Variations/Tell Me On A Sunday/Song And Dance: Recordings (1978-2003)

Lord Wiki says here: "Caprice No. 24 in A Minor is the final caprice of Niccolò Paganini's 24 Caprices, and a famous work for solo violin. The caprice, in the key of A Minor, consists of a theme, 11 variations, and a finale. His 24 Caprices were probably composed between 1802 and 1817, while he was in the service of the Baciocchi court.

It is widely considered one of the most difficult pieces ever written for the solo violin. It requires many highly advanced techniques such as parallel octaves and rapid shifting covering many intervals, extremely fast scales and arpeggios including minor scales, left hand pizzicato, high positions, and quick string crossings. Additionally, there are many double stops, including thirds and tenths." If anyone is familiar with "The Phantom of the Opera", you can imagine the Phantom playing this for Christine. Of course, considering Andrew Lloyd Webber, this may be important.

Wiki goes on to list what I presume is all of the known variations on this music. Composers/artists include, which I have arranged in order: Frédéric Chopin (1828), Franz Liszt (1838, revised 1851), Johannes Brahms (1862-63), Mark Hambourg (1902), Hans Bottermund (1911), Ignaz Friedman (1914), Karol Szymanowski (1918), Leopold Auer (1922, possibly?), Manuel Quiroga (1928 and 1942), Sergei Rachmaninoff (1934), Witold Lutosławski (1940-41 and 1978), Gregor Piatigorsky (1946), Boris Blacher (1947), First Piano Quartet (1947), Benny Goodman (1947), Nathan Milstein (1954, possibly?), Pavel Necheporenko (1960s???), Eugène Ysaӱe (1960), George Thalben-Ball (1962), Charles Camilleri (1968, possibly?), George Rochberg (1970), David Baker (1982), Toshi Ichiyanagi (1983-86), Rafał Augustyn (1987-89), Alexander Rosenblatt (1988), James Barnes (1988), Fazil Say (1988), Aria (1989), Philip Wilby (1991), Angra (1993), Eliot Fisk (1993), Joe Stump (1993), Frank Proto (1994, 2001 and 2002), Helloween (1996), Robert Muczynski (1996), Victor Wooten (1996), Poul Ruders (1999-2000), Simon Proctor (2000s???), Yngwie Malmsteen (2000), Lowell Liebermann (2001), Stanisław Skrowaczewski (2003), Jeff Nelsen (2004), Alison Balsom (2006), Luc Baiwir (2007), David Garrett (2007), BanYa (2008), Denis Matsuev (2010), The Great Kat (2011), Marc-André Hamelin (2011), JJ Lin (2011), Nikolai Managazze (2014), David Ludwig (2018) and In Flames (2023). Well, some kind of order anyway.

By January 1978, when Andrew Lloyd Webber released the album "Variations" on MCA Records, he had composed scores for "The Likes of Us" with lyrics by Tim Rice (unproduced until 2005 when it was recorded live at Andrew's Sydmonton Festival), "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat", again with lyrics by Tim Rice (recently having been performed in London's West End in 1973), the short-lived "Come Back Richard Your Country Needs You", again with Tim, "Jesus Christ Superstar", again, Tim (first an album and then the Broadway production directed by Tom O'Horgan, followed by Jim Sharman's mountings in Australia and the West End, and the film directed by Norman Jewison), the film score for "Gumshoe" directed by Stephen Frears (which, as far as I'm aware, has never had an official soundtrack release), then the film score for "The Odessa File" directed by Ronald Neame from the book by Frederick Forsyth (we will come back to him in another review), "Jeeves" with book and lyrics by Alan Ayckbourn (Andrew's first outright flop), and "Evita", once again with Tim, (first the album and then the celebrated production by Harold Prince).

Let's back up here a second. "The Odessa File" soundtrack released on MCA Records has an interesting set of credits: On Solo Cello is Andrew's younger brother Julian Lloyd Webber, Keyboards is Anne Odell, John Priseman on Bass Guitar, Vic Flick on Lead Guitar, and Simon Phillips playing Drums. Why is this interesting? Well, let's fast forward to the album credits on "Variations": Don Airey and Rod Argent provide Keyboards, Jon Hiseman on Drums and Percussion, John Mole with Bass, Gary Moore on Guitar, Barbara Thompson playing Wind Instruments, and Julian Lloyd Webber on Cello. I don't really get why that is interesting, you say? Look at the ensemble on the former: Solo Cello, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Lead Guitar, and Drums. The latter: Keyboards, Drums and Percussion, Bass, Guitar, Wind Instruments and Cello. What is the difference here, I ask? All I can make out is the Wind Instruments. And what is the one player they both share in common? Julian Lloyd Webber on Cello! Whatever Andrew's spark for his "Variations", I'd like to think (and I'm not the only one to have pointed this out) that the ensemble for "The Odessa File" might have had something to do with it.

