Search - George Daugherty, Milton J. Franklyn, Carl Stalling :: Bugs Bunny on Broadway

Cute CD for Looney Tunes fans

Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 04/03/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sure, it's not for everyone's taste but no fan of Bugs or Daffy can be without this CD. Outside of the famous 'Merry Go Round Broke Down' and Merrie Melodies theme the Looney Tunes cartoons are well known for paying tribute to and parodying classical music and there's loads of that behavior to be had on this CD. The popular song 'What's Up Doc' is also featured here and there's just enough of Daffy Duck included to keep me happy. Hard to come by but worth getting if you can pick it up cheap."

An Adequate New/Old Hybrid

Sir Charles Panther | Alexandria, Virginny, USandA | 08/07/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a purist, in that only the original recordings will resonate with you, this one might be tough to like. This is the "original cast recording" of a 1990 tour of the US made by a newly constituted Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra, for the 50th anniversary of Bugs Bunny--the album is a tribute to Carl Stallings, Milton Franklyn, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, and all of the folks who made these cartoons the classics they are and will continue to be. The tunes are well done, arranged and separate well, but there are some places, especially in rhythm changes, drum breaks and certain horn combinations, where you can just hear the familiar tone missing, where it's just not quite "right," not what you remember. The recordings are very well done, with good separation, clean sound, the whole bit, but they're not the original, authentic recordings you may be looking for, so remember that when it comes time to buy.



You get a number of renditions of the Warner Bros Merrie Melodies overture (track 1, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12), but they sound thin, detached, somehow too far away--it's just not quite right.



There are a number of classic bits from the cartoons, with the original voice tracks (Mel Blanc's brilliant characterizations) over newly recorded arrangements. This is okay, but nothing revelatory.



You get a little bit of the classic Raymond Scott "Power House" in the "Jumpin' Jupiter" track, but it's truncated, with the opening bars, and not the real heart of this touchstone song, that tick-tock syncopated juke, the classic sounds of a WB cartoon.



"The Rabbit of Seville" is a classic, with just a little bit of lyrics. But, the strength of this bit was its music, lyrics AND visuals, so we're missing out on at least 1/3 of the power of this bit. It's good, but comes across as incomplete.



"A Corny Concerto" is close to 'pure,' but with all of the cartoon sound effects thrown in. The "quack, quack" lyrics of Strauss' "Blue Danube" waltz are classic.



"Long-Haired Hare" is the bit about the struggle between Bugs and the stuff opera singer. The sounds are all there, but again, you've got to remember the visuals to really get all you can out of this. The best part of this track is the awed "Leopold!" comments from the orchestra members as Bugs mimics Stokowski.



The star of this CD for me is track 11, "What's Opera, Doc?" This is the one where just about all of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen is included. This is the one with the classic lines of "Kill the wabbit!" and "...Wif my spear and Magic Helmet!" It's got Elmer Fudd vocalizing to "Die Valkure," which is a great counter-voice to the too-common vision of Coppola's Apocalypse Now. This is the reason I bought this CD, and it delivers completely.



You close with more Merrie Melodies theme music, and the Porky outtro, and you're done.



Total run time is approximately 55 minutes. There are extensive liner notes with the symphony members listed, extended credits, and essays from both Chuck Jones and the new orchestra's conductor (and project brainchild and producer), George Daugherty.



Bottom line: if you're looking for a general compilation of WB cartoon music, with some bits from the original cartoons, then this one will work for you. But if you're an uncompromising purist this might not be the right one; maybe you should go for the original soundtrack recordings, like The Carl Stalling Project."