My Fair Lady (1959 Original London Cast) | 
| Artist: Alan Jay Lerner
Creators: Frederick Loewe, Percy Faith, My Fair Lady Pit Orchestra, Betty Woolfe, Julie Andrews, Leonard Weir, Rex Harrison, Robert Chisholm, Robert Coote, Stanley Holloway
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $9.99
Buy Used: $1.99
You Save: $8.00 (80%)
New (15) Used (29) Collectible (3) from $1.99
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 10931
Format: Cast Recording
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 60539
UPC: 746460539284
EAN: 0074646053928
ASIN: B000007OHU
Release Date: June 2, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Overture | | • | Why Can't the English? - Robert Coote, Rex Harrison | | • | Wouldn't It Be Loverly? - Julie Andrews | | • | With a Little Bit of Luck - Bob Chisholm, Zena Dare, Alan Dudley, Stanley Holloway | | • | I'm an Ordinary Man - Rex Harrison | | • | Just You Wait - Julie Andrews | | • | Rain in Spain - Julie Andrews, Robert Coote, Rex Harrison | | • | I Could Have Danced All Night - Julie Andrews, , Betty Wolfe | | • | Ascot Gavotte | | • | On the Street Where You Live - Leonard Weir | | • | You Did It - Robert Coote, Rex Harrison, Betty Wolfe | | • | Show Me - Julie Andrews, Leonard Weir | | • | Get Me to the Church on Time - Stanley Holloway | | • | Hymn to Him - Rex Harrison | | • | Without You - Julie Andrews | | • | I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face - Rex Harrison | | • | Embassy Waltz [*] |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
My Fair Lady is without question one of the greatest shows ever created for the musical theater. It's a charming, hilarious, and touching adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, pitting flower girl Eliza Doolittle against Prof. Henry Higgins, the self-absorbed and ill-tempered linguist who bets that he can turn her into a lady by improving her diction. Lerner and Loewe's score includes some of the best-loved songs in the canon: "Why Can't the English," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," among others. The 1959 London-cast stereo recording is generally held in lower regard than its Broadway counterpart, recorded three years earlier in mono. But why quibble? The principals are all the same--Rex Harrison as Higgins, Julie Andrews as Eliza, Stanley Holloway as her dad, and Robert Coote as Col. Pickering (Leonard Weir replaced Michael King as Freddy Einsford-Hill)--and it's still a classic recording in its own right that you'll treasure for years. --David Horiuchi
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
the "Fair Lady" in London... September 23, 2006
Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
In 1956, Lerner and Loewe's MY FAIR LADY swept into Broadway and quickly captured the hearts of critics and audiences alike, the perfect transformation of George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion" into the world of the musical theatre. Both Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews played the show for two years on Broadway before yielding to replacements (Edward Mulhare and Sally Ann Howes), and in 1959 traveled across the pond to headline the London company. The show opened at the Drury Lane Theatre in April 1959, and ran for 2,281 performances.
While both Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison had laid down their definitive performances as Eliza Doolittle and Prof. Henry Higgins for the 1956 original Broadway cast album of MY FAIR LADY, the subsequent 1959 London production allowed them to record another album, in the brand-new stereophonic format.
Despite this 1959 recording having a sweeter sound than the earlier 1956 mono album, this sadly remains the lesser of the two, because a lot of the energy and flash had disappeared from Julie Andrews' voice in the years she had performed the role. On the Broadway album, Andrews gives a rich performance that runs the gamut from cockney guttersnipe to regal high society, but comparing the two albums directly, she does not sound at her optimal best on the London set. Andrews has acknowledged that she found the role of Eliza both physically and vocally exhausting, even more so because of the lack of body-mikes, and the projection must have been gruelling at times. No wonder that so much of the bloom in Andrews' voice had vanished by the time she reprised her role in London. Despite Andrews, the album does have a few merits including breezy orchestrations under the direction of Cyril Ornadel (the Overture is given a much faster tempo than is heard on the Broadway set).
The supporting cast includes Stanley Holloway (also reprising his Broadway role) as Eliza's dustman father Alfie. The role of Freddy is played by Leonard Weir (his "On the Street Where You Live" is very charming), and Robert Coote also repeats his Broadway role as Colonel Pickering.
The 1959 London cast of MY FAIR LADY, just like the 1956 Broadway album, has never been out of the catalogue, though the confusion between the two albums still exists, despite the fact that the London album sports a gold-brown cover and the Broadway album is white. Sony Broadway Masterworks' edition features a bonus track of the "Embassy Waltz", a mono recording from 1956.
