Annie Get Your Gun [Prism]

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast
• Release Date: June 05, 2002
• Total Time: 54:42
• Type: Soundtrack, Cast (Broadway, television or movie)
• Genre: Soundtrack

Review

Prism Leisure, a British budget reissue label, takes advantage of the 50-year copyright limit on recordings in Europe to put out its own version of the 1946 original Broadway cast album of Annie Get Your Gun, originally released on Decca and still claimed as an American property by Universal. Although legally that should mean that the Prism album is not available for sale in the U.S., it actually was obtainable quite easily from American mail-order firms upon release, at a price of only about $8. Of course, it doesn't compare to the still-in-print American version; its sound adequate but clearly mastered from secondary sources, its annotations brief and error-prone. (Liner notes writer Tony Watts summarizes the plot inaccurately, suggesting he's never actually seen the show.) What may attract musical theater buffs, however, are the bonus tracks: three sets of excerpts from the double-EP of medleys of songs from the show recorded by members of the original London cast in 1947. Dolores Gray substitutes for Ethel Merman, giving a less distinctive, but still worthwhile performance, while Bill Johnson successfully replaces Ray Middleton. The songs are abbreviated, but still serve as a complement to the Broadway versions. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Doin' What Comes Natur'lly	Irving Berlin	Children, Ethel Merman	(3:24)
The Girl That I Marry	Irving Berlin	Ray Middleton	(3:06)
You Can't Get a Man with a Gun	Irving Berlin	Ethel Merman	(3:10)
They Say It's Wonderful	Irving Berlin	Ethel Merman, Ray Middleton	(3:03)
Moonshine Lullaby	Irving Berlin	Ethel Merman	(3:11)
My Defenses Are Down	Irving Berlin	Male Chorus, Ray Middleton	(3:22)
I'm an Indian, Too	Irving Berlin	Ethel Merman, Chorus	(2:39)
I Got Lost in His Arms	Irving Berlin	Chorus, Ethel Merman	(2:43)
Who Do You Love, I Hope?	Irving Berlin	Kathleen Carnes, Robert Lenn	(2:55)
I Got the Sun in the Morning (Lyrics)	Irving Berlin	Ethel Merman, Chorus	(2:53)
Anything You Can Do (Lyrics)	Irving Berlin	Ethel Merman, Ray Middleton	(3:08)
There's No Business Like Show Business	Irving Berlin	Chorus	(3:08)
The Girl That I Marry/They Say It's Wonderful/There's No Business Like ...	Irving Berlin	Dolores Gray, Bill Johnson	(4:38)
You Can't Get a Man with a Gun/My Defences Are Down/I Got Lost in ...	Irving Berlin	Dolores Gray, Chorus, Bill Johnson	(4:35)
Moonshine Lullaby/They Say It's Wonderful/Doin' What Comes Natur'lly	Irving Berlin	Bill Johnson, Dolores Gray, Chorus	(4:17)
Who Do You Love, I Hope?/Anything You Can Do/I Got the Sun in the ...	Irving Berlin	Bill Johnson, Wendy Toye, Dolores Gray, Chorus, Irving Davies	(4:23)

Credits

Wendy Toye (Vocals), Robert Lenn (Vocals), Ray Middleton (Vocals), Dolores Gray (Vocals), Ellen Hanley (Vocals), Irving Davies (Vocals), John Garth III (Vocals), Kathleen Carnes (Vocals), Lew Stone (Conductor), Leon Bibb (Vocals), Teddy Royal (Orchestration), Ethel Merman (Vocals), Robert Russell Bennett (Orchestration), Jay Blackton (Conductor), Marty May (Vocals), Harry Bellaver (Vocals), Bill Johnson (Vocals), Clyde Turner (Vocals), Tony Watts (Liner Notes), William O'Neal (Vocals)