Having said that, I would recommend the 1993 recording of the Original London Cast of the Nicholas Hytner revival of "Carousel" over this one. While I am a bigger fan of the voices here (especially John Raitt and Jan Clayton), the truncated numbers and out-and-out cuts make listening to this album a tragic experience.

I am usually a believer that the original cast recording is the one to buy as it represents what the composer had in mind while putting the show together, but I do not believe that here. The 1993 recording is far better than this. While this 1945 recording does hold an important place in history, the 1993 recording should be considered definitive.


Ultimate Billy Bigelow   March 13, 2001
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

I don't remember the first time I heard John Raitt do the Soliloquy,I did not see the ORIGINAL PRODUCTION..(Wasnt born yet). I do know that he is the best! Several years ago he performed with the Boston Pops and of course he had to do that number. What a voice! Although this recording is in monaural, it is still worth the price! I am one of those people who think that Carousel was Rodgers and Hammerstein's best work, and there is always something magical and sad about cranking a recording of the OBC up on the stereo,especially "Highest judge of all". What a find,what a treasure!


the peerless original cast   February 20, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This CD from the MCA Broadway-Gold range features the peerless original 1945 cast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's CAROUSEL, regarded by the duo as their favorite of all their collaborations.

The 1945 cast featured John Raitt, in his Broadway debut, as the carnival barker Billy Bigelow with the lovely Jan Clayton as Julie Jordan. The role of Carrie is played by Jean Darling with the cast rounded out by Christine Johnson as Nettie, Eric Mattson as Enoch Snow, Murvyn Vye as Jigger and Connie Baxter.

Raitt's amazing voice perfectly inhabits songs like "The Highest Judge of All" and the breathtaking "Soliloquy". Jan Clayton is a perfect fit for Julie. Miss Clayton would go on to further distinction a few years later, playing both Magnolia and Kim in a landmark revival of SHOW BOAT. Jean Darling perfectly captures the breathless romantic longing of Carrie with the delightful "Mister Snow".

Sound quality is quite good for the age of the material. This cast album is naturally a must-own for all fans of musical theatre


Rousing but rushed interpretation - some fine moments   July 29, 1998
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Due to the limitations of 12 inch 78-RPM sides (no more than 4:30 of recorded time) this operatic classic suffers in its original cast incarnation. The CAROUSEL WALTZ is truncated from its 7:15 full length to 4:21. Jean Darling (Darla of Our Gang) may sing off key in MR. SNOW but her interpretation of Carrie is right on the money. IF I LOVED YOU sounds rushed to fit on one side of a disk. Raitt sings wonderfully but cannot act the non-sung lines of dialogue. The SOLILOQUY is strongly done and contains lines that never made it to the final printed version of the show - "When I have a daughter...I always say" and never recorded elsewhere. The number is strangely placed out of sequence on the CD. JUNE is poorly sung by Christine Johnson but well by the chorus. Eric Mattson is only "acceptable" as Snow in WHEN THE CHILDREN ARE ASLEEP - once again Darling carries the song. Murvyn Vye as Jigger has no voice in BLOW HIGH or THERE'S NOTHIN SO BAD, but the chorus is rollicking and there are lines for the women in the latter recorded nowhere else. A REAL NICE CLAMBAKE is well done as is Jan Clayton's plaintive WHAT'S THE USE OF WONDRIN. Raitt gives a powerful interpretation of HIGHEST JUDGE, but YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE is disappointing vocally and dramatically. All in all, even with the truncated numbers, some fitting two to a side, and the rushed quality of some interpretations, it is important to have this document of the show in one's collection. The immediacy of a live initial performance of what has become a classic of the American Musical Theatre is fascinating. The show ran for 26 months, racked up 890 performances. The album totals 41:01 minutes. Highly recommended!


The first but certainly not the best recording of "Carousel"   February 12, 2001
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

"Carousel" was the second musical collaboration between Rodgers and Hammerstein and this 1945 album "featuring members of the original New York production" has the virtue of being the first record with "selections from the Theatre Guild musical play." However, it terms of both the quality of the voices and recording, this is the least impressive version of "Carousel" out there. The musical from Ferenc Molanr's fantasy drama "Lilom," with the setting moved from Budapest to a coastal New England town in 1873. Lilom, the Budapest bouncer, is transformed in Hammerstein's book into Billy Bigelow, an amusement park barker. Julie Jordan, the sweet, small-town girl is attracted to the rough, worldly Billy. Everyone in town warns them against the marriage, which ends in tragedy with Billy's suicide. However, at the backdoor of Heaven he is given a second chance to perform one good deed. John Raitt and Jan Clayton as Billy and Julie are solid Broadway performers and the rest of the cast is serviceable. However, this album does sound like it was recorded almost 50 years ago. There are times I want to go over and dust off the needle.

The music in "Carousel" certainly holds up, although the idea that a slap from someone who loves you can feel like a kiss is a horrific idea even without the dictates of current political correctness. The score is a varied mix of great and average songs. "The Carousel Waltz (Prologue)" is Rodgers finest instrumental piece outside of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue," "If I Loved You" is as good a love duet as "People Will Say We're In Love," "June is Bustin' Out All Over" is one of the finest choruses from Rodgers & Hammerstein, and it is good to remember the original context of "You'll Never Walk Alone" before Jerry Lewis appropriated it. However, for me the greatest song in this musical has always been the 7:26 "Soliloquy," for which I heartily recommend the Frank Sinatra cover on "Sinatra: A Man and His Music." If you pick up this CD for your collection, it is more out of a sense of completeness than anything else. I would still express a preference for the movie soundtrack with Shirley Jones, although Barbara Cook's studio album would be a close second.