Alan Jay Lerner - My Fair Lady (1964 Film Soundtrack)

My Fair Lady is--deservedly--one of the most famous musicals of all time. Its popular 1964 film version, directed by George Cukor, has ensured that for most people Audrey Hepburn is Eliza Doolittle, while Broadway-heads swear by Julie Andrews's stage performance, immortalized on the 1956 cast album. Of course, for the purposes of a CD review it's more accurate to compare the performances of Andrews and Marni Nixon, who sang the songs lip-synched by Hepburn in the movie. While Andrews usually comes out on top (especially on "I Could Have Danced All Night"), Nixon is no slouch (after all, she also dubbed Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Deborah Kerr in The King & I). Rex Harrison, of course, does his own vocals, but then he doesn't so much sing his songs as talk them. While Nixon and Harrison are tops, the truth is that Lerner and Loewe's songs are so good as to endure almost anybody's interpretation: "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "With a Little Bit of Luck," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and so on--not many shows can boast as many classics. The movie version's real bonus is Andre Previn's swellegant orchestration. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon.com

Audrey Hepburn!

I bought this soundtrack for my mom for her birthday-she loved it! Shipping was fine, price was decent, everything was in good shape...
It's good to see timeless songs surviving through the digital age. September 4, 2008

loverly (yes, loverly)

If you like 1960s musicals, this CD is fits the bill. My Fair Lady is a classic. Good quality recording from the film soundtrack. May 30, 2008

Oooh, how loverly !!!

This CD of the songs from the 1964 film My Fair Lady really does a great job of giving you the flavor of this spectacular musical. The sound quality is superb; and the artwork is well done.

The overture is as beautiful as it was the very first time I ever heard it while watching this film. The lush musical arrangement works very well to mark the beginning of this classic and timeless motion picture. The strings sound great. "Why can't The English?" is performed mainly by Rex Harrison; he can't really sing but the way he essentially speaks his lines to this tune really makes this number hum along well! Rex Harrison is able to use his voice to boom out the lyrics to anyone even remotely within earshot--and this impresses me very much.

"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" features the Marni Nixon singing in place of Audrey Hepburn (Hepburn's singing voice was dubbed). Marni sings this with great sensitively and she pegs down that accent like the pro she always was! "With A Little Bit Of Luck" has the great Stanley Holloway performing to perfection; and there's a great number in "The Rain In Spain" when Eliza Doolittle finally manages to get the "proper" accent down pat.

"I Could Have Danced All Night" features Marni Nixon at her very best; the operatic qualities of her voice really shine through on this number! Bill Shirley also does a great job on "On The Street Where You Live." Bill could really belt this out! "Show Me" also showcases Marni Nixon's great talents as a vocalist; her voice sounds clear as a bell and she never misses a note!

"A Hymn To Him" is a very funny number performed primarily by the great Rex Harrison; he delivers this with panache, heart and soul. Again, his essentially speaking his lines never seems to interfere with his exceptional ability to deliver a song flawlessly. It's amazing. "Without You" again has Marni Nixon dubbing the voice of Audrey Hepburn for this great number from the ending portion of this motion picture; and as usual Marni delivers this with all the heart and soul of a greatly talented chanteuse.

"I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" is really the last musical number just before the ending credits; and Rex Harrison simply never sounded better! He aces this easily and it makes a fine ending musical song for this motion picture soundtrack album. Of course, we also get the music from the ending credits.

My Fair Lady is one of the best musicals ever made. This soundtrack album of songs and music from the motion picture is a must have for fans of the great musicals.
April 13, 2008

Audrey Hepburn? Really? No.

I'm really just appalled that Audrey Hepburn is credited on this soundtrack, as she never sang for the movie and Julie Andrews was the original Eliza, so there's no way in hell that Audrey Hepburn qualifies for the "original cast" of any music recording of this show. Otherwise it's a lovely recording and brings back old memories. February 1, 2008

go with the OBC

Some movie-musicals have it pretty easy. if filmakers can get the original broadway cast, or at least most of it, and include the majority, if not all of the songs. then they're pretty much set. for proof of this, look no further than 1964's adaptation of My Fair Lady.

SONGS
all of the songs from the stage show are here, which gives this soundtrack a wonderfully full feeling. the orchestra feels rich and lush on all the tracks, plus some purely instrumental tracks that really add life and fill out the soundtrack nicely. because most of the broadway cast is here, the songs all sound great too.

SONGS 4 out of 5

PERFORMERS
rex harrison, stanley holloway, and wilfred hyde-white all reprise their broadway roles and make their songs just as witty and clever as ever. they all sound just as great and add a wonderful broadway-feel to the album. bill shirley dubbs the part of freddy here, and since i fealt that his songs were fairly bland his presence isn't particularly noticable. the real difference is in the form of audrey hepburn vs julie andrews.

actually its more marni nixon (who dubbed for hepburn) vs julie andrews. marni nixon is a great singer, but the only problem here is that she should have been allowed to just sing the part. songs like "wouldn't it be loverly" and "just you wait" make it painfully obveous that two women are performing the part. songs like "i could've danced all night", "show me", and "without you" are great just because nixon is allowed to just sing the damn role.

PERFORMERS 4 out of 5

fans of musicals and this show will still appreciate this soundtrack, since even at its weakest, this soundtrack is still impressive. however, light fans will want to pass this over for the original broadway cast album, since evn if marni nixon had been allowed to perform the whole soundtrack, julie andrews is still more impressive. July 28, 2007

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