Audio CD review:
Jim Steinman (Composer), Ray Errol Fox (Lyricist), Bobby Blume, Yancey Arias, Bruce Yeko, Jeff Olmsted, George Costacos Best, Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Christensen, Rayme Cornell - The Confidence Man

Jim Steinman (Composer), Ray Errol Fox (Lyricist), Bobby Blume, Yancey Arias, Bruce Yeko, Jeff Olmsted, George Costacos Best, Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Christensen, Rayme Cornell - The Confidence Man

Band: Jim Steinman (Composer), Ray Errol Fox (Lyricist), Bobby Blume, Yancey Arias, Bruce Yeko, Jeff Olmsted, George Costacos Best, Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Christensen, Rayme Cornell Title: The Confidence Man Rating: Release Date: 09 December, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: New Orleans Is Comin' to Me - Norbert Leo Butz, , , Chorus 2: Pitch Penny 3: Such Heaps of Fine Friends - Mark Nadler, , Terry Waldo 4: Edging into Darkness - Julia K. Murney, 5: Methinks - Eric Michael Gillett, 6: Confidence - Mark Nadler 7: Nocturnally Yours - LaChanze, 8: Pain Humbles - Norbert Leo Butz 9: Maiden Is Only as Maiden as She Feels - Garrett Long, 10: Give Us This Day Our Daily Flesh - Chuck Cooper 11: Sanctimonious Sambo - Terry Waldo 12: Milady 13: Soft-Handed Gentleman (It's Your Life) - Andrea Marcovicci, 14: Something of This Masquerade May Follow - Chorus

Customer Reviews Generally wonderful songs (lyrics and music) though lacking a cohesive narrative According to the lyricist, Ray Errol Fox, the story begins on April 1, 1861. The Confidence Man is "loosely" based on Herman Melville's novel of the same name. Passengers board a Mississippi River steamer bound for New Orleans. Among the passengers is the title character who over the course of the journey will disguise himself variously (e. g. Healman, Whiteman, Black Guinea, Helpman, etc. ). The story explores trust or confidence in a satirical fashion (ironically aboard the steamer "Fidele"). What is a con to do when he is bested at his own game? Though I do have one complaint (mentioned below), I thoroughly enjoyed The Confidence Man. The music is wonderfully authentic to an earlier time and a specific place. The music alone conjures visions of a Mississippi steamer floating through St. Louis (pronounced "Lou-ee", mind you) or New Orleans a century or more ago. The vocalists are quite talented. There are uptempo rags, hauntingly beautiful ballads (note the ending of Edging Into Darkness which is reminiscent of Making Love Out of Nothing at All), humorous and sassy songs, and catchy melodies all around. Crediting the lyricist, the songs have a wonderful literary quality. In fairness, a few of the songs do little for me, but even in these I see appreciable qualities (for instance, though Milady is beautiful, it also sounds dated to me; though Give Us This Day Our Daily Flesh is not as pleasing musically as others, it is the most dramatic song). A couple warnings may be in order, however. If because this recording features music by Jim Steinman you are expecting the operatic rock for which he is most notorious (e. g. Meatloaf), you will be in for a surprise. Though diverse genres are represented, expect to find more in common with the musicals Ragtime or Chicago than Bat Out of Hell. That is not a bad thing unless you purchased this wanting a Bonnie Tyler or Meatloaf album. Additionally (and my primary complaint), if you are expecting a fully realized story told through song, you will also be disappointed. Though you will certainly pick up elements of the characters and the story within the songs, the plot is not apparent. This album could easily pass for a compilation of unrelated songs instead of a musical. Compounding the difficulty of grasping any narrative structure or plot is the fact that the roles were not cast, the songs were. In other words, vocalists were assembled to record specific songs; no one was assigned a particular role. So if the Confidence Man sings five different songs, hypothetically there could be five different artists portraying him. That said, read the synopsis by Ray Fox (and the Melville book as well?). Enough context is provided to enhance your enjoyment of the music if not to fully comprehend how it all pieces together. This is definitely a quality recording. great work from Jim Steinman ) has shown a more classic style of him in this one-of-a-kind musical. Jim Steinman, known for his operatic-style rock music (Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, etc. He takes several styles from the Civil War era and twists them with modern musical treatments. You can hear many bits and pieces of music used in this album that Steinman uses much later in some of his rock songs, such as the intro to Making Love Out of Nothing at All, chorale phrases from The Future Ain't What it Used to Be and many others. If you are a Steinman fan, this is a must!! Ray Earl Fox does a great job with the lyrics and they compliment the music to a tee. . Loved it so much I got the rights! Fox is a wordsmith much in the tradition of Stephen Sondheim, with intricate wordplay and quick patter. Upon hearing this musical I loved it so much I went out and got the rights to direct it onstage this October in Cincinnati! I was always a fan of Jim Steinman's music, but I now also have a great respect for the lyrics of Ray Fox. I would suspect that it was his early work with Fox on this project that led Steinman himself into developing into a world class, phrase twisting. lyricist himself. And of course you have Steinman's great ear for melody, but with a much different feel than his Rock music. A great lost treasure of American theater (come see it in October!). . You can see a complete list of all Jim Steinman (Composer), Ray Errol Fox (Lyricist), Bobby Blume, Yancey Arias, Bruce Yeko, Jeff Olmsted, George Costacos Best, Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Christensen, Rayme Cornell discography, or go back to the Jim Steinman (Composer), Ray Errol Fox (Lyricist), Bobby Blume, Yancey Arias, Bruce Yeko, Jeff Olmsted, George Costacos Best, Norbert Leo Butz, Tom Christensen, Rayme Cornell tabs