Bloomer Girl (1944 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
E. Y. "Yip" Harburg (best known for writing lyrics for "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and The Wizard of Oz) was famous for his strong leftist convictions, and nowhere are they more in evidence than in Bloomer Girl. The show, which opened in 1944, was set in 1861 and tackled (in a lighthearted mode) subjects as serious as the emancipation of both women and slaves. As usual, the women eclipsed the men: star Celeste Holm projected saucy intelligence as Evelina, the bloomer girl of the title, while Joan McCracken provided exuberant comic relief. Bloomer Girl is decidedly a minor show, but it does have two absolutely lovely numbers, "Evelina" and "Right as the Rain," which boast some of Arlen's most delicious melodies and fully belong in the musical-theater canon. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Tracks:

Everybody Says Don't
I Wonder What Became of Me?
The Eagle and Me
I Had Myself a True Love
Into the Woods / Giants in the Sky (Malcolm Gets)
Another Hundred People / So Many People (Malcolm Gets)
Let's Face the Music and Dance / The Song Is You (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Happiness
Loving You
You Could Drive a Person Crazy
Not A Day Goes By / Losing My Mind

Tracks:

Buds Won't Bud
I Got Lost in His Arms
West Side Story Segment: Something's Coming / Tonight (Malcolm Gets)
Move On (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Medley: Hard Hearted Hannah / Waiting for the Robert E. Lee / San Francisco
Ice Cream
Send in the Clowns
The Trolley Song
Not While I'm Around (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Anyone Can Whistle

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Barbara Cook is one of today's most accomplished song stylists, and if you don't believe us, just listen to this live album. It's a master class in the art of singing. It documents an evening at Carnegie Hall during which Cook proved that she can dissect and extract the substance out of the simplest of lyrics. One of the best surprises is "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (from Company), which is taken at an amiable trot and allows the singer to display its humor. Cook is not a swinging singer and uptempo is not her pace; give her a ballad, though, and she'll wring the last drop of emotion out of it. Her version of "Losing My Mind" (here paired with "Not a Day Goes By") is simply astonishing. The singer also performs songs that Sondheim has said he wished he had written, an awful lot of them by Harold Arlen. No complaints here. Guest Malcolm Gets solos on a few songs and duets with Cook on others, including "Let's Face the Music and Dance." This is classic material done masterfully by a classic singer. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2004-02-20

Having read the other reviews there is little more for me to add. I have been a Barbara Cook fan for a longtime and for me, this is one of her best concerts ever. I do, however, prefer the DVD. As with some other reviewers, I do not want to hear Malcolm Gets (as much as I like him) when I want to listen to Barbara. Her flawless interpretation of music is a hard act to follow for any singer! I managed to see this concert 4 times over a year and a half. Each time I saw her the voice was stronger and more assured (I would not have thought that possible). I can't help but think we will have the pleasure of hearing Ms Cook for many years to come. For those people who enjoyed his CD I strongly recommend purchasing the DVD. Barabara's rendition of So Many People is breathtaking (literally, I don't think I breathed once during the entire song). If you ever have opportunity to see her live - go! She has an ability to make you feel as if every song she sings and every word she speaks is directed to you alone. She can take a large venue and make it feel as intimate as your own living room. Having had the pleasure of meeting her I can say she is as youthful and pleasurable in person as she is in her performance.

Everyone Should Whistle.......2003-10-11

After being privileged to attend this concert, I had to own the CD. Once a lyric coloratura and the original Cunegonde in Bernstein's Candide, Ms. Cook has become (in her 70s) a true diva, blessed with a velvety, warm sound. Every note has meaning. Her high B-flat on "Ice Cream" is still the envy of any soprano today. Everyone should whistle after hearing the superb performances on this CD. Even better, though, is the experience of having been in the concert hall for the live performance. Brava, Ms. Cook!

An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master.......2003-06-16

When I first bought tickets for the 'Mostly Sondheim' show on tour (in San Francisco) I figured it couldn't be too bad. Besides, I had only been exposed to a few of his songs (Anyone Can Whistle, Losing My Mind...) and had only seen "A Little Night Music". On the way out of the theater I immediately picked up this recording of the program. It is truly amazing. I immediately began listening to it and have barely put it down in the last few months. Furthermore, my Sondheim CD collection increased in size from an unflattering zero to five (and it's still growing)! This is an amazing introduction to the works of Stephen Sondheim, who is now my favorite modern musical composer). Buy this now if you don't already have it!

