Broadway Melody of 1940 & Rosalie Soundtrack, Fred Astaire, Numbered Limited Ed

	£		25
	$		33

Published by Rhino Handmade
Catalogue: RHM2 7601
EAN / Barcode: 603497760121

Collector's Edition by "Rhino Handmade" - Limited to 2500 Numbered Copies Only (this is number 1408).

Track Listing –

Broadway Melody of 1940
   1  Main Title (Extended Version)   (1:50)
   2  Medley: The Wedding March/Dance Hall Wedding [LP Version]   (1:14)
   3  Please Don't Monkey With Broadway   (3:18)
   4  All Ashore (Extended Version)   (5:1)
   5  Medley: Scaling The Plates / Bouncing Ball / Fred In Manager's Office [LP Version]   (2:42)
   6  Between You And Me (Extended Version)   (4:39)
   7  I've Got My Eyes On You (Unreleased Version)   (4:6)
   8  Italian Cafe Routine [LP Version]   (1:56)
   9  I Concentrate on You [LP Version]   (6:43)
 10  Begin The Beguine [LP Version]   (9:32)
 11  Finale: I've Got My Eyes On You [LP Version]   (1:19)
 12  End Cast: Between You And Me [LP Version]   (0:23)
 13  Main Title (Rosalie / Hello Football Fans) [LP Version]   (3:13)
 14  It's All Over But The Shouting [LP Version]   (2:38)
 15  I've A Strange New Rhythm In My Heart [LP Version]   (3:43)
 16  Close (Outtake Version)   (2:46)

Rosalie
 17  Rosalie [LP Version]   (1:39)
 18  Why Should I Care [LP Version]   (1:37)
 19  Spring Love Is In The Air [LP Version]   (2:41)
 20  In The Still Of The Night [LP Version]   (2:21)
 21  To Love Or Not To Love [LP Version]   (2:21)
 22  Bridal Finale [LP Version]   (2:19)
 23  West Point Drill Routine [LP Version]   (7:16)
 24  I Know It's Not Meant For Me [LP Version]   (4:14)

Total Running Time:  79:31 (including gaps)
Please note that the times are taken from my iTunes file - so there will be the usual 2/3 seconds blank at the end of each track included in the timings.

Conducted by Alfred Newman / Herbert Stothart

Performed by The MGM Studio Orchestra

“The release of this soundtrack on CD is huge for collectors. Until now the songs have been unreleased, with the exception of a couple of the Astaire songs (including "I've Got My Eyes On You" with the hoofer performing double duty on the piano as well). The sound quality is not perfect, with tape hiss being the most obvious problem, but there's no getting around the excitement of having the full nine minutes of "Begin the Beguine."

Although advertised as a bonus on the CD, the nine Cole Porter songs from the 1937 musical Rosalie could almost be a double bill with Broadway Melody. Trivia buffs may remember that even though the movie was based on a Ziegfeld-produced stage musical with songs by, among others, the Gershwins, M-G-M had Porter write an entirely new score for the film. Rosalie stars Powell and Nelson Eddy involves the unlikely romance between a European Princess and a football star. It's most famous for the Porter hit, "In the Still of the Night." Three outtake songs are also included.     -- Cary Wong”

“Broadway Melody of 1940 - yes, this is the M-G-M musical that has that unmatched classic tap routine by Fred Astaire and ‘The Queen of Tap’, Eleanor Powell, danced to ‘Begin the Beguine.’ It was celebrated in the smash-hit, 1974 M-G-M musicals compilation That’s Entertainment with Frank Sinatra’s voice-over claiming "you can look for a lifetime but, believe me, you’ll never find a routine to equal this…"

This CD is a bargain because you have two M-G-M musicals with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. There are eleven bonus tracks from Rosalie (why didn’t Rhino give equal prominence, on this album’s booklet, to this charming 1937 musical?) with six tracks starring M-G-M’s heart-throb baritone, Nelson Eddy.

Besides ‘Begin the Beguine’, Broadway Melody of 1940, boasts such classic Cole Porter standards as: ‘I’ve got my eyes on you’ (with Fred showing his pianistic as well as his dancing skills); the intense romantic ballad ‘I concentrate on you’ performed by Douglas MacPhail with a typically luscious orchestral and choral version following; and then there is Fred and George Murphy’s sardonic plea, ‘Please don’t monkey with Broadway’

From Rosalie there is Nelson Eddy singing: one of Cole Porter’s loveliest songs, ‘In the still of the night’ (making rather heavy weather of it surprisingly) and the title song ‘Rosalie’ plus two stirring marching songs, ‘It’s all over but the shouting’ and ‘To love or not to love.’ Eleanor Powell performs ‘I’ve a strange new rhythm in my heart (including reference to ‘Night and Day’)’ and ‘West Point drill routine’.

Most of this material appears on disc for the first time and there are extended versions of some numbers and outtakes (including the delightful dance music for ‘I know it’s not meant for me’ performed by the M-G-M Studio Orchestra, a piece omitted from Rosalie. The 16-page booklet maintains the standard already set by RHINO for these M-G-M musicals releases with many film stills and interesting factual material about the production of Broadway Melody of 1940 but, alas, nothing about Rosalie, another memorable vehicle for the talents of Eleanor Powell.

Something special for all admirers of vintage M-G-M musicals. -- Ian Lace ****(*) 4 ½”

CD is lightly scratched (practically mint) but this doesn’t affect play.
Insert is in excellent condition.
Slight scratching on case.