''Howard Sings Ashman'' is a
two-disc album compiled by
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin.
Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics includ ...
as part of their ''Songwriter Series''. The album features
Howard Ashman
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
singing selections from his musicals, including ''
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'' (1979), ''
Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors may refer to:
* ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman
** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film
** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptati ...
'' (1982), ''
Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses ...
'' (1986), ''
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...
'' (1989), ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
'' (1991) and ''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' (1992).
[
]
Production
The album is produced with the assistance and cooperation of Howard's sister Sarah Ashman Gillespie, and his life partner William Lauch.[''Howard Sings Ashman'']
psclassics.com, accessed October 23, 2019
The album consists of private demo recordings of Howard Ashman. The first disc has 18 tracks which feature Howard's works with Alan Menken
Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for '' The Little Mermaid'' (1989), '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ' ...
, including hits from shows ''Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors may refer to:
* ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman
** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film
** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptati ...
'', ''The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...
'' and ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
'', deleted songs from ''Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', songs from lesser known musical called '' God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'', individual tracks from ''Diamonds'' (with Jonathan Sheffer) and a song from the unfinished musical ''Babe''.[Ruhlmann, William]
"Howard Sings Ashman"
allmusic.com, accessed October 23, 2019
The second disc, a bonus CD, features 15 complete demo tracks from Ashman's collaboration with Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " E ...
, the musical ''Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses ...
'', with Ashman and Hamlisch singing the songs. ''Smile'' was a short-lived musical about a teen beauty pageant and did not have a cast album. William Ruhlmann, in his review on AllMusic wrote of ''Smile'': "...the score comes off as witty and appealing, even with two adult men portraying a bunch of teenage girls."[
]
Track listing
Disc one
Disc two
*"Bad" is an unused song for the 1986 movie, ''Little Shop Of Horrors''. It was replaced by "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space". The song did not make it past the demo stage, but the sequence was storyboarded for the film
References
{{Howard Ashman
2008 compilation albums
Howard Ashman albums