|
Rating:  -
Lucille Ball can sing through most of these number showing she can sing! Her voice had only been showcased in Dance Girl, Dance, DuBarry was a Lady, and the Long, Long Trailer, but her Lucy's voice shines. Most of the songs are carried out to vocal excellency especially "Hey Look Me Over!" For any Lucy fan this CD is a must, and it is ten times better than the Mame soundtrack. (Personally, I only like there the numbers "Open a New Window" and "Bosom Buddies.")
Rating:  -
Have you ever heard a song just one time and found it permanently engraved in your memory? Well, for me that song was "Hey look me over". I heard it just one time one a summer night in the early sixties. A local radio station was playing this album with the announcer reading the story line between tracks. The show failed because Lucy's health just couldn't stand up to being on center stage for ninety percent of the show twice a day for six days a week, so I never heard it again. Occasionally I would hear some marching band playing the tune, but I never heard the words sung again for forty years. The remarkable thing was that, from that one hearing, I could remember every word but one. the missing word was from the line that goes; "I'm a little bit short of the elbow room, but let me get me ...., then look out world, here I come!". Then, after forty plus years, I looked it up and found that it was available from Amazon, so the very next payday I ordered it. It was pretty costly but I felt it was worth it just to find out what that @#$% missing word was. Then I found out why it was so expensive. The album had never been released on CD, but an archive had it stored in their computer and was able, by paying royalties to the record company to offer a replication complete with a copy of the original artwork and liner notes reduced to fit in a jewel box case with the CD. Finally, I was able to listen to the entire soundtrack and hear the missing word: it was "some". and I was pleased to notice that the song was just the way I remembered it and had sung it back to myself over a hundred times over the years. I hadn't remembered the other songs on the album, but they were worth listening to.
How would I critique this album? Pure Lucy! It is easy to see why the show had to fold when Lucy collapsed on stage. Even on the album, she towers over the rest of the cast like a redheaded dynamo. Nobody in the world at the time could have taken her place except, possibly, Debbie Reynolds. Over the years, we have been so impressed by her comic genius that we tend to forget that she was just as brilliant as a singer, dancer and actor. This album showcases that other side of her skills. It is a shame that she never got a chance to make a movie version of this show, because it would have certainly have outshone her other musical, Mame.
The music in this show is light and cheery, and most of the cast was equal to their parts. The plot is basically an excuse for the songs and is forgettable for the most part. There is a bit of condescention towards Hispanic people that grates, now that we know more of the history of that culture. Nobody who knows the courage of the Mexican people and the suffering they have endured in their long quest for freedom can be content to see them portrayed as funny little men in floppy hats, living only for the next fiesta. It is saddening to see how ignorant we were just forty years ago. Aside from that short digression into stereotyping the play is basically just a fun evening. Nothing serious, a comedy tonight. If I had been able to get a ticket, I would have gone, had a good time, and carried the memory down through the years of seeing a great lady of comedy at the height of her powers.
I hope the record company will see fit to re-release this album, because every Lucy fan should get a chance to hear her perform at one of the major turning points in her career. For those who love lucy, this album is a Must Have Item.
Rating: -
I have to agree with most of the other reviewers.....this is a forgotten gem..and I had also heard that Lucy was not a singer, but she comes through on about every song and has excellent support from Keith Andes, Paula Stewart, Clifford David (who would a few years later appear in "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever") and others....The music is quite a treat from Hey Look Me Over to the wonderful "Give A Little Whistle"...alot of jaunty, bouncing rhythmic pieces that lend themselves to all of the talent displayed on this CD...thanks to Arkiv for releasing this wonderful show...I have already downloaded it to my I Pod....I would have loved to have been able to see this show in person.....I'm starting to replace all of my LP's that I collected way back when and am getting quite a collection of OBC's
Rating: -
First of all, I must admit, I am a Lucille Ball fan. But that being said, this is truly a great cast album to add to your collection. First of all, you get Cy Coleman's music from his first musical. From the opening bars of the Overture, you can tell this is going to be an energetic musical and it is. "Hey, Look Me Over" in particular has to be one of the best 6/8 marches ever written for a musical. Secondly, you have Lucille Ball. I was amazed at how well Ball sang, being that she is Lucy who can't carry a tune. The rest of the cast is in fine form and the "Living Stereo" recording from RCA captured the orchestra just right, making it seem fuller than the usual broadway cast recordings of its time. By the way, just a note to a previous review, this show closed because Lucille Ball could not keep up healthwise with doing 8 performances a week. She passed out at a performance and wanted to close the show down for more than a month, but because of the musicians union, they couldn't afford to keep it open. Overall, a fun album to own.
Rating: -
(Revised version of Feb., 2007 review upon the ArkivCD release)
You either "Love Lucy" - or you don't. Frankly, I've never been a fan, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying this recording and getting caught up in its energy. WILDCAT was Cy Coleman's first score for Broadway, and the only time he worked with lyricist Carolyn Leigh. Reportedly there was a lot of friction between Coleman and Leigh, yet they managed to put together a pretty impressive score. During the 60s, was there a high school marching band that did NOT play "Hey, Look Me Over!" during half-time?
Not being able to sing didn't stop Lucy from trying, and she jumps into each of her numbers with gusto. Sometimes energy was enough to carry her songs, but at other times - as Eve sings in Bock & Harnick's THE APPLE TREE - her singing "spoils the milk." Her caterwaul at the end of "You're a Liar!" makes me wince. Richard Barrios wrote in THE THEATER MANIA GUIDE: ". . . all those I LOVE LUCY jokes about her tin-eared vocalizing were not exaggerations."
The star gets great support from Keith Andes (Alfred Drake's replacement in KISS ME, KATE and Theatre World Award winner for the 1947 revival of THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER), but he's shamefully underused. After his romantic ballad "You've Come Home," he shares "You're a Liar!" and "Give a Little Whistle" with Ms. Ball and leads the oil riggers and townspeople in the driving "Corduroy Road." Talented Paula Stewart gets two duets: "Hey, Look Me Over!" with Ms. Ball and the lovely "One Day We Dance" with Clifford David. The rest of the supporting cast (Dan Tomkins, Swen Swenson, Bill Walker, Edith King, Ray Mason, Al Lanti) are first rate. Sid Ramin and Red Ginzler's brassy, hard-driving overture and the vigorous, virile ensemble numbers ("Give a Little Whistle," "Tall Hope," "El Sombrero," "Corduroy Road," "Oil!") alone are well-worth the price of admission.
WILDCAT was Ms. Ball's show, and as long as she entertained her fans with her "Lucy" shtick, they kept buying tickets. But when the stress of eight performances a week became too much for her and she left the show, she took her fans with her. Not strong enough to survive without her star power and her financial backing, WILDCAT closed a week after her departure.
Nonetheless, there's a lot to like in the score, and if you're not familiar with WILDCAT, it's time you got to know her. You're in for a treat.
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Most Popular TV collectibles
|
|
Home
Articles
Images
Forum
Search
Shopping
TV Trivia
Watch TV
Wallpaper
