Search - Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers :: Sunny / Show Boat (Original 1928 London Cast) / Lido Lady [3 on 1]

British OC recordings of historical interest

A. Andersen | Bellows Falls, VT USA | 12/02/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The British were way ahead of us - re capturing original musical show casts on record. Here eight 78 rpm sides are devoted to the London productions of Kern and Hammerstein's SHOW BOAT and SUNNY and six sides to Rodgers and Hart's LIDO LADY. For the most part they have a certain charm despite surface noise and give us a look at the carefree antics of the twenties musical (in the case of SUNNY and LIDO LADY). Jack Buchanan and Cicely Courneidge shine and Jack Hulbert is a delight.The SHOW BOAT collection is augmented by the rare recording of Jules Bledsoe as "Joe" singing OLD MAN RIVER - Bledsoe created the role on Broadway (in addition to the Robeson recording). This set only suffers from the voice of leading man, Howett Worster, who is simply awful as Ravenal. He has a reedy, thin voice and a terribly affected manner in his word pronunciation. Otherwise this is a nice set.SUNNY only has two numbers of worth- the title tune and WHO? and they are well done here.The real find is LIDO LADY, a production Rodgers and Hart created for London, and for which the libretto has disappeared. Here preserved are two gems, the comic and infectious BUT NOT TODAY and the standard, IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU (which is taken at a faster clip in the original than as it has been presented since).This is of historical significance and important for lovers of Kern, Hammerstein, Hart, and Rodgers. The general public should perhaps look elsewhere for its musical thrills."

KERN CONTRASTS KEEP ON ROLLIN' ALONG

Mervyn Capel | Newmarket, england | 07/09/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Jerome Kern never wrote a better piece than SHOW BOAT, and by lumping it together with the dismally dated SUNNY, the compilers of this historical re-release only confirm that vast gulf between the glorious,mould-breaking SHOW BOAT and the sort of show Broadway audiences were used to in the late 1920s.
In actually fact, the SUNNY excerpts are better recorded than the SHOW BOAT songs, probably because the scale of the show was much smaller-no massed choruses of black Mississippi stevedores or Chicago revellers. Jack Buchanan and Binnie Hale do the best with the material and one song.."Who Stole My Heart Away" is catchy and effective.
The SHOW BOAT numbers sound very mannered and dated 75 years after they were recorded, but you can't keep a good show down, and the sheer quality shines down the years, even in so primitive a recording. The cast includes Colin Clive and Cedric Hardwicke -interestingly, both later played Baron Frankenstein in films directed by James Whale...who also directed Universal's definitive film of SHOW BOAT. Arthur Howlett and edith Day both sound very plummy and operatic as the romantic leads, Magnolia and Gaylord Ravenal, but it's easy to see why the magnificent Paul Robeson set the London theatre scene ablaze back in 1928. There are better recordings of SHOW BOAT, but this piece of history is worth buying for Robeson's rendition of "Old Man River" alone!"