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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two words: Mary Martin!!!!, August 7, 2000
I'm a Mary Martin fan. A BIG Mary Martin fan. And next to "Peter Pan," I think that this CD is her best. And the best version of "Annie Get Your Gun" that I've heard. I'm sorry to say that I haven't heard the original, but I have heard the 1966 (I think) revival with Ethel Merman, and the Bernadette Peters one (which I also saw live). Neither of those Annies measure up to Mary, in my opinion. I'm probably a disgrace to "Annie Get Your Gun" fans everywhere, but I can't stand Ethel Merman's voice. Bernadette I love, but Mary Martin tops her. Her (MM) performance isn't as exaggerated, which I think is more natural works better. I have constant arguments with a friend of mine over who makes the better Annie, and have tried to figure out the difference between them, which I think is this: Mary Martin *lets* it be funny, Bernadette Peters *makes* it be funny. And Mary Martin's way works. The song "I'm An Indian Too," cut from the show for obvious reasons, is still one of my favorites (when sung by Mary, anyway), and I think it comes closest to "Peter Pan" out of anything else she's done.John Raitt as Frank Butler is also wonderful, the best I've heard, and so on. I love his "I'm A Bad, Bad Man," which isn't currently in the show, as well as "Anything You Can Do," which is both performers at their best. In fact, the only thing that I don't like about this recording is that they cut out all characters besides Frank and Annie and the chorus. But for someone who's a genuine fan of either Mary Martin or "Annie Get Your Gun," this is a wonderful CD. Listen to it. Hear the Mary Martin magic.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated ANNIE recording, November 16, 2004
This recording of Annie Get Your Gun has been my favorite recording of the show since day one. Maybe it's just because I'm such a Mary Martin junkie, but this one is tops. It was recorded several days before the show was performed live on NBC television back in 1957. The broadcast itself does exist in kinescope form and I understand this kinescope was released on tape years ago, now out of print. It is this recording of the broadcast (I should say studio recording, since this is not technically taken from the soundtrack, but who cares) that most people remain familiar with. On a side note, I would like to see some enterprising company restore this and put it out on DVD, as Image Entertainment is doing with the original Julie Andrews version of Cinderella, which is being released next month.
Mary Martin was not a newcomer to the role of Annie. She had been with the show in one of the original touring companies in 1947, and went on a sellout tour just prior to this television production. To her credit, Martin is one of the leading ladies still most identified with the role (Merman and Hutton, of course, are the others). As Frank Butler, we have the great John Raitt, who had been in the original cast of Carousel.
This recording is fairly complete as ANNIE recordings go. All of the important songs are here... the only ones missing are the two minor songs written for the secondary characters, "Who Do You Love I Hope" and "I'll Share It All With You." These were cut after the original production and in all subsequent productions and the 1950 movie version, but were put back into the score for the recent Bernadette Peters revival. Therefore we really do not miss them in this show.
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN has garnered many recorded versions over the years. Other major recordings of the show are Ethel Merman original (Decca), 1950 movie soundtrack, with both Hutton AND Garland recordings (Rhino), Ethel Merman revival (RCA), Bernadette Peters revival (Angel). McGlinn's complete recording on EMI is out of print, and Columbia's studio album with Doris Day and Robert Goulet from the early 60s has not appeared on CD as yet.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mary Martin as the indomitable Annie Oakley, January 21, 2004
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN came to the small screen in 1957, after completing a sell-out touring season. Mary Martin (PETER PAN, THE SOUND OF MUSIC) played the title role with John Raitt (THE PAJAMA GAME, CAROUSEL) as Frank Butler.Mary Martin originated the role of Annie in the original national tour of the musical in 1948. This small-screen incarnation was part of a series of live presentations on NBC that also featured SATINS AND SPURS starring Betty Hutton and PETER PAN with Mary Martin and the original Broadway cast. This cast album was recorded on the Capitol label a few days before the broadcast. Mary Martin is superb in the lead role, and John Raitt's booming, resonant voice is perfect for the role of Frank. Highly-recommended. [ANGEL/BROADWAY ZDM 0777 7 64765 2 0]
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