Customer Reviews

Show Boat (1962 Studio Cast Recording)

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

 

 

Some might say that Show Boat, with music by Jerome Kern and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein & P.G. Wodehouse, started the birth of musical theatre. I wholeheartedly agree with the above statement. Showboat is a classic in its own right.

Stellar performances are given on this CD by William Warfield, John Raitt, and Barbara Cook, who play Joe, Gaylord Ravenal, and Magnolia respectively. Classic songs such as Ol' Man River, Bill, and Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man are sung beautifully. You can hear William Warfield's pain as he sings Ol' Man River.

On some studio cast recordings you may find that since the cast does not perform on stage together, they do not have a sense of closeness and in turn do not give heartfelt performances. This is the case with this CD. While all of the songs are great you are just missing something. I can't put my finger on it but it just lacks gusto in some parts. That is why it only gets 4 stars.

This lovely studio cast of SHOW BOAT, originally minted in 1962, is one of the best recordings of the immortal score by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein.

The cast is headed by Broadway stars John Raitt and Barbara Cook, as Gaylord and Magnolia, along with a superb supporting cast including Anita Darian and Fay DeWitt.

John Raitt's full-throated voice is perfectly suited to the score, particularly "Where's the Mate For Me?" and his duets with Barbara Cook in "Make Believe", "You Are Love" and "Why Do I Love You?".

Barbara Cook, as always, is a delight. Her sprightly reading of "After the Ball" is almost worth the price of admission alone, but she is winning in all her numbers. Her clarion-like soprano never fails to amaze me.

Anita Darian is a suitably-tragic Julie LaVerne, and sings the plaintive eleven o'clocker "Bill" with emotion dripping in every note. Fay DeWitt's performance as Ellie is pure perfection, and her "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" is the comical highlight of the score.

This recording makes great use of the stereo speaker-seperation system, where the voices shift from speaker to speaker as though they are actually performing on the theatre stage.

This CD includes some bonus tracks that are very fascinating, including the original Julie, Helen Morgan, singing her own emotional "Bill"; the original Queenie, Tess Gardella, singing "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"; and Jan Clayton, performing "Nobody Else But Me" from the 1946 Broadway revival of SHOW BOAT. Clayton played both Magnolia as well as Magnolia's daughter Kim in the revival.

This was (and still remains) a very popular recording, and 2 years later Barbara Cook and Anita Darian were recruited again by Columbia to appear on their celebrated studio album of THE KING AND I (which I also recommend that you purchase).

A must-own recording.

Columbia's stereo album of SHOW BOAT recorded in December 1961 has been a steady best-seller ever since it was first released.

It's a fine recording of the key highlights of the score. Barabra Cook, John Raitt and William Warfield are well cast and the stereo spread is effectively used in the staging. This is a santaized version of the original text: the openng chorus here is sung "HERE we all word on the Mississippi..." and other Hammerstein lyrics have been censored. Also the recording eliminates key numbers: "Till Good Luck Come's My Way", "I Might Fall Back on you", "Queenie's Ballyhoo" among others. Why was Joe (William Warfield) left out of the quartet segment of "Can't help Lovin' Dat man?" And, Why does Anita Darian pull the tempos around so much in Julie's songs?

EMI's 3 CD set using the original 1927 text and orchestrations is as definitive as we'll likely ever get, and the (now out-of-print) Toronto cast offers a good highlights version documenting the Tony winning 1994 Broadway revival. Still, this 1961 version is preferable to the 1966 Lincoln center version also starring Barbara Cook.

BONUS MATERIAL: In addition to the 4 listed Bonus tracks, those familiar with the original LP release will be pleased to discover a longer take of the Overture included here.

There are several recordings of this landmark musical, and in my view, this is the best overall.

