Jerry Herman's score for "Hello, Dolly!" has its lesser points: a few underwhelming songs like "It Takes a Woman," "It Only Takes a Moment" and "Motherhood" and an undeniably hokey title song. However, it also has several genuine showstoppers, including "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "Before the Parade Passes By," the beautiful "Ribbons Down My Back" and a couple of irresistable charm songs, "Elegance" and "So Long Dearie." And even that title song, hokey as it is, is also undeniably one of the greatest numbers Broadway has ever produced in terms of sheer galvanizing energy - audiences have been giving it standing ovations for just about 40 years.
This recording must surely be one of the best, if not possibly *the* best, recording of the score out there, because the entire cast gives such a spirited (and, in my opinion, thoroughly professional) performance that the weak songs sound great and the great ones sound greater still. Carol Channing's voice takes an awful lot of getting used to, but her take on Dolly is so undeniably original and, after a while, so thoroughly enjoyable that you wonder how anyone can *not* say she *is* Dolly Levi. And having seen her in the movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie," I know in person she has great capacity to entertain an audience, which must be made even greater in a live theatre. Although, as I said, the entire cast is professional and spirited, the only other standout is Florence Lacey, who may be out of the traditional age range for ingenue Irene Molloy, but has such a lovely voice, used to particularly wonderful effect in "Ribbons Down My Back," that it hardly matters.
Though I have yet to hear the original Broadway cast recording, or others featuring Pearl Bailey and Mary Martin, I have heard the film soundtrack and seen the film it came from, and despite Barbra Streisand's incredible singing, that recording just doesn't make you revel in the wonders of this score from the first listen like this one does.