Beautiful, moving concert.......2003-04-13

This is a wonderful CD set with a great selection of songs. I do want to express a slight reservation, however. Barbara Cook has been one of my favorite singers for a number of years and the way her voice defies time is extraordinary -- for her to be singing with such bright, beautiful tone in her mid-70s with no wobble or beat in the voice is an amazing achievment.

I do have to say that by 2001, when this concert was recorded, Cook seemed to have a lost a little bit of power and intensity in her singing. This is only natural for someone of her age. Her voice is still lovely, but you can sense her keeping it in reserve a bit. She's as expressive as ever, but compare the rendition of "I got lost in his arms" on this album to the one on her previous album recorded in 1999, "The Champion Season", and there's less urgency and vocal depth in her singing here. That said, the high B at the end of "Ice Cream" is sensational.

So, despite that caveat, this is, again, a wonderful album, a must for Cook fans, especially for the gorgeous renditions of songs I'd never thought I'd get to hear her perform: "Not a Day Goes By", "Happiness/Loving You", "San Francisco", etc. Buy it!

... and I love Barbara Cook.......2003-02-11

This recording is a disappointment for me. It is not her best work, and Malcolm Gets is uninspired. My biggest complaint however is the engineering of the recording. Throughout the speaking was to soft, the singing volumes uneven, and the applause deafening. I will be passing this CD on to friends, and will later donate it to my local library.

Bloomer Girl (1944 Original Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

Not a bad Collectors Item
Excellent and undeservedly forgotten
Slavery and the Civil war inspired this popular 1944 musical
Celeste Holm in a largely-forgotten musical
Nice remastering

Bloomer Girl (1944 Original Broadway Cast)
Harold Arlen , E. Y. Harburg , and Celeste Holm
Manufacturer: Decca U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005A8KD
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Tracks:

When The Boys Come Home
Evelina
Welcome Hinges
The Farmer's Daughter
It Was Good Enough For Grandma
The Eagle And Me
Right As The Rain
T'Morra' T'Morra'
The Rakish Young Man With The Whiskuhs
Sunday In Cicero Falls
I Got A Song
Satin Gown And Silver Shoe (Lullaby)
Liza Crossing The Ice
Never Was Born
Man For Sale
Finale: The Eagly And Me/When The Boys Come Home
Evelina
The Eagle And Me
When The Boys Come Home

Amazon.com

E. Y. "Yip" Harburg (best known for writing lyrics for "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and The Wizard of Oz) was famous for his strong leftist convictions, and nowhere are they more in evidence than in Bloomer Girl. The show, which opened in 1944, was set in 1861 and tackled (in a lighthearted mode) subjects as serious as the emancipation of both women and slaves. As usual, the women eclipsed the men: star Celeste Holm projected saucy intelligence as Evelina, the bloomer girl of the title, while Joan McCracken provided exuberant comic relief. Bloomer Girl is decidedly a minor show, but it does have two absolutely lovely numbers, "Evelina" and "Right as the Rain," which boast some of Arlen's most delicious melodies and fully belong in the musical-theater canon. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Not a bad Collectors Item.......2006-08-03

So often times, an old show like this, is just boring and not the best vocals. Well some women in this show aren't great, but for the most part this is a good CD. The lyrics are pretty funny, and the orchestrations arent to ancient. Good for collecotrs only. Favorite song: "The Eagles and Me"

Excellent and undeservedly forgotten.......2004-06-15

While Bloomer Girl was a hit in its day, solidifying the stardom of Celeste Holm and enjoying some radio airplay and a 1950s TV version with Barbara Cook, no one seems to remember it much today, and they stage it even less than much. It appears that the book is weak by today's standards, and the costume requirements may be a bit much for most theaters today (Supposedly one of Celeste Holm's hoop skirts had to be lowered onto her by a crane backstage!), and the emphasis on Agnes de Mille-style ballets (Including a famous one in which women wait for their men to come home from the Civil War) might make the show somewhat dated today.

