alanbweaver's Full Review: Pal Joey by Original Soundtrack
The movie Pal Joey with Frank Sinatra is not a particularly good movie when compared with the play. Unfortunately, the play has had a number of incarnations which were not successful due to poor interpretations of Joey. He is an unlikable opportunist only out for himself. He was probably the first anti-hero on the musical stage. However, he has some terrific numbers that he sings.
However, the score of the play is a classic and when one gets to hear Frank Sinatra sing these standards (heard on some of his other albums), this album is pure delight. Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak also appeared in the movie. You get to hear Kim Novak sing “Zip” in a rather sultry fashion. Rita Hayworth’s interpretations of some of the numbers range from acceptable to quite good. She’s no Streisand but can bring the music across in a husky fashion which adds to the character.
Typical for Hollywood in the 1950’s, the book was significantly altered, as well as the music score. Deletions and additions were made. Fortunately, the best songs of the show were retained in the movie and the soundtrack. These melodies include:
That terrific rainbow
Do it the hard way
There’s a small hotel
Zip
I could write a book
Bewitched
You mustn’t kick it around
Some of the songs added include:
I didn’t know what time it was
Great Big Town
The Lady is a tramp
My Funny Valentine
The newly added melodies above are classic songs and are terrifically sung by Frank Sinatra. (his performance in this film is another story.) The listener is NOT DISTRACTED by the film and can enjoy the excellent score. The orchestrations and musical arrangements are the typical “big band brassy” sound of the 1950’s which is terrific with this type of music. Sound quality is good.
Frank Sinatra is in fine singing form in this soundtrack. The vocals by Rita and Kim (don’t know if they were dubbed in or not!) are fine and have a gutsy feel to them. This was one of the “big” musicals of the 1950’s which was sanitized as adult material could not be portrayed on the screen. Considering how the musicals have evolved in this century, this story with the right casting is ideal for the big screen again.
Although I personally am not a big fan of musicals, I do have different recordings of this show. Although it does not have the original score of the play, this is a terrific re-interpretation of the musical with Sinatra’s inimitable style.
This soundtrack is on the Hallmark music label (out of England) and they have a few other interesting CDs in their catalogue.
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