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List Price: $7.99 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 58544
Released: May 13, 2003 |
| Our Price: $5.43 |
| Used Price: $4.99 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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House of Flowers (1954 Original Broadway Cast) Track Listing:
1. Overture
2. Waitin' - Dolores Harper, Ada Moore, Enid Mosier
3. One Man Ain't Quite Enough - Pearl Bailey
4. A Sleepin' Bee - Diahann Carroll
5. Bamboo Cage (Smellin' of Vanilla) - Dolores Harper, Ada Moore, Enid Mosier
6. House of Flowers - - Rawn Spearman, Diahann Carroll
7. Two Ladies in the Shade - Ada Moore, Enid Mosier, chorus
8. What Is a Friend For? - Pearl Bailey
9. Mardi Gras - M. Burton & company
10. I Never Has Seen Snow - Diahann Carroll
11. I'm Gonna Leave Off Wearing My Shoes - Diahann Carroll
12. Has I Let You Down? - Pearl Bailey
13. Slide, Boy, Slide - Juanita Hall
14. Don't Like Goodbyes - Pearl Bailey
15. Turtle Song - Rawn Spearman & Diahann Carroll
16. Mardi Gras Waltz (bonus) - Percy Faith and His Orchestra
17. Two Ladies in the Shade (bonus) - Enid Mosier
18. Otille and the Bee (bonus) - Truman Capote
19. A Sleepin' Bee (bonus) - Harold Arlen (demo recording to Truman Capote)
House of Flowers (1954 Original Broadway Cast) Reviews:
Re-Placed, not Re-mastered 
2007-04-27 - I am becoming quite irritated by peopel releasing "Original Broaway Cast Recordings" of shows and then substituting different cuts of some songs that never were on the original ALBUM in the first place.
I got this cd because of "Two Ladies in the Shade" and they include two different versions -- neither of them were the version I grew to love from the album. There is also a song mising that was on the album that started out as something silly like "I'll have to tie you to the bamboo tree..." - WHERE IS IT ON THE CD?
The IDIOTS who took the liberities with this musical ruined the few highlights it had going for it. The folks who wrote the notes for the book were equally unprofessional to defame one of the stars by talking about how difficult that person was during the development of the play. Excuse me, the person is no longer living; dissing them NOW is childish and unprofessional.
I'm scrapping this POS, finding a fresh album and recording it digitally.
Diahann Carroll is, quite simply - breath taking beautiful in the majority of her cuts, however.
Before "Blood" there was "Flowers" 
2006-02-24 - With all the appropriate hype surrounding the film "Capote" it may be hard to imagine the author of "In Cold Blood" writing the book and lyrics to "House of Flowers". This original cast album with bonus tracks sheds light on the multi-faceted author as well as on the talents of the legendary cast album producer Goddard Lieberson. This disc would grace the library of anyone who either appreciates the golden age of Broadway musicals or who aspires to appreciate that special time.
Musically Interesting and Quite Enjoyable
2005-01-16 - In "American Songbook" retrospectives, Harold Arlen is usually given about 20 seconds of due compared to the 10 - 15 minutes given to the likes of the Gershwins, Jerome Kern, or Richard Rodgers. Buy this album and you'll see why that is such an injustice.
Arlen's complex, blues-style melodic phrases add extreme beauty to the title song and "I Never Has Seen Snow". The latter is now one of my all-time favorites. "Have I Let You Down" is a sneaky comic delight, and "A Sleepin' Bee" provides a nice moment of hopefulness.
Pearl Bailey adds her signature tartness to the proceedings, and thereby sometimes undermines your enjoyment. Diahann Carroll goes from girl to woman quite nicely. I'm not so sure Juanita Hall's song ("Slide, Boy Slide") contributes much to the musical but it may appeal to one's prurient side.
I suggest reading the liner notes AFTER you have heard the CD.
