The Ultimate Show Boat, 1928 - 1947 (Original, Revival and Studio Cast Anthology) [Cast Recording]

Show Boat (Related Recordings) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Pearl
• ASIN: B00001ZWD2
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #584,275 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Ol' Man River - Bing Crosby

2. Make Believe - Bing Crosby

3. Ol' Man River - Paul Robeson

4. Selection: Why Do I Love You?/Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man/You Are Love/Make Believe - Olive Kline/Lambert Murphy

5. Ol' Man River - Al Jolson

6. Bill - Helen Morgan

7. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man - Helen Morgan

8. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man - Tess Gardella

9. Ol' Man River - Jules Bledsoe

10. After The Ball - Henry Burr

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Make Believe - Allan Jones

2. Why Do I Love You? - Allan Jones

3. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man - Irene Dunne/Charles Winninger

4. Show Boat: Scenario - Cleveland Orchestra/Artur Rodzinski

5. Ol' Man River - Todd Duncan

6. Overture - 'Show Boat' Orchestra/Edwin McArthur

7. Cotton Blossom - 'Show Boat' Chorus

8. Only Make Believe - Charles Fredericks/Jan Clayton

9. Ol' Man River - Kenneth Spencer

10. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man - Carol Bruce/Helen Dowdy/Kenneth Spencer

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For hardcore fans of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, the double-CD The Ultimate Showboat will be a ride down memory lane you won't soon forget. Musical reissues rarely get a comprehensive treatment like this collection taken from rare cast recordings, revivals, radio productions, and pop-vocal records (all dating between 1928 and 1947). Obviously, the sound quality on many of the earlier recordings isn't the best, but where else can we hear legendary vocalists such as Paul Robeson, Allan Jones, and Bing Crosby all singing timeless tunes from one of America's great musicals? Rarities abound: the soft voice of Helen Morgan is captured in a rare radio transcription from 1938 singing "Bill," "Show Boat: Scenario" is a composition commissioned from Kern by Artur Roszinksi for the Cleveland Orchestra, and numerous tracks from the 1946 Broadway revival are included. Probably not the first Show Boat you should pick up, but it's a must-have for completists. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jolson is the king of Ol' Man River, August 19, 2005

By 

Bluegrass Martha (Keene) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Show Boat, 1928 - 1947 (Original, Revival and Studio Cast Anthology) (Audio CD)

This collection includes various renditions of "Ol' Man River" (Spencer, Crosby, Roberson) with Kenneth Spencer displaying the deepest bass, but, as usual, the smooth singing Al Jolson reigns supreme on his version. Another fabulous track is Colette Lyons singing "Life Upon the Wicked Stage". Lyons chills me with her rolling tongue.