Kiss Me, Kate (1959 Recording With Original Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Cole Porter (Composer, Conductor)

Product Details

• Conductor: Cole Porter
• Composer: Cole Porter
• Audio CD (March 16, 1993)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B000002SO5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,564 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Among the many Kiss Me, Kate recordings, here's a curiosity. Ten years after their historic original Broadway cast recording of Cole Porter's masterwork, principals Harold Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, and Harold Lang re-recorded the show in stereo. Some numbers are a bit lackluster in comparison to the original, while others are pretty much the same (running times in many cases are the same down to the very second). Advantages of the original include some connecting dialogue, the overture as a bonus track (the famous instrumental opening featuring the piano riffs is actually the entr'acte), and of course the authenticity that comes with being the "original Broadway cast recording." Benefits of this version are a more spacious sound, a synopsis for those unfamiliar with the plot (but both sets of liner notes are good), and a very interesting version of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" sung by the gangsters in parallel octaves, which according to one urban legend was sung by Drake overdubbing himself. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the ORIGINAL "Original Cast" recording, October 19, 2001

By A Customer

This EMI studio remake has been a source of confusion for buyers ever since it was first issued in 1959. While it does reunite the four principals - Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang - ten years after their original 1949 Broadway recording, there has always seemed to me something a little strained and slightly faux about this entire re-production. On the surface they are closely following the original arrangements, including the replacement singers who assume the minor roles; but the feeling they project simply doesn't match up to the original, which is still available on Sony/Columbia SK-60536.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original cast reunited 10 years later for this stereo remake, May 24, 2004

By	Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

KISS ME KATE opened on Broadway on Dec 30, 1948 to rave reviews. Columbia records made the original cast recording, but 10 years later Alfred Drake produced this stereo re-make for Capitol using the exact same text as the first album. Again the record opens with the Entr'acte instead of the Overture. And the same trims have been made in the songs. Even conductor Pembroke Davenport is back to conduct the orchestra.

With both available on cd which should you get? Tough call. The performances are a little fresher on the earlier recording but the lush stereo sound and placement help the lyrics come through with even more clarity on this disc. If pushed to choose one over the other I would opt for this edition.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars stereo "Kate" with the original cast reunited, July 15, 2006

By	Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

There isn't much to recommend this recording over the 1949 OBC, except that this recording is in stereo and the OBC was mono. In 1959, the original Broadway stars of KISS ME KATE were reunited, to record a studio album of the score in the new stereo format. While time did little to diminish the amazing vocal prowess of Patricia Morison, Alfred Drake, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang, the overall recording is so similar to the OBC that it's almost frightening.

As my fellow reviewer Mark Andrew Lawrence has noted, Pembroke Davenport returned to fill the position of musical director, and the same snips and trims are evident from the original album.

Considering this was Patricia Morison's third KATE album (following the original London cast recording in 1951), her performance as Lilli Vanessi/Katharine is perhaps even slightly better than the OBC. Alfred Drake, who had been a constant presence on Broadway in the ensuing years, is as charming as ever. Lisa Kirk (who by this time, had actually abandoned Broadway for a very successful career as a cabaret singer) likewise finds new depths in revisiting the material.

If you already own the OBC, you'll probably ask why you should buy another recording, but completists will want this CD anyway.