Whistle Down the Wind (Songs From)

Full Title: Whistle Down The Wind: Songs From Andrew Lloyd Webber & Jim Steinman.
Personnel: Carrie Harrington (vocals); Eddie Martinez, Fridrik Karlsson, Clem Clempson, Paul Keogh (guitar); Michael Hart Thompson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Tot Taylor (acoustic guitar, organ, synthesizer, percussion, sampler); Mark Feltham (harmonica); Franklin Wharton (alto saxophone); Jamie Talbot (baritone saxophone); Larry Sims (trumpet); Sounds of Blackness (horns); Peter Adams, Nigel Wright (piano); Gary Hines, Bill Steele (keyboards); Steve Pearce (bass guitar); Kenny Aronoff , Ralph Salmins (drums); Frank Ricotti (tubular bells, percussion); Lee McCutcheon, Simon Franglen (keyboard programming); Jeff Taylor (drum programming); Anne Skates, Robert Fardell, Mick Mullins, Andy Caine, Tracie Ackerman, Mary Carewe (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Mick Guzauski.
Recording information: Barking Dog Studios, New York, NY; Cts Studios; FLM Studios; Sarm West Studios, London, England; Skratch Studios, Metropolis Studios; Westlake Studios, Hollywood, CA; Whitfield Street Studios, Metropolis Studios.
Arrangers: Roy Bittan; Simon Franglen.
Theater composer Andrew Lloyd Webber pioneered the idea of anticipating a stage production by issuing a studio cast album with Jesus Christ Superstar, which topped the charts as a record before being mounted as a show. By the late '90s, Lloyd Webber had come to a more conventional approach to cast albums, but when Boyzone's version of "No Matter What" from Whistle Down the Wind topped the British charts six weeks after the musical opened in London, he opted to assemble a various artists collection of pop versions of the show's songs prior to releasing an original cast recording. Having collaborated with Jim Steinman as lyricist, Lloyd Webber had a built-in selection of artists the two had worked with before. From Lloyd Webber's stable came Donny Osmond, Michael Ball, and Elaine Paige, who had appeared in his earlier shows, while Steinman could bring in such clients as Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler. The resulting album produced few clues for anyone who hadn't attended a performance of Whistle Down the Wind in the West End as to what it might be about, but it was an enjoyable collection of songs that often sounded like they'd been written by Lloyd Webber or Steinman rather than the two together. The title song, presented in a chart version by Tina Arena, and one by Lottie Mayor of the stage production, with Lloyd Webber on piano, and "No Matter What" had familiar Lloyd Webber melodies and romantic lyrics that could have been by anyone. But "Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts," performed by Tyler, and the seven-and-a-half-minute "A Kiss Is a Terrible Thing to Waste," sung by Meat Loaf, had all the melodramatic rock & roll excess associated with songs written by Steinman alone. At the very least, Steinman proved himself Lloyd Webber's strongest collaborator since Tim Rice. ~ William Ruhlmann