Re: Julian, let's have a glance again at Lord Wiki: "Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer and music educator William Lloyd Webber and his wife, Jean Johnstone (a piano teacher). He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The composer Herbert Howells was his godfather. He won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in 1968 and completed his studies with Pierre Fournier in Geneva in 1973." A comprehensive list of Julian's stage and recordings credits can also be found here.

The point that the two brothers decided to work together was, as legend tells, when Julian and Andrew had made a bet over whether or not Leyton Orient would win a football match, and when Andrew lost "Variations" became his next project. Following the 1977 Sydmonton Festival, where Julian and co first performed the variations (I wish I could find an exact date), MCA Records released the album on 22 January 1978. Charting at #2 on the UK Album Charts, "Variations" had become the most successful Lloyd Webber project, to that date, to be launched without the involvement of Tim Rice. Indeed, at that point "Evita" had yet to be performed onstage. It was five months before the show would premiere at the Prince Edward Theatre, London on 21 June 1978.

By the time "Evita" opened at the Broadway Theatre on 25 September 1979, the next Andrew Lloyd Webber piece to have already been previewed at the 1979 Sydmonton Festival: a one-woman piece entitled "Tell me on a Sunday". Wiki tries to explain that the project had been envisaged as a new collaboration with Tim Rice, but for reasons that haven't been cited here those plans fell apart, and Andrew decided to work with lyricist Don Black. This was news at the time because Andrew, up to that point, had, by and large, worked with Tim Rice. "Jeeves" had been the exception, and Tim originally was going to write lyrics. "Gumshoe" and "The Odessa File" had been film scores, and Tim had contributed lyrics to songs in both cases.

Don Black, at this point, had written lyrics for stage musicals including "Maybe that's your Problem" (1971) with composer Walter Scharf, "Billy" (1974) with frequent collaborator John Barry and "Bar Mitzvah Boy" (1976) with "Gypsy" legend Jule Styne. Thank you, Lord Wiki.

In film he had written lyrics for John Barry on "Thunderball" (1965), "Born Free" (1966), "Diamonds are Forever" (1971), "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1972), "The Tamarind Seed" (1974), "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), and the TV film "Love among the Ruins" (1965), as well as "To Sir, with Love" (1967) with composer Mark London, "The Italian Job" (1969) with Quincy Jones, "Where's Jack?" (1969), "True Grit" (1969), and "Gold" (1974), with Elmer Bernstein, "Passion Potion" (1971) with Gordon Rose, "Ben" (1972) with Walter Scharf, "Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze" (1975) with John Philip Souza, "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (1976) with Henry Mancini, and "The Bitch" (1979) with Biddu. Between Wiki and IMDB, I've roughly been able to assemble this list. There's probably something that's been overlooked.

Don's lyrics for the title song from "Born Free" (1966) had earned him an Oscar for Best Song, a nomination for Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards thanks to a version from pianist Roger Williams, further Oscar nominations for the title theme from "True Grit" (1969), the title song from "Ben" (1972), "Wherever Love Takes Me" from "Gold" (1974) and "Come to Me" from "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (1976). In conclusion, a pretty formidable track record for any prospective Lloyd Webber lyricist.

Having been recorded as an album, "Tell me on a Sunday" was filmed at the Royalty Theatre in London on 28 January 1980, before being broadcast on the BBC on 12 February. Once again, thank you, Lord Wiki. The album, released in February 1980 on Polydor Records, climbed to #2 on the UK charts (echoing the chart success of "Variations" two years before), with the single "Take That Look off Your Face" coming in at #3. Again, thank you, Lord Wiki! (And Discogs for the Polydor label which I had half-remembered!).

Around this time, as Andrew explains in his autobiography "Unmasked", there had been interest in bringing "Variations" to the stage, but the problem had been that the material, as it stood, only ran about an hour's length, if even that. It would probably have to be extended or paired with something else, which, if I'm remembering my stories correctly, led to the possibility of Andrew pairing it with "Practical Cats". History, of course, tells us what happened next with that project.

