Showtunes is the result of collaboration between Stephin Merritt with Chen Shi-zheng on three pieces of musical theatre; Orphan of Zhao (2003), Peach Blossom Fan (2004), and My Life as a Fairy Tale (2005). Select tracks from these are featured on this album. It was released on Nonesuch Records on March 16, 2006 but was available from peer-to-peer networks from February 20, 2006. The remainder of songs from the shows were released exclusively through online music stores.
| Showtunes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | March 16, 2006 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Length | 48:33 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Stephin Merritt chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Daily Herald |  [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[4] |
| The Gazette | 2/5[5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| The Harvard Crimson | [7] |
| MusicOMH | [8] |
| NOW | 4/5[9] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[10] |
| Slant Magazine | [11] |
The album received generally favorable reviews from critics; on Metacritic, it has a score of 69 out of 100.
Track listing
edit- "Theme from The Orphan of Zhao" – 00:59
- "At Madam Plum's" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 02:35
- "The Top and the Ball" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 01:49
- "What a Fucking Lovely Day!" [From Orphan of Zhao] – 01:22
- "Auntie Toothache" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 02:48
- "It's Hard to Be the Emperor" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:08
- "Sounds Expensive" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:36
- "The Red Shoes" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 01:43
- "Fan Dance Cha-Cha" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:17
- "The Little Maiden of the Sea" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 03:53
- "Ukulele Me!" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:08
- "Train Song" [From Orphan of Zhao] – 01:17
- "The Little Hebrew Girl" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 02:10
- "Shall We Sing a Duet?" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 00:55
- "The Song of the Humble Serf" [From Orphan of Zhao] – 00:56
- "The Collar and the Garter" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 01:40
- "Shall We Sing a Duet?" (Reprise) [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:38
- "Sorry, Wrong Show" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:41
- "The Storks" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 01:24
- "In the Spring, When I Was Young" [From Orphan of Zhao] – 02:02
- "The Ugly Little Duck" [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 03:41
- "And He Would Say..." [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 03:02
- "The World is Not Made of Flowers" [From Orphan of Zhao] – 01:14
- "Behold the Lowly Centipede" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:41
- "In China, Said the Moon..." [From My Life as a Fairy Tale] – 03:37
- "Hail! Son of Heaven" [From Peach Blossom Fan] – 01:06
References
edit- ^ "Showtunes by Stephin Merritt". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Stephin Merritt: Showtunes". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ Pizek, Jeff (2006-05-05). "Goldstars deserve to come out of the garage". Daily Herald.
- ^ Hermes, Will (2006-03-10). "Showtunes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ Lamey, Mary (2006-03-23). "New music: Newly released compact discs". The Gazette.
- ^ Peschek, David (2006-03-10). "CD: Stephin Merritt, Showtunes". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ Tung, Catherine (2006-03-15). "Stephin Merritt". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- ^ Ingram, Luke (2006-03-13). "Stephin Merritt - Showtunes". musicOMH. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ Liss, Sarah (2006-03-16). "Stephen Merritt: Showtunes (Nonesuch/Warner)". NOW. Archived from the original on 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ LeMay, Matt (2006-03-15). "Stephin Merritt: Showtunes Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ Newlin, Jimmy (2006-03-31). "Stephin Merritt Showtunes". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
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