Oscar Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers - South Pacific (Original 1949 Broadway Cast)
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Free Music Notes for South Pacific (Original 1949 Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: Very good!
Hit: 4 Stars
Mary Martin did a great job in this musical! Hits such as "A Wonderful Guy" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" prove that true. Ezio Pinza's stage voice was right for songs like "Some Enchanted Evening." Rodgers and Hammerstein is definitely the ultimate duo of musical writers. The digitally restored classics are even more enjoyable with a detailed guide about the play.Free Music Review: South Pacific - original '49 B'way cast CD
Hit: 4 Stars
Relax and spend "Some Enchanted Evening" with Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza, and the original 1949 cast of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic "South Pacific." The catchy, familiar tunes will have you singing along in your car. With informative liner notes and a couple of songs that didn't make later recordings, this CD makes an enjoyable addition to the collection of any fan of the great Broadway musicals.Free Music Review: Bring back the memories!
Hit: 4 Stars
It is so good to hear the original soundtrack after all these years. Sounds much better without all the scratches! A popular amusement (nearly 40 years ago) for my siblings and I was to setup a production where we mimed to our Mom's vinyl recording of this soundtrack. Only the original soundtrack brings back those fond memories.Free Music Review: South Pacific
Hit: 4 Stars
great standard of the musical theater. Music and songs hold up well over time so new generations can enjoy this lovely story and memorable songs. a great addition to any music lover of the musical-comedy theater genre.Free Music Review: Try and Find the Earlier CD Version
Hit: 3 Stars
I have just listened to a copy of the first CD release of this score. I am told this first CD release was transferred from the 78 masters (must have been acetates because there is next to no surface noise). The mastering (uncredited as far as I can tell) is superb. On this older CD the recording sounds better than many tapes from the early to mid 1950's, and can be truly considered one of the first mass-market, high-fidelity recordings. This was also the first original-cast LP to be issued in both the then-standard "album" of 10-inch 78 rpm discs, and also in Columbia's new LP format. The Sony/Columbia transfer of the 1947 Finian's Rainbow is good (although there is surface noise that probably could have been eliminated), but not this good. South Pacific was, I believe, also the first to be recorded using both the standard method of direct-to-disc cutting and on magnetic tape (a medium that became known only after WW II).
I am told that up to the current remastering, all previous releases of this recording had used the 78 transfers, not the tape. Now I know why. The sound is not only better, it is SIGNIFICANTLY better on the earlier CD release. On the new release the frequency range is quite limited; on the earlier release you get the full range up to 20K hz. Further, the grainy, harsh sound on this newer release, and some tape drop outs, are either due to a significant deterioration of the tape over 50-60 years, or the fact that tape technology was still rapidly evolving, and this was Columbia's first serious foray into the medium, or both. Apparently the technology for the 78's was significantly improving as well, but that medium was doomed, due to the limitation of the length of a side, and the fact that one could edit tapes.
Comparing the two CDs:
The First Release: Wonderful Sound. Downsides: Slight amount of reverb added, no bonus tracks, and on one track, You've Got to Be Carefully Taught a phrase right at the end of the song is cut, which is jarring to those who are used to it being there, and the song as written and performed has it. Why it is missing is a mystery.
The "Remastered Release: Mediocre sound, that's harsh on the ears. Bonus tracks: The ones by Martin and Pinza are nice to have (especially Loneliness of Evening, and My Girl Back Home which had been cut during the tryouts). The Suite complied by Robert Russell Bennett, however, is just a medley and musically pretty forgettable. My Girl Back Home was put back in the movie and the current Broadway revival. Loneliness of Evening has found its way into staged versions of R&H's Cinderella, where it fits.
If you love the score and also think that the original is still one of the, if not the, best recordings, see if you can find a used cc of the earlier CD release somewhere. It is out of print now.
You can reference it here:
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