Oklahoma! (1955)

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The stereo remix LP arrived five years later with a new ending for the LP overture, a new remix of THE FARMER AND COWMAN ending, different takes for the dialogue in PORE JUD as well as the addition of the "good" and "wood" echos, and shouts and hoots to end the OKLAHOMA! final cut.

The CD release preserved the stereo LP mix.

Now we have a 41:37 commerical release expanded to nearly twice its size with a 76:42 running time and INCREDIBLE SOUND. The Todd-AO six track masters sound remarkable even to today's ears. The clarity, depth and detail delight the ears.

Here we have new: 1. Overture/Main Title - the first two lifted from an actual film print and spliced into the commercially released version of Mornin minus its LP intro (although the song is complete in the LP and CD releases the film proper cut the second stanza (All the cattle are standin like statues...); 2. Kansas City Dance - spliced onto the end of the commercially released recording (the LP ending is dispensed with) with one small cut (the slowly accelerating tap contest following Will's fall through the crate) and this taken from a film print; 3. Many A New Day Ballet - also spliced onto the end of the commercial released recording with Gertie's laugh edited out at the end; 4. Out Of My Dreams and Ballet - here the commercial LP recording is dispensed with and we have an extended cut from the film with Laurie's dialogue, her rendition of the song and the complete ballet right up to the Intermission title - FABULOUS; 5. the very brief Entr'Acte taken from the film; 6. Farmer and the Cowman is extended by splicing in more of the song from film right into the commercial LP recording and seguing this into the dance that follows; 7. the lovely reprise of People Will Say We're In Love; 8. All Er Nuthin - the LP release ending is cut and it is spliced into the Dance and the reprise of the song; 9. End Title and Credits - from the film comes the departure of Laurie and Curley to the reprise of Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin, followed by the end title and credit music.

The recording ends with the LP overture - one wonders why this was created when there already was an entirely different overture composed for the film print itself. The LP version clocks in at 4:51 and the film version at 2:55, so the latter would have been an okay length for a 78/45 rpm side. I guess we'll never know.

This is brilliantly realized sound and artistic achievement. RUN to buy a copy.

Oklahoma!
This is by far THE BEST movie and sountrack. The music is beautiful, but still fun and entertaining. It deserves more than 5 stars!

OKLAHOMA REMASTER A SLOPPY MESS!
My disappointment with this expanded soundtrack reissue of OKLAHOMA is based on my belief, which is shared by many other people who grew up with and have grown to love these magnificent performances for their musical excellence, not as a mere souvenir of a movie for casual listening. If I want to experience the movie, I watch the movie on DVD or tape. If I want to enjoy the music on a recording, I want the music to be allowed to speak for itself without sound effects mixed in meant exclusively for the visual presentation. The film versions of the three Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals from which these Angel CD reissues are derived, showcase the finest performances, before or since, that these magnificent scores have ever received. The additional music on the expanded editions of these albums is NOT from the original multi channel vocal and music separation soundtrack master recordings stored in the 20th Century Fox vaults but instead recorded directly from a final mix print soundtrack complete with foot stomping and extraneous sound effects, which besides having no place on a music only recording, actually detract from the listening experience rather than enhance it. If this were 42nd. Street, the foot stomping would make sense, since it is an integral part of the musical presentation, but without the visuals these random sounds don't make any sense in OKLAHOMA, where the superb arrangements of Robert Russell Bennett should be allowed to speak for themselves without intrusions from foley effects. If this were a live recording, such sounds would be an artifact of the original and impossible to remove and therefore have to be acceptable if one wanted to hear the score in its entirety. But in the case of OKLAHOMA (and for that fact, CAROUSEL, THE KING AND I and SOUTH PACIFIC) a wealth of unmixed original musical material exists in the studio vaults which could have been made available for this remastering and even more music could have been included on this album (probably enough to fill 2 CD's). For instance, THE OUT OF MY DREAMS BALLET could have been presented in its ENTIRETY, with the extra verse of the song which was on the original album but on this CD replaced by a much shorter version used in the film, without any worry about the sound effects intruding at the beginning and especially at the end. THE KANSAS CITY, FARMER AND THE COWHAND DANCE MUSIC AND THE FINALE could have been presented minus the foley intrusions that almost drown out the music entirely. That is the saddest part concerning this release. The original studio vault material could have been made available if anyone at EMI-Angel had cared enough to present OKLAHOMA with the integrity that this classic recording deserves and should have gotten. If you can get past these aberrations (in addition to some amateur sloppy fade-ins and fade-outs cross cutting the old and new material) the sound on this CD is very good and offers an energetic and beautifully orchestrated performance of the score by Gordon Mac Rae, Shirley Jones and the entire supporting cast. In fact, this performance is superior to the Broadway original in every respect. But even so, try to find the previous CD version of this album, which may not have the additional music but does include the entire vocal score (including the longer version of the song OUT OF MY DREAMS) without all the intrusive sound effects and sloppy edits making for a far more enjoyable listening experience. Let's hope that someday EMI-Angel will give all three of the Rodgers and Hammerstein soundtracks their due and re-release them with added material from the untainted studio vault separations. That would really be SOMETHING SPECIAL.