Inside U.S.A. / The Band Wagon [Cast Recording, Import]

Arthur Schwartz (Composer), Russ Case & His Orchestra (Conductor, Orchestra), Mitchell Ayres (Conductor), Russ Chase (Conductor), Irving Miller (Conductor), Leo Reisman (Conductor), Jay Blackton (Conductor), Adolph Deutsch (Conductor), Russ Case and His Orchestra (Orchestra), Irving Miller Orchestra (Orchestra), Leo Reisman & His Orchestra (Orchestra), MGM Studio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Arthur Schwartz (Performer), Beatrice Lillie (Performer), Buddy Clark (Performer), Perry Como (Performer), Billy Williams (Performer), Pearl Bailey (Performer), Sr. Jack Haley (Performer), Adele Astaire (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Arthur Schwartz, Beatrice Lillie, Buddy Clark, Perry Como, Billy Williams, et al.
• Orchestra: Russ Case & His Orchestra, Russ Case and His Orchestra, Irving Miller Orchestra, Leo Reisman & His Orchestra, MGM Studio Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Russ Case & His Orchestra, Mitchell Ayres, Russ Chase, Irving Miller, Leo Reisman, et al.
• Composer: Arthur Schwartz
• Audio CD (September 12, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording, Import
• Label: Sepia Recordings
• ASIN: B000AMUUU8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,286 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The soundtrack to the 1948 Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz revue Inside U.S.A. features not only its stars Jack Haley and Beatrice Lillie, but also Perry Como (his hit Haunted Heart ) and Billy Williams. Also here is the Schwartz/Dietz revue The Band Wagon (1931) with songs by Fred and Adele Astaire and a song from the 1953 film version by Fred and Nanette Fabray.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great material on both scores, September 15, 2005

By 

John Ellis "jonthes" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inside U.S.A. / The Band Wagon (Audio CD)

"Inside U.S.A." was a huge hit revue with the unique Bea Lillie, Jack Haley of "The Wizard of Oz" and such future names as Carl Reiner (not on the recordings). "Atlanta" was apparently cut as it doesn't appear in any programs of the show, and it is revue material with topical references so younger Broadway fans may wonder what the hell Bea is singing about (Atlanta was known for it's federal prison, imagine her in a neat striped suit and matching pillbox hat with a ball and chain to twirl), but her spirit was perhaps as well captured on these tracks as it ever was in a studio recording. "The Bandwagon" is also wonderful, Fred Astaire at his stage height just before he went Hollywood (with his sister Adele, a bigger star then), and a pioneer recording that was LP length before that existed. All the material by Dietz and Schwartz in it is classic and showed up in the very different film 25 years later. But these recordings may be better, and the sound is brilliant for the time. So, a bargain and let's hope the trove of theater recordings continues to be mined - how about all the Decca recordings of Bea, including the unreleased 60s recordings as well as the two lps from her legendary "Evening with Beatrice Lillie"? (See the Joyce Grenfell "Requests" recent CD for a handfull of the Decca material, beautifully remastered as bonus cuts).