MUST admit that I’ve never been a big fan of musicals. Indeed, the closest I got to enjoying one was Camelot, and that was only because of a long-standing interest in all matters Arthurian. However, I still tote around this soundtrack on my iPod, and have been known to spontaneously break into song and dance at the local strip mall with my rousing rendition of “The Lusty Month of May”, backed by a chorus of frolicsome maidens dancing gaily with flowers in their hair.

Hmm. Or I might have dreamt that.

Ah, my point jabs at me expectantly. I’ve lately received the original 1965 Broadway cast recording of the Sherlockian musical, Baker Street. I’ve listened to it a few times now, intent on writing some sort of short review, but it’s very difficult to appreciate the album without any sort of proper context: I have little idea of the storylines, and the songs give away very few clues as to what they might be. Or perhaps I’m just too bored to notice them. The tracks seem to alternate between syrupy love songs and uninspired group numbers with forced melodies and very few hooks to catch the infernal jukebox in my head.

However, given my history of disliking 99% of musicals, you should completely ignore my opinion here. I’ve been looking for a review of the album to provide a more balanced and educated view of the product, and Broadway.com seems to be as apt a place as any to find one. From Ken Mandelbaum’s The Insider comes Holmes and Watson Sing, which summarises it succinctly for Sherlockians thusly:

Another Cohen-produced failure was the 1965 Broadway musical Baker Street, which managed a run of 313 performances but ultimately lost money. A self-described “musical adventure,” Baker Street was an adaptation of several of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about detective Sherlock Holmes, borrowing elements from “The Adventure of the Empty House,” “The Final Problem,” “A Study in Scarlet,” and “A Scandal in Bohemia.” The latter was necessary to include as it was the only Holmes story in which there was a strong female character, something deemed necessary for a Broadway musical about the famous sleuth.

Most of the piece is about the actual play rather than the album itself, but Mandelbaum (eventually) gives his opinion of the new CD release: “As one who saw the show at a Saturday matinee preview, I can attest that Baker Street was an enjoyable show to sit through. But on disc, it’s only moderately entertaining.” Read the rest. (Oh, what I would give to have seen Christopher Walken in this production. Yes, he is only Moriarty’s “killer”, of course, but a singing and dancing killer.)

Oddly enough, the “other” musical, originally shown in London (I believe) and called –appropriately enough– Sherlock Holmes, is actually something I almost like. More on that later.