Promises, Promises, subtitled The New Broadway Cast Recording, is an album containing a recording of the musical Promises, Promises made by its 2010 Broadway revival cast. The album was released by Masterworks Broadway on June 22, 2010.
Background The first Broadway revival of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's musical Promises, Promises began previews at the Broadway Theatre on March 27, 2010, before the official opening on April 25. The production starred Sean Hayes as Chuck Baxter and Kristin Chenoweth as Fran Kubelik. The score was supplemented by two famous Bacharach and David hits – "I Say a Little Prayer" and "A House Is Not a Home".
The album was produced by David Caddick and David Lai. Burt Bacharach was quoted to say: "Hearing this score 40 years later, I modestly must say, I like it and I love the way it comes to life on this record. Solidly produced, solidly performed."
Critical reception
In his review on AllMusic, William Ruhlmann especially notes that "the producers have interpolated a couple of Bacharach/David standards [...] to beef up the score, making it seem more hit-laden than it was the first time around". He also notes that the original score "sounded more like the songwriters' string of ‘60s pop hits than a typical Broadway score" and that the new album sounds "closer to a Broadway-style score" and not "so much like a Dionne Warwick LP with other vocalists." He commends the performers for "do[ing] well", especially Sean Hayes who "can certainly carry a tune" and "navigates the sudden Bacharach key and tempo changes without difficulty."
Chart performance The album debuted at number 60 on the Billboard 200 for the week of July 10, 2010, dropping to number 190 in its next (and final) week on the chart.
Track listing CD – Masterworks Broadway 74144
Charts Chart (2010) Peakposition US Billboard 200 60
Awards Year Award type Categories Results 2011 Grammy Awards Best Musical Show Album
References