Desert Song Noise
A. Bookreader | Highland, IL | 06/25/2010
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is not worth one star! It is low fidelity noise reminiscent of the Desert Song. It is imported trash."
This is NOT Gordon MacRae
Ronald A. Pollard | NYC,NY | 04/29/2010
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is NOT Gordon MacRae/Lucille Norman...but eh EMI release with Edmund Hockridge and June Bronhill. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!"
Red Shadows of the past
Mark Andrew Lawrence | Toronto | 08/07/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"In the late 1940s and early 1950s the weekly RAILROAD HOUR program presented half-hour condensations of popular musical comedies and operettas. Gordon MacRae was the star and he was joined by a variety of leading ladies. Since 30 minutes could not even allow any real continuity, the scores were heavily abridged with dialogue created to act as lead-ins and crossovers between the songs. (A number of these broadcasts can be found for download or online listening.)
In the early 50's Capitol records issued a series of 10-inch Lp recordings of these operettas, not taken from the broadcasts but re-recorded in studio with the emphasis on the music and no dialogue. After the 10-inch format faded, the label re-released these albums on 12-inch Lp's with one operetta per side. These editions remained in print into the 1960s and then quietly vanished from the catalog.
A few years back Anteater Records issued two recordings of Victor Herbert operettas from this series. The Music of Victor Herbert
Now, from the Hallmark label in England comes this CD of THE DESERT SONG with the label's usual sloppiness in production and packaging.
This is NOT the "original soundtrack" as the disc claims. MacRase starred in a 1952 film version for Warner Bros opposite Kathryn Grayson, who made her own album of the score for RCA Victor - Tony Martin played her Red Shadow. But this album never had anything to do with the film.
The original album had a very detailed plot synopsis on the jacket. Not a word of it is used here. There are no notes at all, not even a cast listing.
The sound is muddy - as if the highs were rolled off to eliminate surface noise.
Worse yet, long pauses have been inserted between the tracks. The original album was not banded and there were no breaks in the musical program.
Since the original album was a 10-inch Lp, the playing time on this CD is quite short: 25 minutes. (The 12-inch reissue featured Jerome Kern's ROBERTA on the reverse.)
While it is nice to have this version available in digital format, I can't fully endorse getting it. Other recordings of THE DESERT SONG are around: Decca's 1944 set with Wilbur Evans and Kitty Carlisle has a nice theatrical feel to it, even if much of the dialogue was fabricated for the recording: The Desert Song / The New Moon
Mario Lanza stars in a lush album for RCA Victor from a time when the tenor was at his peak: Mario Lanza Sings Songs From The Student Prince & The Desert Song / Romberg
The most complete version can be found on a Columbia recording made in 1952 starring Nelson Eddy: Desert Song Plus More - O.S.T.
Gordon MacRae also re-recorded a longer version of the score for Capitol in the early 1960s, and portions of that album may be found in this curious collection: Music of Romberg
Any one of these would offer more listening pleasure than this disappointing release.
"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1