Good Thing Going - The Tonics

[HollywoodHillsCookie]

I like this arrangement, for this particular special. It would be dead boring if all the songs were presented exactly as they were in the original shows. Most of the selected songs were done traditionally. I think this is the only one that was reinterpreted...unless you count the boys choir version of "Our Time". (And Dorothy Louden's pieces.) Right?

[mrolluque]

For me, this was the highlight of the concert. I LOVE THE ARRANGEMENT.

[Colakills]

Um... Isn't it worth mentioning in the description that this video also contains an arrangement of Company too?

[billyjazz1]

For those who criticized this,grow up! It's seldom that you get the chance to hear a

great vocal arrangement of a song,Sondheim or otherwise. The Tonics are carrying on

an almost extinct form of singing in the tradition of The Hi-Lo's and The Four Freshman.

[sdelchamps]

The arrangement is self-indulgent and ruins what is a great ballad. For chrissake, the arranger doesn't even respect the melody, with its subtle surprises.

[tomluvspatti]

I really enjoyed that. It's always nice to see songs you love sang differently.

[3Love86]

this is just ....pure crap

[daveriva]

Anyone who was there at the time knows that the Tonics were the cutting edge of the time. Without exageration - they were the best. Sold out everywhere and loved even furher away than even radios could reach. As an entertainment proffessional for overe thirty years, I can safely say that the Tonics set the bar for all tose to follow. Thanks to them and thier incredible art.

[Loejyrrab]

@daveriva Damn straight! There was a lot to love in this fabulous concert, B.Peters, the great baritone bros and the wonderful late tenor Jerry Hadley, but this piece has always been a fav.of mine. To hell with all the arguments in this forum, these guys were terrific. A unique way to sing that song and I loved it.

[beardedartisan]

Interesting ... this for me perfectly demonstrates why JRB is an amazing musician but an inferior musical dramatist. His arrangement is dazzling, but you're too aware of the arrangement to appreciate the sentiment - in fact the overt showiness is not appropriate to the content of the lyrics at all. JRB often (but not always) lets his own music run away with him. As Sondheim once said to Starobin: "You don't need to make my songs work."

[theBestArts]

I respectfully disagree. This was presented in a concert setting as a stand-alone song. I thought it was perfectly arranged and performed in that context.

[beardedartisan]

@theBestArts - I guess we'll have to disagree on this one! Even as a stand-alone piece, the song tells a complete story about a relationship that ended too soon, to the regret of the singer. The tone is intended to be wistful and introspective; this arrangement, whilst musically very enjoyable, runs against the grain of that tone. To me, It's like hearing an up-tempo, Dixie-land version of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile"; musically fun, but inappropriate to the song's sentiment.

[operagirl84]

@beardedartisan - The arrangement wasn't done by JRB - It was by Billy Stritch and the Tonics. BTW, Sondheim personally asked the Tonics to perform in the concert. JRB didn't arrange ANY of the Tonics music.

[beardedartisan]

@operagirl84 - Fair enough, I had my facts completely wrong! Thanks for setting me straight.