Finian's Rainbow Obc

1. Overture (Instrumental) 2. This time of the year (Vocal) 3. How Are Things In Glocca Morra? (Vocal) 4. Look to the rainbow (Vocal) 5. Old devil moon (Vocal) 6. Something sort of grandish (Vocal) 7. If This Isn't Love (Vocal) 8. Necessity (Vocal) 9. That great come-and-get-it day* (Vocal) 10. When the idle poor become the idle rich (Vocal) 11. The begat (Vocal) 12. When I'm not near the girl I love (Vocal) 13. Finale - That great come-and-get-it day (Vocal) 14. How are things in Glocca Morra? (Vocal) 15. Don't pass me by (Vocal)

A few months after it opened on Broadway, the popular musical Finian's Rainbow was released by Columbia on six double-sided 78 rpm shellac records. This CD reissue of the original 1947 cast recording, featuring Ella Logan as Sharon McLonergan, Donald Richards as Woody Mahoney, and David Wayne as Og the Leprechaun, has been digitally mastered from original acetate "safety" records, rather than from the overused metal masters or from subsequent releases with artificially enhanced sound, so this is as close to the original production as listeners are able to get. With music by Burton Lane and lyrics by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Finian's Rainbow abounds with humor, romance, and Irish magic, and even though the songs offer a portion of hayseed corniness and heart-on-the sleeve sentimentality, they are saved by their catchy melodies, of which "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?," "Look to the Rainbow," "Old Devil Moon," and "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" are perhaps the most recognizable, but they are nearly matched in memorability by "Something Sort of Grandish," "Necessity," and the show's funniest number, "The Begat." There are some limitations to the recording's frequency range, particularly in the orchestra's upper parts, but the vocals are quite clear and natural, and the ensemble is full and robust. In addition to Finian's Rainbow, bonus tracks feature Harburg speaking and singing "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," and a previously unreleased song, "Don't Pass Me By." ~ Blair Sanderson, Rovi

Price: $16.98