Customer Reviews

Can-Can (1953 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a huge Cole Porter fan, but this one did not work for me. I think the reviewer before me who called this CD "lively and infectious" was referring to the movie's soundtrack, because this recording of the score was anything *but* lively or infectious. In fact, I knocked off only one star for Porter's score being a rung below his best stuff, but two stars were taken off for the absolutely dead vocals on this. The singers are so stiff and unemotional that it's a wonder they made it to Broadway at all. They seem so intent on e-nun-ci-at-ing the lyrics that they lose all of the Gallic joy and charm that most singers would have a field day with. "C'est Magnifique" and "It's All Right With Me," arguably the best songs in the score, are given especially straight-laced interpretations.

As for the score itself: this is an unusual Porter score in that, in my opinion, the lyrics play second fiddle to the music. None of the songs display the amazing linguistic acrobatics of other Porter works, but much of the music is bubbly and fun.

So, if you are a real Porter fan and cannot find a better recording of this score, then try it. But for the casual listener, this one isn't worthwhile.

It would be easy to say, as many critics did, that Porter was not up to his usual standards. I have to disagree. "Can Can" is a wonderful score that never has been given it's due. Many popular songs came from this, but the best ones are overlooked.


The performers are all top notch. Lilo takes her material and belts it to perfection. Being a Gwen Verdon fan, I found her numbers thorougly enjoyable.


The sound quality is great considering the age of the material. Angel supplied wonderful liner notes, and the synopsis is very helpful. I can recommend this to Porter fans, and those who enjoy great music. Also for Porter fans, "Mexican Hayride" is now available from Decca Broadway.

"Can-Can", as most reviewers indicate, is second-rate Cole Porter in comparison to "Anything Goes" and "Kiss Me Kate"; but any score that includes standards such as "I Love Paris" and the stunningly beautiful ballad "It's All Right With Me" can't be dismissed lightly. This Capitol Original Broadway Cast album showcases the show's strengths (Porter's score & Abe Burrows bawdy book) and weaknesses (lackluster performances from most of the stars and indifferent orchestrations) but still is better than the 1960 film version, which cut most of the score and story, but benefits from the lush Nelson Riddle scoring and features miscast Frank Sinatra's poignant definitive vocal of "It's All Right With Me, one of the greatest vocal performances of the 20th. Century. The soundtrack can be enjoyed on its own level (if EMI ever decides to reissue it on CD) away from the mediocre film and both versions belong in any musical theatre collection. A new production of "Can-Can is opening at the Pasadena Playhouse in Southern California at the time of this review with a revised book and a superb cast which could be Broadway bound and may introduce "Can-Can" to a new generation of theatergoers. This is a good thing for, as it has been established that Cole Porter's score for "Can-Can" is second rate Porter, compared to most of what has passed for musical theatre on Broadway since the 1980's, "Can-Can is a masterpiece. It is genuine musical theatre, not a thrill ride masquerading as musical theatre. And when the audience applauds, they will be applauding the artistic aspects of the show, not the technology as is common with today's Broadway musicals.

Read the reviews (including the Amazon staff reviewer who didn't even get the song titles or lyrics right), and had to say something. This show, "Out of This World," and the revival cast recording of "Anything Goes" with Eileen Rogers and Hal Linden are my 3 favorite Cole Porter scores. When I was into Bway, I listened to them constantly. And loved it! This show produced several standards, and all the songs (except "Never Be An Artist" and "Maidens Typical of France") (did I get the titles right? it's been a long time) I think are wonderful. A pleasure. The lyrics aren't witty. And only mildly clever. But they are still better than anything anyone else except Larry Hart ever wrote. One reviewer said that paradoxically, in this Porter score, the music is better than the words. I don't agree, but I see his point. One thing I noticed however, starting with "World," Porter's sexy cleverness, while never always so subtle, borders on the blatant.

This is a lively and infectious recording (one of Capital's first Broadway cast albums)of Cole Porter's naughty and nifty 1953 valentine to the Paris of the 1890s when the dancing of the notorious Can-Can made the courts. Lilo is delightful in the lead and the wonderful score is nicely sung. The orchestrations are not as lush as those for the vastly mediocre film but none the less serve the score well. The soundtrack has the added advantage of Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jordan, some interpolated Porter songs, and lush orchestrations and performances. On the down side it had the miscast Shirley Maclaine and Frank Sinatra. Either the cast album or the soundtrack make for fine listening however.

