Arts
Vocal Minority Gets New Director
The Star That Got Away
The Real Problem(s) with Bondage Erotica
The Star That Got Away
by Bennett Law
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A
Star is Born was the culmination of Judy Garland's screen career.
In a filmography studded with a host of indelible screen moments –
singing "Over the Rainbow" in The Wizard of Oz (a song
she propelled to the top spot on the NPR list of the 100greatest musical
achievements of the 20th century), the stunning "Get Happy"
number that Louis B. Mayer ordered tacked onto the end of the middling
Summer Stock, and her definitive rendition of "Have Yourself
a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis, to
name a few – one towers above all the rest.
Garland's rendition of "The Man that
Got Away" is a breathtaking display of muscular talent, power, and
authority. Garland is simply stunning. Her mesmerizing performance is
supported by director George Cukor's decision not to cut away from her
during the entire number. The performance is recorded in one take: there
is not a single film edit the entire way through. The sheer bravado of
Garland's performance – and Cukor's confidence in her ability to
grip an audience – is thrilling every time you watch it.
The question in considering the new 2004
release of a restored version of the A Star is Born soundtrack
on CD is, does the thrill survive the transfer? The answer, unfortunately,
is no. However bad the recording is – and because many of the original
recordings have been lost, portions of this soundtrack are not in stereo,
and even copies of worn acetate recordings are included – the reason
for this likely lies as much with Garland as with the inferior recording.
Judy Garland was in the fairly unique position
for an artist of her stature of never having released a great, coherent
studio album. Other major jazz and pop singers of the 20th century –
Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Barbra Streisand –
released scores of magnificent albums. But with Garland, remove her concert
recordings (at Carnegie Hall, the Palace, and the Palladium) from your
CD collection and what you're left with is – well, do you have any
other Garland albums?
There is a flatness to Garland's recordings
apart from those brilliant concerts. Some spark in Garland didn't happen
without that audience. And that flatness mars the new material included
on this soundtrack.
A Star is Born famously suffered
a controversial 30-minute gutting after its premiere in 1954. In 1983,
historian/archivist Ron Haver ransacked the Warner vaults and restored
the picture as best he could to its original edit, sometimes running dialogue
and scoring over stills projected on the screen, as the original footage
has been lost forever. The newly re-released soundtrack includes much
from these 30 minutes, including two complete musical numbers sung by
Garland ("Here's What I'm Here For" and "Lose that Long
Face") and a host of orchestral portions of the score that were excised
from the film in theatrical release. These additions, however, are uninteresting
– the new songs are just not good songs, and they are not captivatingly
performed.
The only other Garland performance new to
this CD is from a worn acetate recording held by Michael Feinstein of
"The Trinidad Coconut Oil Shampoo Commercial." The CD liner
notes refer to "the poor sound quality" of this entry, and that's
being generous.
All that said, this is now the definitive
version of this soundtrack, and for some Garland fans that will be enough.
But for those of us who are more discriminating in our appreciation of
Judy Garland, the better route may be to purchase the DVD of the expanded
film (which thankfully has been selected for protection and preservation
by the Library of Congress and The National Film Registry). To really
enjoy what made this film and Garland so wonderful, drop it in the DVD
player and skip ahead to "The Man that Got Away." Fifty years
after its release, it still thrills.
West Side Story Is HOT!
Also newly released is a re-mastered
version of the soundtrack to West Side Story. Tom and I compared
the 1992 CD re-issue track-by-track against this re-mastered 2004 version,
and I have to tell you – run to the store to buy it. Push old ladies
out of your way if you have to! I would not have believed this, but the
2004 recording is light years better than the version you have in your
CD collection.
All of the sound is brighter, clearer, warmer, and deeper. The strings
that open the "Dance at the Gym" are so clear and strong, now,
that you hear lines that are virtually unheard on the earlier recording.
Balance is restored when more than one voice is singing, in songs like
"America" and the "Quartet," so it sounds like the
singers are all in the same room, rather than on different soundstages.
The improvements – heard throughout
the soundtrack – are most striking in the more delicate numbers,
like "Tonight," "Somewhere," and "Maria."
The clarity of the sound makes these highly emotional sequences more immediate
and so much more compelling than any previous recording. This transformation
is sensational, making what was already a favorite soundtrack recording
of one of the greatest shows in the American musical canon far better.
Bennett Law enjoys his Broadway soundtrack CD collection at home in
Bethel.