Customer Reviews

Guys and Dolls [Original Music from the Movie Soundtrack]

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

 

 

Beware, this "soundtrack" CD originated in Spain and apparently used a video master for source material as all the selections contain extraneous sound effects and dialog. Almost like playing a DVD and skipping to the musical sequences. Additional selections are taken from the Decca original cast album and Decca's 45 rpm of Brando's and Simmon's soundtrack selections. All the Decca selections are available on the OFFICIAL MCA Broadway cast album. The glossy, but poorly written, color booklet contains many typos: for example TAKE BACK YOUR MINK is listed as TAKE BACK YOUR MIND! When will a legitimate CD be issued for this soundtrack with the original music masters utilized? The selections are generally well edited and there is a nice stereo spread to some of the selections. However, this CD is no more than a second rate knock-off which would be difficult for me to recommended. A big disappointment, but to be expected considering the lack of an official sound track release in 1955. From an owner.

For the first time since its debut in 1955, the full soundtrack to the movie version of Frank Loesser's "Guys & Dolls" is finally available to own (a previous LP had been released but contained less than half of the music). This disc contains all of the vocal songs and most of the background music included in the film, and is thankfully taken directly from the digitally remastered source materials used for the DVD releases of the movie. Included are the movie-only songs "A Woman in Love," replacing the stage songs "My Time of Day" and "I've Never Been in Love Before"; "Pet me, Poppa," replacing the original song "A Bushel and a Peck" (done at Goldwyn's personal request, according to the commentary tracks on the DVD); and Frank Sinatra's ballad "Adelaide." All of these songs which were replaced, however, are also included on this disc as "bonus tracks" following the "Finale" track for the film. Following in the tradition of Decca's release of the original Broadway Cast recording, certain tracks run slightly longer than the song itself to include dialogue immediately before or after which is relavent to that portion of the story. The audio comes through very clean with virtually no "noise" on the tracks.

The packaging is slightly less appealing, but still not bad. Done in a digipak style, the glossy cardboard sleeve features the famous image of the two couples from the show walking arm in arm on the front, and has the complete track listings with four small pictures and two quotes on the back. When opened up, the inside of the front cover has a collage of images, including two of the movie posters (one American, one Spanish), and the covers of two 45rpm singles which were released for the film. These same images are on the back of the booklet. Due to the digipak style, the booklet is actually inside the front cover. It contains several stills taken from the film, and one picture of Loesser himself (which, unfortunately, does not say where it originated). The uncredited author of the liner notes seems fairly biased against the movie in favor of the stage production, but still offers some intersting and accurate information about the history of "Guys and Dolls" - both the stage production and the movie - as well as a brief biography of Loesser. As long as you can read past the repeated abuse directed toward Brando, Sinatra, and Simmons (not to mention the typo in the title of the song "Take Back Your Mink"), the notes printed in between the lyrics to the songs offer some information about what is transpiring at the point in the movie when the song occurs.

For any fan of the film or the play, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of this CD. It does have its flaws, which is why I gave it four stars instead of five, but overall is a very nice addition to a collection.

What a great buy! Since this is one of my favorite movies, it was truly an audio treat.
There are over 30 selections on the CD - so great to hear Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine,
Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons again. Also got a booklet with scenes from the movie.
Love it....Bought it from Amazon for $12.98 and shipped from the UK in less than 2 weeks
for $2.98.

It's a great soundtrack for the movie, high sound quality, great songs, everything you could want and more. I've been waiting a long time for this soundtrack and now I finally have it. Definitely a great purchase. You just can't match the performances given by Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine & Jean Simmons in this movie.

The insert that accompanies the CD is a little odd, it seems to be written by someone who doesn't really like the movie very much, which makes you wonder why they were involved in writing the booklet.

All in all, a great classic musical soundtrack.

I just listened to the Guys and Dolls CD and it's great. It has all the music from the movie and some bonus tracks from the broadway show. It's not perfect, but it's the best that's out. Some tracks have dialouge and some sound effects, but you can still enjoy them. I have other soundtracks like that such as My Fair Lady, The Music Man and Casablanca. They may have dialouge and sound effects, but you can still enjoy them. This soundtrack also has good stereo sound. It comes with a booklet telling some history of the movie, the stage show and the show's author. It also has pictures and lyrics to all the songs, although there are some typos. All in all this Guys and Dolls CD is a real treat for fans of the movie with song gems such as "I'll Know", "A Woman In Love", "If I Were A Bell", "Take Back Your Mink", and of course "Luck Be Lady".

Such a chance for a Broadway Musical To continue the magic on the Silver Screen!