Who is the Wizard
And here we have another of the videos from that Wizard of Oz in concert production. Making his entrance to rapturous applause is none other than Roger Daltrey of The Who, with tin bucket on his head, strutting on stage lock-kneed as only a rock legend and Tin Woodsman should, singing "If I Only Had a Heart", opening with the original introductory lyrics not used in the movie. The arrangement, while hardly what one would call rock, is most certainly the least traditional in the production. But as you'll hear, it whimsically (and intentionally) fits the performer and therefore the moment. And getting a wonderful solo as well here is David Sanborn on the sax.
By the way, I've talked about some of the cast in this production, but it goes even deeper than that. For starters, of course, we have the aforementioned Roger Daltrey, Jackson Browne, Nathan Lane, Joel Grey and then-unknown Jewel, along with David Sanborn and Ry Cooder as soloists in the orchestra. But the cast also includes Natalie Cole as Glinda the Good Witch, Debra Winger as the Wicked Witch of the West, Lucie Arnaz as Auntie Em, and Pheobe Snow, Ronnie Spector (!) and Dr. John, who each fill in with some solo work. And the Boys Choir of Harlem appears throughout. Some cast, eh.
And so this is where I lament in bewilderment why on earth this hasn't been repeated on television, released on DVD or put the CD back in print. It can't be a rights issue, since it was released on VHS. Ah, if only someone had a brain, or a heart.
Speaking of which --
Comments