ON THE RECORD: Finn's Make Me a Song , Plus Studio Discs of South Pacific and Kiss Me, Kate
By Steven Suskin
THE BEST OF BROADWAY Vol. 1: SOUTH PACIFIC & KISS ME, KATE [DRG 19113]South Pacific , paired with a similar selection of Kiss Me, Kate . (The 10-inch platters were considerably shorter than the 12-inch platters, which proved more popular and soon rendered the 10-inch obsolete.)
Gordon MacRae sings the men's songs on both, and he sounds pretty much like the pop vocalists who would make you not want to bother with this genre of non-cast album. (Rodgers and Hammerstein subsequently chose him for the screen versions of Oklahoma! and Carousel . Go figure.) The chorus on these, too, sounds more corny than Kansas in August. The songs were recorded by studio musicians in Los Angeles; Frank DeVol and Dave Barbour conduct South Pacific , Paul Weston conducts Kate .
But the above doesn't much matter. The leading ladies are more than good enough to make you want to play this CD, and then play it again. Margaret Whiting sings "A Cockeyed Optimist" and "A Wonderful Guy," and you immediately think: maybe she was unlikely to go onstage and act Nellie Forbush for two-and-a-half hours, but listen to her sing . Regardless of the arrangements, she is pretty good. The same can be said for Peggy Lee. This is, of course, a different "Bali Ha'i" than they were singing over at the Majestic then, or the Beaumont now; but Ms. Lee creates her own special island, all right, subsequently washing that man right outta her hair as well. Jo Stafford, who joins Mr. MacRae on Kate , is lesser known than Margaret Whiting or Peggy Lee. But her voice has character to it, and plenty, making you want to hear what she does with each successive song.
Ms. Whiting, Ms. Lee and Ms. Stafford sing selections from South Pacific and Kiss Me, Kate . I dare say you'll find yourself rewarded by listening to the ladies.
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(Steven Suskin is author of "Second Act Trouble," "Show Tunes" and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. Past On the Record columns are archived in the Features section of Playbill.com. Suskin can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com)