But whatever the problems are that keep Bloomer Girl largely out of production, the score is not one of them. As evidenced by this delightful original cast recording, Harold Arlen's lilting and eminently hummable melodies are expertly set to sharp lyrics by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg that seem surprsingly modern in their viewpoints on sexual and racial equality (Long before either cause was fashionable). While this cast is not always the most technically polished, they do perform with great charm and warmth. Fresh from her scene-stealing as Ado Annie in the original Oklahoma!, Celeste Holm graduates to the lead role of the strong-willed Yankee Evelina (Who, though she of course falls in love with the leading man after some resistance, appears to get *him* to convert to her ways of thinking, rather than the other way around). Holm reveals a much more sumptuous vocal range than she probably ever exhibited before or since, but still tackles the role with the assurance and spirit that characterizes her best-loved work. She is well-matched by David Brooks (Who plays Jeff Calhoun, the Souther gentleman who courts Evelina, and would later originate the role of Tommy Albright in Brigadoon) in the duets "Evelina" and "Right as the Rain." Joan McCracken, a well-regarded dancer who had also first gained attention in the Oklahoma! chorus line but later lost many career oppurtunities-and her husband, Bob Fosse-to Gwen Verdon and drifted into obscurity, is a vivid presence here with her two numbers, "T'morra T'morra" and "Never Was Born." Dooley Wilson (Sam in the film Casablanca) plays Pompey, a slave whom Evelina and Jeff Calhoun conspire to help escape, and he makes a soulful cry for freedom with "The Eagle and Me." Yes, he's warm and genial enough to keep the middle-class 1940s Broadway audiences from feeling too threatened, but his deep conviction is clear. (The emphasis he puts on the final word is particularly haunting) Composer Arlen also appears on the album in a section of the chorus number "Sunday in Cicero Falls" and for his own solo (Taking over from a chorus member), "Man for Sale."

Needless to say, this score is very welcome in its CD reissue, which also features bonus tracks of Bing Crosby and the Russ Morgan orchestra recording songs from the show. While this may not be the most recognizeable title to leap out at you from Amazon or your local CD store, I nevertheless urge you to buy it, as you are likely to be pleasently surprised.

Slavery and the Civil war inspired this popular 1944 musical.......2004-05-24

BLOOMER GIRL was huge hit when it opened on Broadway in 1944 and ran for over two years. Decca recorded the original cast album as one of their largest 78 RPM sets (8 records) granting some of the longer numbers the luxury of two full sides. For the Lp reissue, the first part of "Sunday in Cicero Falls" was eliminated. It has been restored for this CD reissue.

The score by Harold Arlen (who makes a couple of vocal apperances on the records, substituting for chorus member Alan Gilbert) contains "Right as the Rain", "The Eagle and Me" and the charming "Evelina." Therev are a couple of less interesting tracks ("Welcome Hinges", "Never Was Born" and "The Rakish Young Man with the Whiskahs.") but on the whole it's a pleasant score.

The show is largely forgotten today because it was never filmed, and while there was TV production in the 1950s, the broadcast revealed a rather dull book.

Decca's transfer from the original 16" glass-based transcriptions sounds quite good.

Celeste Holm in a largely-forgotten musical.......2002-11-13

Celeste Holm sounds fabulous in this largely-forgotten musical, now re-issued as part of the new selection of releases from Decca Broadway.

BLOOMER GIRL was Holm's first musical after creating the role of Ado Annie Carnes in the original Broadway production of OKLAHOMA! (which starred Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts). BLOOMER GIRL also featured fellow OKLAHOMA! co-star Joan McCracken as the comic lead and choreographer Agnes De Mille, creating the now-legendary "Civil War Ballet".

BLOOMER GIRL's rich score includes the lilting "Evelina" and the lullabye "Satin Gown and Silver Shoe" for Ms Holm to sing in her unmistakable vocal style.

Decca Broadway has done a great job restoring the original session tapes of the 1944 recording. There is a large amount of crackle and background hiss and some minor dropouts, but with the limitations of the analogue format, this goes with the territory.

A highly-recommended recording for Broadway fans.

