This unlicensed British CD combines the contents of two LPs of U.K. recordings of the scores of lesser-known musical works by major American musical theater songwriters. In the late '50s, both
Cole Porter and the team of
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II wrote songs for musicals broadcast live on network television in the U.S. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, starring
Julie Andrews, ran on TV on March 31, 1957, while
Porter's Aladdin (which turned out to be his final work) appeared on February 21, 1958. Neither was adapted for a stage version in the U.S., but both were in London, albeit as special Christmas season "pantomime" productions, Cinderella in 1959 and Aladdin in 1960. This disc contains the original London cast recording of Aladdin, augmented with a 1959 studio cast recording of Cinderella that conforms to the show as it was produced in London. (Both albums fell out of copyright in Europe after 50 years.) Four
Porter songs from earlier musicals have been interpolated into the London Aladdin score to bring it up to the length of a stage production, "There Must Be Someone for Me" from Mexican Hayride; "Cherry Pies Ought to Be You" and "I Am Loved" from Out of This World; and "Ridin' High" from Red, Hot and Blue. The last two especially don't fit that well with the Oriental themes of the rest of the score, which features some typically witty
Porter patter in songs such as "Come to the Supermarket (In Old Peking)" and "Wouldn't It Be Fun (Emperor's Song)." This is not top-drawer
Porter, but there are flashes of his talent, and the London cast, led by Bob Monkhouse (who recalls
Anthony Newley) in the title role, is good. The London Cinderella also had additions, drawing "Marriage Type Love" and "No Other Love Have I" from Me and Juliet, and those interpolations have been repeated in the studio cast version.
Elizabeth Larner takes the title role and proves to be a clone of
Julie Andrews, which is fine, since the role was written with her in mind anyway.
Denis Quilley proves a big-voiced Prince. The recording of this work to own is the TV soundtrack with
Andrews, but the long out of print
Larner/
Quilley version makes a nice addition to the British Aladdin. ~ William Ruhlmann