Forgotten flop brought back on CD 
2004-05-23 - From the start of its unusual Overture (with it's strange transitions) HOUSE OF FLOWERS is something unique. The Harold Arlen score has the proper Carribean flavour, but is still rooted in the Broadway vernacular. Truman Capote's book and lyrics are more variable, and the show has failed twice (1954 and an off-Broadway revival in 1968, recorded by United Artists but not issued on Cd) for the same reason most shows fail: A faulty or unintresting book. Still, its not the book that is showcased on the CD.
Although Columbia's original 1954 LP release was a fairly full record for its day (53 min 55 seconds) this CD offers longer takes of both "Mardi Gras" and "Slide Boy Slide" adding nearly 2 minutes to the album proper. The reissue also includes 12 minutes of bonus tracks making a very attractive mid-priced reissue.
The original LP artwork adorns the CD cover, and there are excellent liner notes and a synopsis. The original LP jacket did not include a synopsis, a rare omission for Columbia records. The LP also juggled some of the songs so the record actually ended with the Mardi Gras number (which actually belongs in the first act!)
Some people here have questioned placing "The Turtle Song" as the last number in the show. This is correct. According to my copy of THE BEST PLAYS OF 1954-55, the song listing indicates that "Don't like Goodbyes" was sung in Act II, Scene 5 with "The Turtle Song" (and the un-recorded Finale) in Act II, Scene 6. What is strange about this song listing (which was taken from the opening night playbill) is that the song "Gonna Leave off Wearing My shoes" is NOT listed at all (although a song called "Husband Cage" is listed at the top of Act II, it is sung by Pansy, Tulip, Gladiola and Ensemble...but not Ottilie!) Even stranger... a 1980 reissue in Time Life's AMERICAN MUSICALS series puts the song in Act One but that placement may be based on the out-of-town try-outs. The song certainly makes a pleasing opening to Act II on the Cd. On this CD reissue it is listed as "Can I Leave off Weaing My Shoes" but Diahann Carroll clearly sings "Gonna..." in the lyric.
The sound quality of this reissue is greatly improved over the muddy sound of the previous Columbia Special Products issue, and restores the original mono mix. (In 1963 Columbia re-released this LP in fake stereo and that was the version in general circulation though to the end of the LP era.)
The performances are unmatchable today. Pearl Bailey's now famous quip at the end of "One Man Ain't Quite Enough" ("Supposed to have an ad-lib filled in here for the record date but we've been so terribly busy over at the theatre we haven't had time!") alludes to the show's tumultuous try-out and preview period, even though Bailey herself was cause of much of the trouble. Despite a cold, Diahann Carroll sounds fine. Juanita Hall is given surprisingly little to do for 3rd billed role.
Richard Rodgers has cited "A Sleepin' Bee" as one of has favoutite songs from the score, and Barbra Streisand has recorded several songs from this show on her early albums, so even if the show spun off few "hit parade" hits, the songs did become standards.
Given Sony's desire to concentrate on re-mastering and re-issueing teh big hit shows from their catalogue (MY FAIR LADY, WEST SIDE STORY etc) it's nice the label has given attention to this forgotten flop.
A must for both musical theatre and Capote fans.
2004-05-23 - Frankly, this score is not as great as the sum of its parts. However, there are indeed some great numbers in this show. Arlen's music is always wonderful. Capote's lyrics are beautiful (it's hard to believe that he had never written lyrics before or that he never wrote them again - what a waste for musical thaetre fans.) Probably the best known song from this score is "A Sleepin' Bee" sung in the show by Diahann Carroll and included on Barbra Streisand's first Grammy award winning album [Streisand loves this score and has also recorded "Don't Like Goodbyes," "House of Flowers" and "I Never Has Seen Snow" - this last is one of her finest vocal performances ever and can be heard on "Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments"]. Pearl Bailey has a couple of terrific numbers here, especially "One Man Ain't Quite Enough." "Can I Leave Off Wearing My Shoes" is lots of fun. However, what makes this CD an absolute must is the inclusion of Capote reading from his original short story "House of Flowers" and Arlen's demo recording of "A Sleepin Bee" as a work in progress. What a treat.
