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Once again, Sony/BMG drops the ball on finally offering the definitive version of this legendary film soundtrack by YET AGAIN including the soundtrack LP versions of several songs we've bought over and over again already.
Several tracks boast extended versions on the back cover, including the opening number. What they fail to tell you is that expansion was simply about a minute of wind and bird noises, before going into the original LP version of the song. I find that incredibly insulting. Several other tracks remain in their shortened LP versions, including "Processional And Maria" and "I Have Confidence."
Much of the material has been released in their original film versions on the bonus CD from the 35th Anniversary Edition, as well as the 24K Gold CD included with the deluxe 30th Anniversary laserdisc. That Gold CD was also partially released in cassette form with some copies of the 1994 VHS reissue of the film. So we know this material exists somewhere, it's just a shame that Sony just wants to continue to drop the ball instead of doing it right for once. The Gold CD and cassette even contain an extended intro to The Lonely Goatherd - longer than even the film version - that has yet to be issued on any soundtrack release since. That version also contained an extended version of the Dixit Dominus/Alleluia track that, again, was longer than even the film version. That version also remains unreleased on any other version of the soundtrack. I also believe the Gold CD and cassette are the only release, to date, of the full film version of "Processional And Maria."
This 50th anniversary edition isn't a total failure, however. Sound quality is good, for the most part, although Do-Re-Mi has way too much reverb - much more than I remember being on any version of the soundtrack. And most people, especially first time buyers, may not be as picky about the LP versions being presented. It's nice that there's still SOME extra material present here, such as the film version of "Sixteen Going On Seventeen," and let's face it, we'll probably buy the 55th and 60th anniversary editions too, just because we love this music so much. There's definitely extra material on several tracks, especially instrumental tracks, because this disc clocks in at around 75 minutes - the 40th anniversary edition had a similar tracklisting, but with 10 minutes of interview tracks with Richard Rodgers and Charmian Carr, so it only stands to reason that there HAS been some expansion of some of the material present here. (The 45th anniversary edition replicated the 40th exactly, except the interview tracks were removed and replaced with an overproduced and sicky sweet performance of "My Favorite Things" with Lea Michele.)
The packaging is one area of this release that isn't a disappointment whatsoever. Despite the web image being rectangular, fear not - this is not a digipak or, even worse, a cardboard wallet. Instead, it's a jewel case inside a cardboard slipcase. The front and back artwork are replicated on both the slipcase and jewel case, but the slipcase has the front text and some of the back text and the tracklisting border with a nice gold foil effect. The booklet contains some nice photographs, two nice essays including one from Julie Andrews, and is beautifully designed. If only this same effort had gone into presenting the music in 100% pristine quality in their original film versions, even if they had to turn this into a 2-CD set, this would actually be the definitive soundtrack. And to be fair to the original LP versions, if they were to make another 2-CD set, those versions should absolutely be included as bonus material. That original LP was, after all, the version that topped the Billboard charts in 1965, stayed in the top 10 for 8 months and on the charts for nearly 4 1/2 years, sold an estimated 11 million copies worldwide, and received a Grammy nomination for Album Of The Year.
I should also note, this is not the 50th anniversary soundtrack included in the huge 5-Disc deluxe Blu-Ray/DVD/CD combo pack. That CD includes the soundtrack in its original 1965 LP format, supplemented by eight tracks from various international dubbings. Since I've not bought that set, I can't comment on the audio quality of that CD, but definitely know that this CD is different than the one in that set. A similar thing occured with the 45th anniversary edition - the standalone CD, as I said before, removed the interviews from the 40th anniversary disc and replaced them with Lea Michele's performance, while the CD included with the limited edition big box Blu-Ray/DVD/CD combo pack tacked her song at the end of the original LP version.
If you're buying this soundtrack for the first time or you only own one of the CD's that merely replicates the original LP, this is definitely the one to get. The sound quality, for the most part, is superb, the music, whether in its LP or film form, is glorious, and the packaging is well-designed and thoughtful. If you've already bought one of the anniversary expanded editions, your mileage may vary. I'm not sure I'd have bought this if I'd known RCA would once again drop the ball and the CD wasn't really going to be extremely different from the previous anniversary editions, but I can still see myself enjoying this over and over. At least until 2020, when I'm sure RCA will YET AGAIN reissue the CD - maybe then they'll get it right. Until then, this will suffice.
EDIT (March 13, 2015): Listening to the CD again, I have a few more notes:
1. I must somewhat correct my assessment of "Do-Re-Mi." Upon a second listen, it's only the children's vocals that have that odd reverb/echo effect. Julie's vocals are completely pristine. I don't know if this is in the original LP master, but naturally, it could have been solved with a remaster from the original isolated music and isolated vocal tracks, as I don't recall this on the 24K gold CD or any video version of the film. Many of my issues with this OST could have been solved that way, especially with the 2010 HD restoration of the audio elements, which would have allowed for a pristine remaster of the film versions with even better sound than the gold CD.
2. Much of the extra material on here that I mentioned is in the form of score that, until now, had only been issued on the 24K gold CD or the 35th Anniversary Edition. I hadn't looked at the 40th anniversary tracklist in a while, so I'd forgotten that some of these score bits were not on there.
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