Capitol Records gave the score of CAN-CAN a lively cast album in 1953. Of necessity some music had to be cut: The Garden of Eden Ballet, The Apache Dance, The Overture. Lilo has a brassy Broadway belt voice and makes the most of her songs. Peter Cookson sounds dull, though in a way that does fit in with his stuffy character. The remaster is well done and as with others in this series the liner notes are fascinating and well written. The movie sountrack version of "It's All right With Me" by Sinatra is much better but that CD is now out-of-print. Given the number of hits this score yielded plus other shows set in Paris (SILK STOCKINGS, PARIS, FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN) it's clear that the city served as Porter's greatest inspiration.

An underrated gem. This original cast has Gwen Verdon, Erik Rhodes (Tonetti from 'Gay Divorce(e)', stage and film), and Hans Conreid, and they are fine supporting players to the leads of Peter Cookson and Lilo. Half the songs are unmemorable, but the others are not only very good but have lived on as familiar standards.

Even 'I Love Paris,' written at the last minute as a scene-changer, is a remarkably hummable yet complex song, jumping from minor to major key as the sun comes out in the chorus. Other striking songs are among Porter's best: 'It's All Right With Me,' 'C'est Magnifique,' 'Allez-vous-en,' and the haunting and often overlooked 'I am in love.' The music that gets derided as pedestrian was intentionally simple or low-comedy ('Maidens Typical of France,' 'Can-Can') or dramatic dialogue that pushes the plot ahead kicking and screaming (the 'You Don't Love Me' duet between Gwen Verdon and Hans Conreid).

All in all, the score holds up very decently in comparison to 'Anything Goes' or 'Kiss Me Kate,' both of which had plenty of clinkers.

This is great CD of a Great Broadway Show. It was made into a movie to feature Frank Sinatra which was not as good as the Broadway version.
The original show on this CD featured beautiful music by Cole Porter who had a delicious way with lyrics.
The cast was made up of many good actors. It takes place in France.
Lilo was imported from France. Her character ran an establishment where the Can Can was done, but since it was illegal at the time of the story, she called her dancers,"Laundresses."
A French Judge wanders into her place and is immediately atracted to Lilo. It seems impissible for them to have a romance as he is investigating her.
There is a subplot where Hans Conried is a sculptor. One of his pieces is a mermaid the way he would like one to be with a fish head because he thought the mythical mermaids were frustrating.
Gwen Verdon had her first Broadway role as his girl friend. One of the critics wants her to "Come Away with Me," and Hans gives his permission as long as she stays technically true to him.
After some great songs, there is a happy ending. It is too bad more people did not get a chance to see this, but the CD is very enjoyable and I would highly recommend it.

When "Can-Can" opened on Broadway in 1953, critics roared with approval for Michael Kidd's choreography and his fetching lead dancer, Gwen Verdon, who became a star overnight. They dismissed Cole Porter's score, for this show about the bohemian Montmarte culture of 1890s Paris, as "not up to his usual standard." Even though the score ended up producing five hits-"I Love Paris," "It's All Right With Me," "C'est Magnifique," "I Am In Love," and "Allez-Vous En, Go Away"-time and this original cast recording seem to agree with the critics of 1953. This is a rather hum-drum Porter score, most of which is not particularly memorable. Even the naughtiness of his lyrics seems to be there as a cheap shock rather than the usual sly wink. The hit songs aren't bad, but that's about it-even the best of these songs, "It's All Right With Me," is given a too-fast and not really well-sung rendition by Peter Cookson, a dramatic actor in, as far as I know, his only musical.

Thus, there isn't much to recommend this recording, except maybe its star. Not Verdon, who only appears in one song in which her trademark throaty quiver is virtually unrecognizeable (If only her spectacular dances had been preserved on film!), but Lilo, the French chanteuse for whom this show was supposed to provide a smashing American debut. Lilo actually does a pretty enjoyable job of belting out the standards and other songs she is given, but even she may not be enough to make the score seem any better than it is.

"Can-Can" was filmed with the story and score heavily changed in 1960. In addition to the glamorous evocation of Pais itself, what was left of the score, even when sung by plain American folk like Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine, did manage to provide much more enjoyment than is available from this recording.

We have given this recording the three stars solely on the quality of Cole Porter's music. As fans of Cole Porter's, we think some of his best music is in this show. However, the vocalists are weak at best, and Lilo in particular seems to have little concept of her character, and even less musical ability. My wife and I were in a community theatre production of Can-Can, and when we long to hear those wonderful Porter songs, we play the tape from our production. It was far superior!