I've heard the soundtrack from the 1951 movie, which is pretty good. That recording, however, whitewashes some of the lyrics and is not as good in quality as this 1962 recording (which still edits some lyrics). There is also a 1988 recording which seems to be well liked, but I don't like the tempos, and the quality of the performers seems to be lower, especially with respect to "Ol' Man River." It is a thorough recording, though (3 CDs, w/ more dialogue)

My favorite recording of "Ol' Man River" happens to be on the Lincoln Center cast, but the rest of that recording is a hack-job. There is also the 1993 Toronto cast version with Michel Bell and Robert Morse, but I haven't heard it yet.

Which brings me back to this version. The recording quality is great, William Warfield does a good job, and the performances are very strong overall for all the hits-"Make Believe," "Bill," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," and "Ol' Man River." I'm glad I bought it.

This 1962 Columbia cast album of Show Boat is pretty good all around. With a handpicked cast of some of the biggest musical stars of the time, Goddard Lieberson couldn't go wrong. John Raitt as Ravenal, Barbara Cook as Magnolia, and William Warfield (from the 1951 MGM film) as Joe. All the rest of the cast are great as well. This was the most complete cast recording of Show Boat when first released in 1962 and was up until McGlinn's set was released. The only reason this album gets only 4 stars is that the bright and brassy orchestrations are such that all the songs begin to sound alike after awhile. Other than that, not many gripes. Highly recommended.

You see, this, along with the Columbia studio cast of "The Student Prince" with Roberta Peters/Jan Peerce/Giorgio Tozzi were the first two show albums I ever got as a kid. They are both burned happily, irretrievably into my limbic brain. So glad this is available on CD. Yes, I have the John McGlinn recording and while I agree that this whole original orchestration thing has its positive side, it can go too far. After all, I'm listening through sound equipment in my living room. I am not sittng in a theater.

So Columbia! Where's "The Student Prince" on CD with Roberta and Jan and Giorgio?

"Ol' Man River" is the song that belongs on the best of broadways albums and it's why I originally chose this CD. I'd seen the movie and liked it when I was a kid, but seeing how long ago that was I can't say I remember the plot beyond what I can make out from the soundtrack.

I knew it was an older play, but then I saw that there were a number of bonus tracks that came from previous versions of the play:
15: Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Tess Gardella/Recorded in 1928 [Mono])
16: Bill (Helen Morgan/Recorded in 1932 [Mono])
17: I Still Suits Me (Paul Robeson/Recoded in 1947 [Mono])
18: Nobody Else But Me (Jan Clayton, Chros/Recorded in 1946 [Mono])

So then I checked wikipedia and found the first show boat was in 1927, which means the bonus track from 1928 might have been the original cast, since it ended in 1929.

Wikipedia says: "The show's dominant themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love." Lots of interesting stuff mentioned on wikipedia, like they point out how there were no broadway awards when it premiered in 1927 and apparently the years that the Mississippi show boat were in operation was 1880-1927. So it's interesting that the show starts when the boat ends. It was the first racially integrated musical and lots of other important milestones. I have to admit the plot I read was more interesting than I remembered.

One of my favorite lines is in "Life upon the Wicked Stage": "I got virtues that ain't been tested, no one is even interested".

From the liner notes:
renowned Broadway historian Miles Kreuger said that "the history of the American Musical Theater, quite simply, is divided into two eras - everything before Show Boat, and everything after Show Boat".

The mere presence of the greatest of all singer / actresses of all times makes this a must have recording for any lover of good music. Barbara Cook is the supreme performer of Jerome Kern's music.
The rest of the cast is very good too!

Let me start off by saying: Show Boat is an amazing show that everyone should see. It was the first modern-day musical of its kind (made in 1927!). However, this is not a good recording AT ALL. I borrowed this cd from the library and i thank God everytime i listen to it that i didn't buy it. The best thing this cd has going for it is John Raitt. He is a great singer with a very nice voice. The man who plays Joe (forgot his name) is surprisingly weak in "Ol' Man River". The woman who plays Julie (forgot her name also) is just plain annoying in "Bill". The song is sung WAYYY too slow and without any feeling whatso ever. Don't buy this cd..., [it's] only 45 minutes of music. Don't let this review persuade you from buying a show boat cd, just don't buy this particular version of it!. Enjoy!, or not--