Nice remastering.......2001-04-23

This remaster of the 1944 recording sounds good. Hearing Celeste Holm is a treat. Joan McCracken is another voice from the past who was enjoyable to listen to. Some standout songs were "It was Good Enough for Grandma" sung by Ms Holm; "The Eagle and Me" sung by Dooley Wilson (Sam in Casablanca); I particualrly liked "The Farmer's Daughter."

Average customer rating:

Failed Ideas
Simply Exquisite

Out of This World
Harold Arlen , Herbert/ Arlen, Harold ("Hal") Stothart , Allan Schwartzberg , Joe Beck , Cyro Baptista , James Saporito , Jeffrey Harris , and Mike Renzi
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000TAZ5Q
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Tracks:

Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
Come Rain or Come Shine
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive/Get Happy
It's Only a Paper Moon
Let's Fall in Love [*]
Sleepin' Bee
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
Optimistic Voices [*]
Over the Rainbow
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block
Don't Like Goodbyes
Right as the Rain
Out of This World
Man That Got Away/Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)/Blues in
My Shining Hour

Customer Reviews:

Failed Ideas.......2004-12-09

Maureen McGovern is a national treasure. Her Naughty Baby CD to me is the 2nd coming of Christ. By comparison Out of this World is quite disappointing. Mostly either Harold Arlen or MM's uninspiring interpretations and/or Renzi's arrangements don't seem to suit MM on this CD. The drums and percusion are sometimes schlocky. The screechy sax is always terrible. Also not working for me are the electric keyboard/synthesizer, the electric guitar and the cello. Even Renzi's piano playing is sometimes a let down. Jay Leonhart's great bass work seems to be the only thing that you can depend on here. Did MM do this to herself or is Renzi mainly responsible? Spend your money instead on: Naughty Baby, The Music Never Ends, The Pleasure of his Company and Christmas With MM. All wonderful music.

Simply Exquisite.......2003-12-01

I'd forgotten what a beautiful, supple vocal instrument McGovern has. Here, she sings blues- and jazz-flavored tunes, torchy ballads, and more--all Harold Arlen--including "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Over the Rainbow," "Let's Take a Walk Around the Block," "The Man That Got Away" and "Come Rain or Come Shine." Her "Optimistic Voices" (from The Wizard of Oz) is worth the price of the entire CD. It is simply exquisite, like a fine jewel, polished and gleaming with feeling.

Average customer rating:

Bloomer Girl
Original Broadway Cast
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000008DK3
Release Date: 1992-04-28

Tracks:

When the Boys Come Home
Evelina - Dave Brooks, David Brooks, Celeste Holm
Welcome Hinges - Dave Brooks, David Brooks, , ,
Farmer's Daughter
It Was Good Enough for Grandma - Celeste Holm
Eagle and Me - Dooley Wilson, Chorus
Right as the Rain - Dave Brooks, David Brooks, Celeste Holm
T'Morra', T'Morra' - Joan McCracken
Rakish Young Man With the Whiskuhs - Celeste Holm
Sunday in Cicero Falls - Harold Arlen, , , Celeste Holm, , Chorus
I Got a Song - Hubert Dilworth, Richard Huey, Dooley Wilson
Satin Gown and Silver Shoe (Lullaby) - Celeste Holm
Liza Crossing the Ice - Toni Hart
Never Was Born - Joan McCracken
Man for Sale - Harold Arlen
Finale: The Eagle and Me/When the Boys Come Home - Dave Brooks, David Brooks, Celeste Holm
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Eagle and Me [*] - Toots Camarata & His Orchestra, Bing Crosby
When the Boys Come Home [*] - Russ Morgan & His Orchestra

Average customer rating:

Music For Brass Through Time And Space

Manufacturer: Caprice
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000000UG6
Release Date: 1994-07-25

Tracks:

Dance No.4
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Dance No.1
Canzona No.4
Canzona No.1
Canzona No.3
Fahlu-Orens Frids-Fagnad
Sag Mig Den Vagen Som Drager Till Livet
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Heav'n, Heav'n
Qnt in b flat, Op.5, 1st Movt
Auda, 3rd Movt, Presto Con Fuoco
Mini Ov
Qnt 3rd Movt, Con Brio
Son, 1st Movt, Allegro Moderato
Le Cinema Muet, 1st Movt. Monsieur Faty, Lentement
The Harlem Rag
Bloomer Girl: Evelina
The Chevy Chase

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