Open Web Player
![Midnights[Moonstone Blue Edition LP]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Q2bu6XK9L.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
![Revolver Special Edition[5 CD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Xit7tr8aL.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
![Creatures Of The Night (40th Anniversary)[Deluxe 2 CD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41W9C8-9HmL.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
![A Charlie Brown Christmas (2022 Gold Foil Edition)[LP]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51CVUBs4i7L.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
![HEROES & VILLAINS [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/3135%2BWcTMpL.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
![Dangerous: The Double Album [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51iVfI8-yRL.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
![SOUR [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41GOpp3tSJL.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg)
The Angel Classic Musicals series set new standards for presenting Broadway and film soundtracks in spectacular sound and informative booklets. Though many of their releases were of contemporary musical revivals, they included older material like this 1956 soundtrack and it’s here that the rather amazing sound quality is remarkable. You would never guess this was recorded in the mid-fifties, as were their recordings of “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel”. Most movie soundtracks from the early to mid fifties sound flat and compressed, but this is spacious, detailed sound. This is especially important with a huge studio orchestra doing the job that was done by a small orchestra in the theater.The larger orchestra adds a great deal to the overall soundtrack.
The secret here is that Twentieth Century Fox recorded the sound directly onto their extra wide CinemaScope film in six channel sound, which gives it a wide dynamic range. In an era when stereo players weren’t available to the public until 1958, there was no reason to do so for most recordings. But this sound was recorded to accompany a huge widescreen film shown in special roadshow performances and had to be something that matched the spectacular picture. Angel was EMI’s classical music label, but it included classic Broadway. EMI had their own excellent engineers who remastered the sound perfectly.
The music is a must for any lover of Broadway and filmed musicals, or fans of Rodgers and Hammerstein or “The King and I” in particular. The musical was written for Broadway legend Gertrude Lawrence as a star vehicle and followed the famed composers’ “Oklahoma!”, “Carousel” and “South Pacific”. She was to star in the film as well, but tragically died in the middle of the show’s Broadway run. After considering others including dinah Shore and Maureen O’Hara, Deborah Kerr was chosen for the role of Anna Leonowens, one of the wisest casting choices ever made. Yul Brynner had been in the Broadway show with Lawrence and had already become practically the owner of the role.
The songs are highly tuneful and memorable, and in fact most of the songs were hits, known to most anyone, even the instrumental “March of the Siamese Children”. Several songs had been cut from the Broadway show, something usual with Hollywood; Broadway audiences expected a real evening at the theater, but movie audiences wanted something shorter, and the economics of showing multiple films a day was a consideration as well. All of this led to the cutting of three songs from the film, “I Have Dreamed”, “My Lord and Master” and “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You”. The last us the one I particularly miss; it was Anna’s tour de force in the middle of the show. It was actually filmed and 20th Century Fox intended to include the lost scene on the BluRay, but the scene turned out to be truly lost and they could only include the soundtrack with some production stills.
Three actors’ voices were dubbed: Rita Moreno (who could sing, so why?) by Leona Gordon, Carlos Rivas by Reuben Fuentes and most importantly, Deborah Kerr by Marni Nixon. This is not an issue at all. Marni Nixon went on to become the most famous voice dubber in Hollywood and herself said that Deborah Kerr had been her best voice match. She was on the set for every one of Kerr’s numbers and even walked through them with the actress, who actually sang the songs in order to look right in the film. In the soundtrack when Anna talks, that is Kerr talking, even, as Nixon relates, back and forth from one to another in “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You” and you really think it’s all one person.
Yul Brynner’s “Prayer To the Buddha” has been added since he had few songs in a role that in revivals became even bigger than Anna’s. Though technically they are the primary romantic couple, they get no real love songs or duets. Their love song is “Shall We Dance?”, where all the love is unspoken but simmering beneath the surface. It’s the only musical I can think of where the big love song is a polka.
EMI gave a great gift to the listening audience by using the extra time allowed by CD technology to add material that a 35 minute LP simply couldn’t hold. In this case the main addition is the ballet. “The Small House of Uncle Thomas”. On the CD’s of “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel” the orchestral sections of the ballets were added. On this CD sections of orchestral underscoring were included, expanding the general feeling of the film. An extra nice and unexpected bonus track is the “Overture” from the LP. This is the traditional overture from the Broadway play, with its hints of Gamelan music and preview of melodies to come. That was too long for the opening credits of the film, whose “Main Title” is a brief affair. Anyone who had the album will really appreciate this inclusion.
Frequently bought together
- +
- +
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
Nostalgia
"Something Wonderful"
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 16, 2011Ready mix
Long Live the King!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 1, 2011
Mr. Raymond S. PAINTER
Ray's review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 28, 2020Amanda M
A must for your top 10 musicals.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 19, 2010
