Search - Frank Loesser :: Guys And Dolls (1976 Studio Cast)

The Rat Pack does Guys and Dolls

DVD buff | Austin, TX USA | 03/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are several truly excellent recordings of GUYS AND DOLLS out there -- the original Broadway Cast album and the 1976 and 1992 revivals being three of them.



But this album (a 1964 studio recording) is possibly the best of the bunch. The "Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre" is a formal name for the Rat Pack -- Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin specifically. Throw in Debbie Reynolds, Dinah Shore, Jo Stafford and the McGuire Sisters, and you've got some of the most legendary talent of the mid-20th Century.



It's more than just the talent, though. These folks take GUYS AND DOLLS to a new level of "hip." The arrangements are pure swing, the deliveries are pure Vegas, and you can tell they're just having a great time recording it. This is everything that GUYS AND DOLLS was meant to be, interpreted in the most appropriate way possible.



The only thing that keeps this album from being sheer perfection is the lack of "Marry the Man Today." Why that song was left off is a mystery to me, as it's one of the true highlights of the show. But Dinah Shore's "If I Were a Bell" makes up for that shortcoming, as it's the best version of the song in existence.



This CD can be hard-to-find, but it's well worth seeking out."

Mistitled...NOT the 1976 Cast..

Comic Online | Washington, DC United States | 01/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know what hole the idiots at Amazon ended up pulling this one out of, but this is NOT the 1976 cast recording. This is the version Sinatra recorded with his buddies in 1963. The recordings include Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, among many others. It's out-of-print now, and in fine stereo, so if you are a Sinatra, and always thought HE should have played Brando's role in the movie, then this soundtrack is for you."