Other possibilities, again if I'm remembering my stories correctly, included a piece about Leoncavallo and Puccini writing their versions of "La Bohème" (which is where the "Memory" tune came from), and even a version of the Charles Dickens short story "The Signal-Man" (which *is* realized over twenty years later, as part of Andrew's version of "The Woman in White".) Where did I hear the one about "The Signal-Man", you're wondering? Well, if I haven't bungled this, it was Michael Coveney's "Cats on a Chandelier" from 1999. But whether or not these pieces were being considered as a second half for "Variations", I do feel (and I've said this before in another review) that Andrew was looking at composing a smaller piece following "Evita".

With the mega London production of "Cats" under Andrew's belt, and the Broadway production of "Joseph" at the Entermedia Theatre, with ongoing runs of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita" on both sides of the Atlantic, Cameron Mackintosh came to Andrew one day with a brainwave. Why don't they take "Tell me on a Sunday" and "Variations" and call it "Song and Dance", with "Tell me on a Sunday" becoming the song half and "Variations" the dance. It would be billed as a sort of "concert for the theatre".

"Song and Dance" would open at the Palace Theatre in London, what would become the first acquisition of Andrew's theatrical empire in the West End, on 26 March 1982. John Caird directed Marti Webb in the "Tell me on a Sunday" portion with Anthony Van Laast choreographing "Variations" led by Wayne Sleep from the original production of "Cats". Set and lighting was designed by David Hersey with costumes from Robin Don and sound by Andrew Bruce and Julian Beech. Thanks, Lord Wiki, for the dates and names there. The cast album, produced by Martin Levan, was recorded live on opening night and released as a double LP. When the production closed in 1984, a second album appeared along with a TV broadcast. This was the first time Sarah Brightman had recorded a leading role in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

The Australian production would follow in 1983 with Gaye MacFarlane and John Meehan. Lyricist and director Richard Maltby, Jr. was brought in for the American production arriving on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on 18 September 1985, with Bernadette Peters and Christopher d'Amboise in the leads. The cast recording would follow, but would only contain the "Tell me on a Sunday" portion. This version was successful enough that it earned eight Tony Award nominations, with Bernadette Peters taking the award for Best Actress in a Musical.

More productions followed over the years, including a London revival in the late 1980s, and a 2007 production in Israel, but, by and large, "Song and Dance" doesn't seem to have been produced very much since.

In 2003, "Tell me on a Sunday" was expanded in a new, updated version at the Gielgud Theatre, London. Five new songs were written, including the single "Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime", and with additional material by Jackie Clune. Thanks Wiki again (!!). It played there for ten months directed by Christopher Luscombe and Denise Van Outen in the main role. Marti Webb even reprised the part during the run and later toured with it. It was the Denise version that made it to CD, which I tracked down after some bother (Was it ever released in Australia? Or did I stumble on a second hand import?).

Since that time though, "Tell me on a Sunday" has been performed around the world, although several of the changes from 2003 have apparently been reverted, although I don't think I could tell you what. "Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime" has become "Dreams Never Run on Time", which I've never heard nor does there seem to be any recording.

Recordings! Ah yes! Firstly, if you enjoy Andrew Lloyd Webber, I recommend the "Variations" and "Tell me on a Sunday" albums. If you enjoy classical and Paganini, you might be intrigued by the "Variations". Andrew, in his book, strongly recommends his readers to try it out on vinyl. Both the London "Song & Dance" recordings are about equal in my eyes, due to the changes between the two of them, and the Bernadette Peters is worth checking out. After all, it's Bernadette. There is also the orchestral version of "Variations" from 1986, once again featuring Julian Lloyd Webber on cello. One reason to get this recording is so you can hear the William Lloyd Webber composition "Aurora". It was the first time I'd heard any of his music, and actually the only time to date. It was quite a moving experience.

The Denise Van Outen is still relatively new to me, but fascinating due to the changes. "Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime" was a real keeper from this, for me. Unfortunately, I just can't get the image out of my head of Denise in "Neighbours" getting into her car, opening a parcel so she can pour herself a drink, and then getting blasted off the face of the earth by Rob Mills, also from the Melbourne production of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Hearing the album in that context is... quite something. But, of course, that's just me.

With that said, I think I've tried to cover everything. Oh there's this! The single from "Variations", if you didn't know, became the theme for "The South Bank Show" in the UK which ran from 1978 to 2010. Whether it was Paganini or Lloyd Webber, this was a tune audiences knew relatively well!

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.