Evening star., 1953-07-26
TurntobIe Talk

Rodgers and Hammerstein had
proSpected at least within re-
flecting distance Of the "a
carat lode which yielded up
"Oklahoma!" Unhappily, this
Is not the case.
What me and Juliet" looks
and sounds like in the Majestic
Theater, where it Is currently
ensconced on Broadway, I
can't say. Some professional
observers have reported that it
looks good. The available auraI
evidence, an RCA Victor origi-
nal-cast recording, speaks less
well. There is one very good
tune. "No Other Love-" and an
other catchy If not imperish-
able one, Its Me-" The rest
are at most commonplace.
Most Of the lyrics are merely
dull. The singing Is routine,
the pace listless. And the
sound, on the recording, is
badly balanced between voices
and orchestra (wholly in favor
of the former.)
Also, perhaps because the
recording was done all on one
Sunday and the finished prod
uct reached the shop counters
in just four days, nowhere has
anybody bothered to indicate
who's singing what. The
jacket, in fact, is almost totally
uninformative. Appar emily
everybody who had anything to
do with this project was ex-
hausted. It's too bad, but
that's the way it is.
Surprisingly Fresh
That THE Desert Song"
Tin which Mr.. Hammerstein
also was involved) should
sound fresh at this point in
its long history is possibly due
in part to its being heard after
the above. But surprisingly
fresh it sounds. Nelson Eddy is
his usual stalwart, stiff self,
but his voice is smooth enough,
and q lady named Doretta
Morrow sings the feminine
lead prettily. Chief credit in
this Columbia recording goes
to Lehman Engel for his
sprightly conducting and the
engineers for sumptuous re-
production, as we'll as, of
course, to Sigmund Romberg
for the melodies underlying
it all.
The virility of certain Rich
ard Rodgers products - in
contradiStinction to ME and
Juliet" - is given pleasant
testimony in a new recorded
enterprise of Morton Gould'S.
AS a composer. Gould is hardly
profound. But as an arranger
he has a knack for putting a
show tune into effective SYM
phonic trappingS. The best
thing in this latest batch, in
which Gould incorporates him.
self as pianist, is a waltz
Rhapsody" concocted of pieces
from "Oklahoma!", South
Pacific" "The King and 1"
and the movie "State Fair"
The other "rhapsodies" -
there are six in all-involve
the Rodgers "Carousel" tune
IF I Loved You" Gershwin's
"FaScinatin' Rhythm" and
Someone to Watch Over Me-"
Kern'S "All the Things You
Are" Kurt Weill's Lady in
the Dark" number my Ship"
and piece from the 1885
Ziegfeld follies by Vernon
Duke, IT Can't Get Started"
The orchestral participation,
thanks to Columbia's reson-
ant Thirtieth Street studio, is
wholly reSplendent.
Some like their piano-and
tuneS-with simpler accoutre-
ments. A relaxed, carefree
outfit called the Norman Paris
Trio meets such a prescription
by adding to the keyboard
merely guitar and double bass.
These three ParisianS CMr.
Paris himself tickles the
ivories) lean like Mr.. Gould
to the magnetic name Rod
gers. Lover" "Oh What a
Beautiful Mornin'" and Fall
ing in Love With Love-" plus
"FaScinatin' Rhythm" and four
other items make up the set,
all of it being quite engaging.
A Liberoce Question
Another Suave keyboard en-
tertainer is responsible for a
listenable collection issued by
Vox. His name Is George
Feyer, and his repertoire is
French Cor so the titles read).
EFN0- L - l.