooga wrote:
You all know the stand-out, the song that made me buy the whole sorry set: Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok".
Nonsense. The stand out is quite obviously I Know Him So Well which is great.
We're way past rhubarb
- GoogaMooga
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Re: Björn and Benny's grand folly
The Fish wrote:GoogaMooga wrote:
You all know the stand-out, the song that made me buy the whole sorry set: Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok".
Nonsense. The stand out is quite obviously I Know Him So Well which is great.
That's the other good one, but my favorite by far is "Bangkok".
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck
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Re: Björn and Benny's grand folly
“Hamilton” is staggeringly good and you really have to have the whole thing.