Funny Girl [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack]

Bob Merrill, Kay Medford, Jule Styne, Omar Sharif, Barbra Streisand | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2002)
• Original Release Date: September 19, 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005V3WI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,915 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #79 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Classic Vocalists

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She is amazing, I am amazed!, June 9, 2003

By 

Robert Johnson (Richmond, KY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Funny Girl (Audio CD)

The film soundtrack version of the "Funny Girl" score may lack some of the intimacy of it's Broadway counterpart, but Barbra's sensational belting is even more impressive the second time around. The film versions of "I'm The Greatest Star," "You Are Woman," "Sadie, Sadie," and especially "Don't Rain On My Parade" are actually superior to the earlier versions, with Barbra giving even better vocal performances. While it doesn't quite match the superior single version from 1964, the film version of "People" (the third studio recording of the song) is lush and very beautiful in it's own right.

The lovely "I'd Rather Be Blue Over You" and the stunning "My Man" (two of Fanny Brice's standard numbers) are worked into the score and prove to be highlights as does the title song, newly written for the film by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. It's no surprise that Barbra received the Academy Award for best actress for her work in this film. The "Broadway Cast" album has a more intimate feel to it, but the film soundtrack version of "Funny Girl" is a master work in it's own right and just slightly surpasses the earlier recording.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars REMASTERED TO PERFECTION, BUT STILL NOT COMPLETE, January 30, 2002

By 

W. Budris (Rosedale, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Funny Girl (Audio CD)

This newly remastered 2002 edition(above and beyond the previous remastered CD that has the little white sticker added)has "Hello Gorgeous" sound. Everything is crystal clear. The men responsible for the great job are listed on the tray insert, so you know you have the correct edition. The only reason this didn't make 5 stars, as I thought there would be bonus tracks or expanded editions of some of the songs to fit the way they are presented in the film. With 80 minutes of time now available on CDs, this could've been possible. I absolutely adore this film and the score, but as a new edition, and the recent remastering of the film in Technicolor and Digital Sound, it would have been nice to add after the Overture (in the expanded version used on the DVD and Quad album), put the Opening Credits music, which has been presented as the Finale since the first album was released. "Don't Rain On My Parade" never includes the music and the boat whistle when she's running to get the tugboat that happens between "Hey, Mr. Arnstein, here I am" and "I'll march my band out" in front of the Statue of Liberty. "The Swan" is shorter than what was used in the film, and even what was used in the film is edited down. On the DVD I was disappointed that even as bonus footage, The Swan was not reconstructed in its full format prior to editing for the Road Show Release, as this was talked about. You also have the Entr'Acte music from the Intermission, and the music over the credits after My Man, and Exit Music. The Entr'Acte and Exit Music is now included on the DVD. If possible for the 40th Anniversary of the film in 2008, a complete soundtrack with the missing parts could be issued, and with bonus tracks featuring 45RPM single-only studio recordings of Funny Girl, I'd Rather Be Blue Over You and any other song be added on.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Streisand in prime vocal condition, September 16, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: Funny Girl (Audio CD)

Barbra Streisand will forever be linked to the autobiographical Fanny Brice, a role she originally made her own on Broadway in 1964 and in London the following year; immortalised onscreen four years later (earning an Academy Award as well as countless other trophies). On the original soundtrack album, Ms Streisand is in prime vocal condition, though I do prefer her performance on the OBC album just a little bit more, for she is more brash and unkempt and far more vulnerable with her spin on Fanny. In the film, she is more confident and showman-like.

The film score of FUNNY GIRL does vary greatly from it's Broadway counterpart. The roles of Mrs Brice and Eddie Ryan don't get much to sing (with the deletion of "Who Taught Her Everything?" and "Find Yourself a Man"). Fanny's solo numbers "Who Are You Now?" and "The Music That Makes Me Dance" were abandoned in favour of numbers that the real Fanny was famous for ("I'd Rather Be Blue" and "My Man"). I believe the producers committed the cardinal sin with the deletion of "The Music That Makes Me Dance", a ballad far more memorable and moving than the show's big number "People" (and I know a lot of others feel the same way). Nevertheless, the film soundtrack of FUNNY GIRL is the perfect sonic representation of Streisand's greatest hour on celluloid.

I own the earlier Sony CD pressing (which is full of analogue hiss, reverb and noise), yet from what I hear about the more recent "remaster", the quality of the overall recording is virtually the same. Highly-recommended, but don't expect miracles with sound quality.