JULIE ANDREWS IS THE DEFINITIVE ELIZA IN "FAIR LADY" April 14, 2000
Dewey Mee (ELLENSBURG, WA.)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
"FAIR LADY" is my favorite show, and there's been a lot of carping about whether the Broadway or London Cast album (with identical principle stars) is best. The London stereo album (from 1959) is my favorite. Yes, Rex Harrison growls and bellows his way through Higgins' songs, (a serious drawback) but Stanley Holloway has a bawdy good time with Doolittle's "A Little Bit Of Luck" and "Get Me To The Church On Time." Leonard Weir is "serviceable" as Freddy Hill at best, but "The Street Where You Live" is the show's most forgettable song (a tiny flaw in this gem of a musical)! Most, and best, of all, there is the nearly perfect, transcedent performance of Julie Andrews, who is more "authentically Cockney" here than she is on the 1956 Broadway album; wistful for "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" and full of fire and rage for "Just You Wait! " and "Show Me." And there has NEVER been a better performance of "I Could Have Danced All Night" than Andrews sings it here. With all due respect to my adored Audrey Hepburn, the role of Eliza belongs to Julie Andrews. The 1964 movie soundtrack, with Marni Nixon (an Andrews/Hepburn wannabe who has the qualties of neither Fair Lady, and with a Cockney accent straight out of California, to make matters worse) is horrendous! Warner Brothers' should have allowed darling Audrey Hepburn to sing for herself, as she did so expressively in the 1957 film "FUNNY FACE", and told Marni Nixon to stay home! Oh..well... In London, in Stereo, with Julie Andrews, "FAIR LADY" is, indeed, "Loverly!"
 THE BEST, A MUST for any musical lover's collection November 2, 2001
Pope (Wisconsin, United States)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I have all 3 major My Fair Lady recordings; the 1956 Broadway Cast, the 1964 movie soundtrack, and this one. This is the best one BY FAR. Julie Andrews' voice has matured somewhat from the previous version, which is certainly for the better. Rex Harrison talks-sings about the same here as on B-way and is very believeable at the part. Between this album and the 1956 OBC, most of the cast is the same, but there are a few differences, noteably the man who plays Freddie Eynsford-Hill. Leonard Weir, a Briton, is much better than his Broadway counterpart, John Michael King (who is American, and certainly sounds like it too). Stanley Holloway is good in either case, but by the time the movie soundtrack rolls around, he sounds tired with the part (listen to the beginning of "Little Bit of Luck" on that album and you'll know what I mean). This album is a true pioneer in stereo recordings and that's one of the reasons Columbia Records producer Goddard Lieberson decided to do a remake of the cast album when the cast moved to London. After all, Columbia Records was a corporate sponsor of the show and had nothing to loose with a success like this. This stereo album sounds wonderful and the bonus track, "The Embassy Waltz," (which is in monoural) is magic. This is the My Fair Lady to get.
 Well, it's in stereo anyway. September 23, 1999
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Sony's SBM remastering still does not solve the overly-high recording level distortions, especially in Julie Andrews' songs. Despite the lavish packaging and "bonus track", the original Broadway cast album is still the preferred recording of this classic show. There you will find Julie in much better voice, and the spontaneity of the original cast, fresh from their Broadway debut.
Broadway vs London vs Movie October 2, 2003
Elizabeth L. Martin (North Wales, PA United States)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Let's begin by comparing both the Broadway and London scores to the 1964 movie soundtrack-- actually there is no comparison! Both Broadway and London surpass the movie recording by far, only demonstrating the HUGE mistake Hollywood made by not casting Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle. Andrews' purely delightful soprano voice and perfect diction cannot even be compared to Marni Nixon's voice dubbing in the film. In addition, Andrews is British, which is critical to this play, unlike Nixon's purely American accent heard in the film.As far as Broadway vs London MFL recordings, I would have to agree with the others who are in favor of the "white" Broadway album. While both are very good, the Broadway album does appear to be less "forced" than the London album due, most likely, to the fact that it was recorded before the cast had exhausted themselves singing the score after a few years on the stage. Both Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews appear to be more "natural" in the Broadway album, and Andrews does definitely lose a bit of the innocence in her voice in this recording. All in all, I would recommend that any MFL collector invest in both the Broadway and London cast recordings to make your own opinions. Yet, for someone looking to buy only one album, I would stick with the Broadway version. In all situations, save yourself some money and skip buying the film soundtrack.
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