Search - Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Stanley Holloway :: My Fair Lady (1959 Original London Cast)

Peculiar thing about this CD

John Ellis | New York, NY United States | 08/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A huge fan of the original Broadcast cast LP as a child, I bought the Stereo London cast (same principals) and was disappointed that as noted inside in the notes the cast had colds when it was recorded and were just slightly off pitch, everyone. I also thought that after doing it for three years, they were a bit weary of the material. So I delayed getting the London cast CD for years. Now I listen to it and no evidence of the colds, nor mention of it in the notes. I suspect that the vocals were every so slightly sweetened upwards and if so, thank you. Now this recording is very nearly as good as the Broadway and has the bonus "Embassy Waltz". I still slightly prefer the Broadway, which has the fizzy excitement of a new major hit preserved in every note. Either of these are hugely preferable to the film recording, which suffered from Audrey Hepburn in her only inadequate performance (Jack Warner deigned that it would be Cary Grant and Julie Andrews OR Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn, but was determined to break up the tandem). Now, either way, you can't go wrong."