
The 1945 Original Broadway Cast Recording of CAROUSEL
The 1945 Original Broadway Cast Recording is something special, preserving the original cast performances and providing enough of the score so that one gets a relatively good idea of the show. Yes, some songs are shortened (like “If I Loved You”), but the only song that gets left out completely is “Geraniums in the Winder”. The other cut material comprises mostly reprises and dance music. The principal cast members are all good singers. John Raitt’s baritone rounds out the songs nicely, Jan Clayton gives a moving reading of Julie’s songs, and Murvyn Vye is fun as Jigger. We did get a reminder of the original Julie and Billy’s performances on a TV special in 1954. Watching that performance reveals how masterful Rodgers and Hammerstein’s work on the show was and also gives us some idea of how fantastic Raitt and Clayton must have been when the show premiered 9 years earlier.
Looking at the same scene as it appears in the disappointing 1956 film – well, it just doesn’t compare. Neither does the 1956 Soundtrack, although it does give one a better impression of the film than it deserves. Overall, it’s too polished: the sound of the bigger orchestrations sound more generic, more Hollywood than the New England setting of the material. Gordon Macrae and Shirley Jones, while delivering highly listenable covers of the songs, are a bit too light in the central roles. There’s also not enough contrast in vocal colour between them and the other leads. Logically enough, this makes Barbara Ruick and Robert Rounseville stand out to a greater extent – and of course, this means that the balance in the cast is somewhat off-kilter. Regarding its completeness, there is more material here than on the OBCR: the ballet music is included but “Geraniums in the Winder” and “The Highest Judge of All”, which were cut from the film, are not.
Another recording that often gets mentioned in discussions about the show is the 1987 Studio Cast Recording. Some folks love it, but it’s not really one of my favourites. Although it’s almost complete, cutting only the Act 2 ballet music, there’s a bit too much tiptoeing around the roles on the part of the singers for everything to settle completely. Samuel Ramey’s singing of Billy is impressive, but he doesn’t get the character to move through the material in his interpretation of the pieces. To a lesser extent, the same is true of Barbara Cook, whose work I genuinely adore elsewhere. I suppose my major beef with this album is that it is a typical studio recording, albeit an excellent one and far more successful than most, but it never really catches alight in the way Carousel should.

The 1996 Broadway Revival Cast Recording of Carousel
As I’ve noted above, there are many other recordings of the show, some of which are not yet available on CD. Nonetheless, I think these recordings represent the main players of a musical that provides a truly emotional experience not only when seen live in the theatre, but also when appreciated musically on your CD player or iPod in your own time.
I agree about the 1994 cast, but I’m really only in it for Audra and Shirley Verrett. I’m always struck by how elegant a Nellie she is. And then I listen to John Raitt or Robert Merrill for my Soliloquy. I don’t really listen to the Julie Jordan music much. 🙂
I agree with the 1994 recording as well, but I do love the OBCR. Great read!
Yes, the 1994 recording with Audra is fantastic!
I havent heard the 1994 recording. I loved the 1945 performance although it was cut. The movie performance is good but for me the original cast is better. I also heard the 1987 CD. Samuel Ramey was good but too operatic and I loved Barbara Cook as Julie but she should have recorded it before when she made the musical on stage. She played both Julie and Carrie, like Audra McDonald who was Julie in a concert performance with Hugh Jackman. I loved the OBC recording.