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| Page 11 | Music - Light | November 2006 |
Call Me Madam, music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, Naxos Musicals,
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By Alidė Kohlhaas Naxos has released the original cast recording of Irving Berlin's musical Call Me Madam at a very reasonable price. The show featured Ethel Merman, Paul Lukas and Russell Nype in the Broadway cast. Because Merman had a contract with Decca, and RCA Victor was the backer of the 1950 production, Merman was unable to be featured on the original RCA recording, from which this track is taken. To make up for this, singer Dinah Shore was brought in for the RCA recording. Still, we do get to hear Merman on this new Naxos CD. Decca came out with Ethel Merman: 12 Songs from Call Me Madam, although the company couldn't use the original orchestration. To ensure that the listener of this new CD gets a chance to hear the full production, it includes a 'freeze-dried' version of the musical from a 1950 episode of the Tallulah Bankhead radio program, The Big Show. The term freeze-dried derived from a rebuke to Berlin by Merman when he tried to change some lyrics at the last moment. Merman told him: "Forget it buddy. Call me Miss Birds-Eye. The show is frozen." But there is more. There is also the 1953 sound track recording which features Merman, Donald O'Connor and George Sands. It might seem all very confusing, but it really isn't. The producer of this Naxos release, David Lennick, artfully blended recordings to give the listener a fine experience of this slick hit musical that nobody thought would succeed because of its somewhat quirky nature. It is lighthearted music, fun to listen to and the sound is surprisingly good, considering its various sources. It makes a fine Christmas stocking stuffer. |
