Damn Yankees: An Original Soundtrack Recording (1958 Film) [Soundtrack]

Ray Walston, Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 30, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002W1H
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,248 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

VideoHound's Soundtracks

The old Faustian legend about the man who sells his soul to the Devil in order to regain youth and good looks received a clever updating in this whimsical musical, which took the tale and squarely set it against the background of America's favorite pastime, baseball. As reconceived by Douglas Wallop and George Abbott, Damn Yankees, based on Mr. Wallop's novel "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant," transplanted Faust into middle-America and gave him the name Joe Boyd. After he makes a pact with the Devil, a businessman more prosaically named Mr. Applegate, Boyd becomes "Shoeless" Joe Hardy, a hard-hitter, who takes the Washington Senators, his favorite team (and perpetual losers), all the way to the finals of the American League game, where they face those "damn Yankees." But this being a musical, set in America, there is a happy ending to the story: in spite of Mr. Applegate, and his assistant, the sultry Lola, Joe Hardy invokes the "escape clause" he and the Devil had agreed on initially, and at the last minute, just before curtain time, returns to his loving wife as Joe Boyd, serene in the knowledge that it was he who helped the Senators win the Pennant. A multiple Tony Award-winner (including for Best Musical) in 1956, Damn Yankees ran for 1,019 performances (a rarity at the time), and made a star of Gwen Verdon, playing Lola, whose siren song, "Whatever Lola Wants," became a huge popular hit. Virtually intact, and with only one major cast change (Tab Hunter replacing Stephen Douglass as Joe Hardy), the show was transferred to the screen in 1958, in a splashy screen transfer that retained all the flavor and guile of the original. After extensive revisions, in 1994 it was revived on Broadway, with Bebe Neuwirth as Lola and Victor Garber as Mr. Applegate, where it enjoyed a successful run, before going on the road, with Jerry Lewis, billed above the title, taking over as the Devil. Of the three recordings available, the first Broadway cast offers the original stars (Gwen Verdon, Stephen Douglass, and Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate) in a spirited rendition which has all the freshness and excitement usually experienced when a show first hits Broadway. Its only drawback (if that's the word!) is that it is in mono sound, since stereo didn't become an industry standard until later that year. The soundtrack album, available for the first time in stereo in this CD version, is almost identical to the Broadway cast album, but offers, in addition to the cast change noted above, and Ray Heindorf's flavorful orchestrations, longer versions of some of the songs, as well as better polished performances overall. The 1994 Broadway cast album, with its abundance of new selections, and dynamic renditions of the songs by Bebe Neuwirth, Victor Garber, and the other members of the cast, is as good a recording as can be gotten. It has the vibrancy, the fun, and the excitement one usually expects in that kind of production, and its sound quality is up to the latest standards. -- © 1998 Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It certainly has more than "A Lil Bwains, A Lil Tawent"..., August 10, 2001

By 

A. Regina Phipps - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Damn Yankees: An Original Soundtrack Recording (1958 Film) (Audio CD)

This is absolutely one of my favorite CD's in the entire world. First, let's talk about the differences between it and the Broadway CD. The Broadway recording contains two absolutely lovely songs, "A Man Doesn't Know" and "Near To You", and also the hilarious "The Game." These three were cut from the movie and replaced by "There's Something About An Empty Chair" (The only Damn Yankees song I cannot stand... it's just not fun nor pretty...). Otherwise, with a few changes in the length and phrasing of "A Little Brains, A Little Talent", "Whatever Lola Wants", and "Who's Got The Pain"... it's no different than the Broadway CD. However, I LIKE this CD more than the Broadway CD. I don't know why... the background music just sounds better to me over all, and Gwen Verdon actually SOUNDS like herself. Don't get me wrong, I own the Broadway CD also and I LOVE IT, but if you're debating, this is definitely the way to go (unless one of the cut songs is your favorite). After all, there's nothing like hearing the phrases "Hallo Joe!" and "ERP!" now is there? :o)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This One's Really Fun..., January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Damn Yankees: An Original Soundtrack Recording (1958 Film) (Audio CD)

"Damn Yankees" was one of two film musicals co-produced by George Abbot and Stanley Donen, the other one being "The Pajama Game." Both pictures were marked by an exuberance that you rarely saw, even in movies of the time, and the feeling really comes through on this CD.

Two cautions: (1) because of censorship requirements of the time, several songs are truncated or included with revised "radio" lyrics - don't expect a complete recording of the score, and (2) studio executives forced Tab Hunter into the "Joe Hardy" part -- he tries gamely, but he really can't sing or dance.

Still, the album as a whole is a treat. Particular highlights include Ray Walston (as the devil) savoring "Those Were The Good Old Days," Gwen Verdon's sultry "Whatever Lola Wants," and the cast's "Shoeless Joe" number. And yes, that's a young Bob Fosse cutting up with Verdon in the "Who's Got the Pain" number near the end. For the soundtrack of a 50's vintage picture, the audio is clean and has a fair range to it.

For the price, this disc is one great deal.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine, but markedly inferior to the OBC, August 13, 2004

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Damn Yankees: An Original Soundtrack Recording (1958 Film) (Audio CD)

The film soundtrack to DAMN YANKEES is similar but certainly quite inferior to the peerless 1955 original Broadway cast album. The Warner Bros. film brought the entire original cast to reprise their roles (with the exception of Stephen Douglass who was replaced by Tab Hunter, who provided the marquee-value for the box office). Gwen Verdon's performance of Lola is perhaps even better here than on the 1955 OBC; she belts the role a little better and on the whole her singing is stronger here. Shannon Bolin gets a new song "There's Something About an Empty Chair" which isn't really memorable. Rae Allen once again knocks `em dead with "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO", and Ray Walston's performance of Mr Applegate is priceless. Tab Hunter is only average in his singing as the younger Joe Hardy. The remastering of this album is quite fine; there is some scratch and surface-hiss, but nothing too-obtrusive.

Very nice for the price.