The Most Magical Adventure of Them All – 2011 London Palladium recording.
The Wizard of Oz is a classic movie that I’m sure featured heavily in everyone’s childhood, I know it was certainly one of my favourites.
Recently it has been adapted to a stage musical, an adaptation that has been a long time in the making because the original movie did not contain enough songs. Undeniably the movie contains some of the greatest songs ever written so it was going to take some serious work to ensure that anything newly added did justice to the basis that was already present.
The CD booklet contains an introduction by Andrew Lloyd Webber about his journey to this production and in it he says:
Perhaps because ‘Over The Rainbow’ is such an overwhelmingly iconic song or maybe because not all the movie score was widely available, I had absolutely no idea of the depth and quality of superb melody that Arlen wrote for the Oz score until I started work. ‘We’re Outta The Woods’ has to be up there with the best melodies of all time and there is so much more wonderful Arlen melody as I hope you will find in this recording.
As a composer/producer my hope is that in some small way I have moulded a superb movie score into a shape which will enchant future generations of theatregoers.
This recording is classic Wizard of Oz, the tracks from the original movie will transport you back to your childhood and watching the movie. Danielle Hope is not Judy Garland, no-one could be because they are some amazingly large red shoes to fill, she does a fantastic job nonetheless and brings her very own personality to Dorothy and really makes the part her own.
The entire recording is like being at the theatre front row centre – without the visuals. If you close your eyes you can almost see the entire production play out behind your eyelids – or maybe that’s just because I have seen the movie that many times. Another classic movie I can see I am going to have to hunt down and introduce to my children.
Theatre has never really appealed to me but with sensational soundtracks like this one I may just end up buying tickets one of these days!
If you love The Wizard Of Oz you are going to love this CD. If you have children who have not yet had the pleasure, this is going to make a perfect introduction.
Track Listing:
- Overture
- Nobody Understands Me
- Over The Rainbow
- Wonders Of The World
- The Twister
- Arrival In Munchkinland
- Munchkinland/ Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
- Follow The Yellow Brick Road
- If I Only Had A Brain/ We’re Off To See The Wizard
- If I Only Had A Heart/ We’re Off To See The Wizard
- If I Only Had The Nerve/ We’re Off To See The Wizard
- We’re Outta The Woods
- The Merry Old Land Of Oz
- Bring Me The Broomstick
- Haunted Forest
- Red Shoes Blues
- Bacchanalia
- Red Shoes Blues (reprise)
- Over The Rainbow (reprise)
- If We Only Had A Plan
- The Rescue
- Hail-Hail! The Witch Is Dead
- The Wizard’s Departure
- Already Home
- Finale
What is your favourite memory of The Wizard of Oz? Or your favourite song from the movie?
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!