Search - Oscar Hammerstein II :: Very Warm For May: A Musical Comedy (1939 Original Broadway Cast)

Strictly archival value

John McWhorter | New York, New York United States | 09/22/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Those interested in hearing this little-known Kern score beware: this is from a truncated radio version of the show mounted as a desperate attempt to keep the show afloat. Like many old radio sources, the sound is listenable but rocky, and here "enhanced" by rather ugly echo.There are only five of the songs here, interlaced with some spoken scenes and some forgettable jazz combo medleys played by a band-within-the-show. If you MUST hear the highly obscure gems "Heaven in My Arms", "That Lucky Lady" and "All in Fun", then this recording will serve that purpose. One bonus for some will be that these three are done within the dialogue that set them up, and in what appear to be the original arrangements.But otherwise, there's "In the Heart of the Dark", not exactly hard to catch elsewhere and even recorded in its original arrangement on Kim Criswell's solo album, and endless, drippy repetitions of "All the Things You Are", a song which of course one can also hear elsewhere, again even in its original arrangement (John McGlinn's BROADWAY SHOWSTOPPERS). For some reason this radio show included the entire original overture -- but this too has been recorded by McGlinn in modern sound, as has, for that matter, "Heaven in My Arms".Beyond this you get a little of Eve Arden slightly miscast as a society matron and the gibberings of swishy Walter Catlett. It would be one thing to hear the entire radio broadcast, but this abridged selection really isn't worth almost $20 unless you happen to have an archival bent. McGlinn is currently recording ALL of Kern's work beyond what he hasn't already gotten to. Unless you are a real fanatic, better to just wait for the full recording of this show that will come out of that project."

VERY WARM FOR MAY needs new recording

Randy Davies | 03/01/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was intrigued to discover that an original 1939 cast recording of "Very Warm for May" was available as I didn't think that producers had started this trend until the 1940's. This was the last show (unfortunately, it wasn't successful) composed by Jerome Kern who gave us his masterpiece "Show Boat" produced some 12 years earlier. The principal song "All the Things You Are" is probably one of the finest ever written. The best rendition is by Tony Martin, who wasn't listed as being a member of the cast, and his rich baritone comes across beautifully. The other singers mirror the style of vocal delivery reminicent of the era. One wonders if the handful of songs offered was the complete score as they have included some scenes and a couple of cuts where a band is auditioning (within the context of the story) playing classical pieces such as "William Tell" intersperced with Jerome Kern's music. I suspect that the CD was compiled from 78 RPM records as the sound is muddy and uneven. In the meantime, I'll be satisfied until some enterprising company decides to produce a studio session of the entire score."