Finian's Rainbow [Original Broadway Cast Recording] [Cast Recording]

Burton Lane (Composer), Spoken Word (Composer), Ray Charles (Conductor), Finian's Rainbow Cast Ensemble (Orchestra), Burton Lane (Performer), Lorenzo Fuller (Performer), Ella Logan (Performer), Delores Martin (Performer), Donald Richards (Performer), Maude Simmons (Performer), David Wayne (Performer), Jerry Laws (Performer), Michael Ellis (Performer), Sonny Terry (Performer), Robert Carlson (Performer), Alan Gilbert (Performer), Lucas Aco (Performer), Anita Alvarez (Performer), Jr. Augustus Smith (Performer), Eddie Bruce (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Burton Lane, Lorenzo Fuller, Ella Logan, Delores Martin, Donald Richards, et al.
• Orchestra: Finian's Rainbow Cast Ensemble
• Conductor: Ray Charles
• Composer: Burton Lane, Spoken Word
• Audio CD (October 6, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Masterworks
• ASIN: B002M2Z3QU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,059 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overture (Instrumental)

2. This time of the year (Vocal)

3. How Are Things In Glocca Morra? (Vocal)

4. Look to the rainbow (Vocal)

5. Old devil moon (Vocal)

6. Something sort of grandish (Vocal)

7. If This Isn't Love (Vocal)

8. Necessity (Vocal)

9. That great come-and-get-it day* (Vocal)

10. When the idle poor become the idle rich (Vocal)

11. The begat (Vocal)

12. When I'm not near the girl I love (Vocal)

13. Finale - That great come-and-get-it day (Vocal)

14. How are things in Glocca Morra? (Vocal)

15. Don't pass me by (Vocal)

Editorial Reviews

The first-ever original cast recording for Columbia Records, reissued here with three bonus tracks!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very best of Broadway scores, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Finian's Rainbow (1947 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

When it opened in January 1947, FINIAN'S RAINBOW stepped into what today would seem like a musical-lover's dream. For playing on Broadway were OKLAHOMA! (still, after nearly four years), CAROUSEL, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, and within months BRIGADOON would be joining them. FINIAN'S RAINBOW, however, was in every respect worthy of the company.

Burton Lane and Yip Harburg fashioned songs that Lane is on record as saying he did not seek to be commercial; yet many quickly became standards, including "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?", "That Old Devil Moon", "If This Isn't Love", "Necessity", and, perhaps the show's finest song, "When I'm Not Near The Girl I Love" - sung on this recording by an irrepressible David Wayne. The 1960 revival recording is in stereo but the charms of the score are heard best here on the Original where the mono sound is clean. Sadly, it's not a show that's been revived much. Its particular take on race relations was bold for its time but now appears twee and patronising. Too bad, for it contains a score that some place very high indeed on the All Time List. No Broadway Collection can be without FINIAN'S RAINBOW.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic score!, September 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Finian's Rainbow (1947 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

With Ella Logan and David Wayne singing classics like OLD DEVIL MOON, IF THIS ISN'T LOVE, SOMETHING SORT OF GRANDISH, and HOW ARE THINGS IN GLOCCA MORRA?, this CD is great!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem not to be missed!, October 25, 2002

By 

Pope (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finian's Rainbow (1947 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

Finian's Rainbow is one of the most beautiful scores ever written for the Broadway stage. Although the book is very dated by today's standards, the score is one of the best. A great cast too. Ella Logan is wonderful as Sharon McLonergan.

It took the movie studios quite some time to take notice of Finian's Rainbow. 21 years later, in 1968, Warner Bros. released the bloated film version starring Fred Astaire (in his last musical role) as Finian and Petula Clark as Sharon. The movie, bloated as it is, is pretty good.

This original cast album was recorded for Columbia Records on April 3, 1947. Now don't let the fact that this is a 55 year old monaural recording originally released on 78-RPM records dissuade you from buying this CD. The monaural sound is very clear and clean, more than can be said of other recordings of the time on other labels. Sound quality here is fantastic. Finian's Rainbow was Columbia's first dive into show recordings, a field it would dominate for the next 30 years. Other shows had been recorded before, but this was the first for Columbia.

The white LP cover has been reproduced for this CD (versus the original pink 78 cover used for the more recent remastered & expanded CD version, which I have not heard. I have the 1960 revival recording on LP and it is good too but this is the Finian's Rainbow to start with. It is the best

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

(Would also like to see Warner Bros. release the movie soundtrack on CD, as it is very good as well.)