{"product_id":"the-story-so-far","title":"The Story So Far...","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003ch3\u003e \u003cspan\u003eAmazon.com\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/h3\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan\u003eStephen Sondheim’s career is so rich that trying to encompass it on a mere four discs seems like a tall order. This satisfying set tries to please both newbies (the first three discs propose an overview of the master’s career via excerpts from all of his shows) and hardcore fans (the fourth disc sheds some light on lesser-known corners of Sondheim’s oeuvre). Of course, the individual selections won’t please everybody (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSunday in the Park with George\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e gets one song while \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEvening Primrose\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInto the Woods\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e get four each?) but at least there are clear curatorial decisions. For instance, disc 2 covers only four shows—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCompany,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFollies,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA Little Night Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePacific Overtures\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e—and clearly puts them up as Sondheim’s iconic works. Disc 4 is incredibly fun, maybe because a lot of the material is new to us. Highlights include \"Truly Content\" from 1962’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePassionella,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e excerpts from Sondheim’s superb Jazz Age–style score for Alain Resnais’ 1974 movie \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStavisky,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and not one but four previously unreleased tracks from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDick Tracy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The physical set comes with a nice booklet that includes, among other things, an essay by Sondheim expert Mark Eden Horowitz and the lyrics of the previously unreleased songs. -- \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eElisabeth Vincentelli\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Audio Cd, September 30, 2008","offer_id":45926402425023,"sku":"b70b9fe9-bd98-4b96-be43-bfcb28f71d65","price":132.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/49681374d5a23ae22d6931e8395e9e98.jpg?v=1785265610","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/the-story-so-far","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}