Of Thee I Sing (1952 Revival Cast)
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CD Details
Performer: Original Revival CastEdition: Music CD
Audio: Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Cast Recording, Original recording reissued
CD Release Date: 2002-05-07
Music Label: Drg
Soundtracks:
- Prelude And Wintergreen For President
- Who Is The Lucky Girl To Be?/The Dimple On My Knee/Because, Because
- Never Was There A Girl So Fair/Some Girls Can Bake A Pie
- Love Is Sweeping The Country
- Of Thee I Sing
- Finaletto: The Supreme Court Judges/Here's A Kiss For Cinderella/I Was The Most Beautiful Blossom/Some Girls Can Bake A Pie (Reprise)/Of Thee I Sing (Reprise)
- Hello, Good Morning
- Mine
- Who Cares
- Garcon, S'il Vous Plait/The Illegitimate Daughter/Because, Because (Reprise)/Who Cares (Reprise)
- The Senate Roll Call-Impeachment/Jilted/I'm About To Be A Mother
- Trumpeter Blow Your Horn/Finale
Music reviews of Of Thee I Sing (1952 Revival Cast)
Music Review: A terrific though not definitive recording
Rating: 4 Stars
This cast recording of the 1952 revival of this landmark musical is not perfect, but it has a lot going for it.
Unlike the later recording on Sony (now out of print), this one documents a full production of the show, not a concert version. While the Sony recording has many virtues (most of all that it contains the entire score, including the exciting overture, and that it uses the original orchestrations), many of the performers do sound like they've only performed the show in concert. In contrast, this 1952 recording conveys (as Ethan Mordden wrote in his book "Broadway Babies") "a theater performance to the life." Although this recording suffers from cuts to the score, there is a liveliness and sense of conviction here that I feel is missing a bit on the Sony recording.
The orchestrations for this production (credited to Don Walker) are fine if not quite as delightful and appropriate as the original orchestrations.
Describing Lenore Lonergan's performance on this recording, another customer reviewer here quotes the liner notes for the earlier CD issue of this recording (the line about her singing sounding like Bernadette Peters with her finger in a light socket). What that reviewer doesn't mention is that those liner notes go on to state, "Listen to her sing 'Now my hot southern blood is boilin',' and tell me you don't love her, at least a little bit." Well, I love her a lot on this recording, though I do admit she makes a few spectacularly bizarre sounds. It did take me two listenings to love her, but once I got used to her, I thought she was a hoot.
For my taste, Jack Carson and Betty Oakes as John and Mary are preferable to Larry Kert and Maureen McGovern on the Sony recording. While Kert had a better voice than Carson, by the time of the Sony recording it was starting to go a bit. Kert seems to be singing rather carefully, while Carson sings out here, throwing caution to the winds. Among other things, I think this conveys the character more effectively than Kert does.
In addition, I find McGovern's voice somewhat cold on the Sony recording, while Oakes's voice is much warmer.
Also, the chorus here is spectacular, with a combination of great voices and vigor, as opposed to the well-prepared but slightly staid concert chorus heard on the Sony recording.
The negative reviewer on this page says, "References to 1950s politics were added to the text to contemporize the book, but now seem hopelessly outdated." Whatever changes were made to the book are irrelevant when it comes to this recording as you can't hear those changes here. Some changes were also made to the lyrics for this production, and those can be heard here, but they were made by the original lyricist, Ira Gershwin, and they are not problematic at all.
If you are going to have only one recording of "Of Thee I Sing," you probably do want the Sony. For one thing, you also get the equally great score for "Let 'Em Eat Cake," though you do have to pay for two CDs. (As of the date I'm writing this, the Sony recording is available from amazon sellers for very reasonable prices.) Also, the other recording has the entire score and uses the original orchestrations. This recording is primarily a supplement to the Sony recording. Still, on its own terms, it's a worthwhile supplement that has a lot to recommend it. I'm very glad that both recordings exist.
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