Lucille Ball - Mame
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Free Music Notes for Mame
Free Music Review: who cares if she can't sing...it's LUCY!
Hit: 4 Stars
MAME was one of the top musicals of the 1966 Broadway season, cementing Angela Lansbury as a musical theatre star to be reckoned with, and earning her the first of several Tony Award's. Lansbury campaigned heavily to reprise the role of Mame Dennis in the Warner Bros. film version, though producers said she didn't have the box office clout (a laughable notion, considering that Lansbury started out in the movies and only segued into theatre quite late into her career!). Lucille Ball gamely stepped up to the plate, middle-aged and with no singing voice to speak of (she had starred on Broadway in WILDCAT but its run was notorious for Ball's frequent illnesses and vocal problems).
If there were any qualms about Ball being miscast, they were kept quiet. Madeline Kahn was originally announced for the role of frumpy secretary Agnes Gooch, but Ball was afraid the trained opera-singer would steal the picture. After considering Ruth Buzzi, producers resorted to Jane Connell, who had played the role in the 1966 original cast. Likewise, Bea Arthur thankfully got to reprise her Tony-winning role of boozy barb Vera Charles, with Broadway favorite Robert Preston (THE MUSIC MAN) as Mame's loving Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside. Cherubic little Kirby Furlong played the young Patrick Dennis.
Jerry Herman simplified all Mame's numbers in order to accommodate for Ball's shortcomings. The score for the film version of MAME is vastly different to what audiences heard during the show's almost 5-year run on Broadway. The Overture now included Gooch's number "St. Bridget", and Mame's introductory number "It's Today" isn't the brassy showstopper it should be. Apparently in order to get the most out of Ball's voice, an electronic device was implemented to adjust her pitch and so forth, during the recording of the numbers. This is glaringly obvious on this reissue of the soundtrack, where her voice often sounds overdubbed or multi-tracked. Jane Connell gives a splendid reading of "Gooch's Song" (perhaps even better than on the OBC) and Bea Arthur is at the peak of her formidable musical talents. Robert Preston is heartbreaking with "Loving You", the only new number written especially for the film by Jerry Herman. Apart from the odd lyric-change, the numbers are almost exactly the same (the only glaring omission is Mame's Act 2 showstopper "That's How Young I Feel", though given Ball's musicality, perhaps it was a mountain she'd preferred not to have tackled).
This Collector's Choice reissue is the same as the limited edition Rhino Handmade disc.
Free Music Review: Lucy is Mame
Hit: 4 Stars
I originally bought the LP of this soundtrack after seeing the film in 1974. I always thought that the film was very entertaining (funny, with great songs) and that Lucille Ball gave a great performance.
Her singing voice was very limited and she was panned because of this flaw. However, her charisma made up for the shortcomings of her singing voice and in my opinion her rendition of "If he walked into my life" is very moving despite the vocal shortcomings. I have heard the Angela Landsbury broadway recording and her singing is far superior but Lucy' s interpretation brings a new and unique take to the role of Mame. I highly recommend this recording! However, I think that anyone interested in buying it should see the film first in order to really enjoy the CD. It is important to remember that this is film soundtrack and only after seeing the film can one appreciate the recording. This CD is not simply a recording of Lucille Ball attempting to sing hits from Mame! Context is the key in this case.
Free Music Review: Producers slipped some on this one...
Hit: 3 Stars
I love the movie from which this soundtrack comes from. I also love the music of Jerry Herman. That being said, I think the producers kind of dropped the ball on this album.
Lucille Ball never claimed to be a singer, and as such, her vocals had to be recorded in sections, and sometimes had to be spliced on top of one another. This is barely noticeable in the film, which is a monaural mix of the music. The soundtrack, however, is in stereo.
The stereo mix is glorious, but the equalization used on Lucy's vocals are less than pleasing to the ear, making it painfully obvious where the splices and overlaps are. But the technology in 1974 was there to make this less obvious. I'm a singer who's done studio work, I know how these splices are done, and if the engineer is fast-fingered, it's near seemless. Also, when the mix down happens, if you turn the treble all the way down, as they did on Miss Ball's vocals, you can hear the splices.
In short, I love the soundtrack because I love the movie, I just dislike how in was put together. That is not to say that there aren't some wonderful moments on these recordings, the best of all being Beatrice Arthur. What a singer! And the rest of the cast turn in stellar vocal performances, especially Robert Preston, who is a gem as Beau.
So, would I recommend buying this? Depends. If you're a fan of the musical Mame, a fan of Lucille Ball, sure. If you could care less, don't bother.
Free Music Review: Three stars for third-rate
Hit: 3 Stars
This 1974 disaster all but ended Auntie Mame's career -- and Lucille Ball's. Though to get a full scope of the bad you must see the movie if you dare this soundtrack gives broad hints. If Lucy was photographed through gauze some of her vocals (like the notorious solo duet leading off "If He Walked Into My Life") sound as though she was recorded through it. Compounding the travesty the arranger Ralph Burns turned the grande dame of Beekman Place into a singing tart, with keeyute shticks that suggest less a musical triumph than a musical sitcom. Not everyone suffers and dies; Robert Preston is the apex of mellow crooning the film's one new tune, "Loving You", which starts off hauntingly then swoons to Lucy's gauze; and there is no stopping the trouper in Bea Arthur. But casting Lucy was a mistake, a mistake compounded by a tone-deaf production. My Mame is still Angela Lansbury's, and Goddard Lieberson's.
P. S. The Warner Music folks must have laughed when they turned this album into a limited-edition price gouge. There is no difference between the current CD and the LP; the timings on Rhino Handmade's site are identical to the dust jacket's. Whoever said "A fool and his money are easily parted" was thinking record collectors.
Free Music Review: Disappointing,but worth a listen
Hit: 3 Stars
The main reason for buying this CD is to hear Jerry Herman's lovely score.It's always worth listening to,but this version is
like the movie itself-a major disappointment.There are a few
good things on the disc-the title track,Robert Preston,Beatrice
Arthur,and Jane Connell.But the rest of the cast simply can't
sing,and Fred Werner's musical direction is mediocre at best.
And the worst thing of all is Lucille Ball.Sure,she tries hard,but
let's face it-as "I Love Lucy" proved,she simply was not a musical comedy performer(and I'm a Lucy fan!)There is no doubt
that Angela Lansbury should have played Mame,but just as they
did with "My Fair Lady" and Julie Andrews,Warner Brothers didn't
consider her a big enough name for the box office.Overall,this is an acceptable soundtrack,but if you want the best "Mame"
album,get the Broadway cast recording instead.