The 20th Century Fox Years: Vol. 1 (1936 – 1938)
In their continuing series of discoveries from 20th Century Fox musicals, Sepia boss Richard Tay and producer Bryan Cooper devote this two-CD set to Fox stars in the period 1936 to 1938.
And we’re talking stars! Shirley Temple, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Tony Martin, Don Ameche – and even greats like Barbara Stanwyck, Dolores Del Rio, Jane Withers and Sonja Henie get a chance to sing here.
Starting with five tracks from “Pigskin Parade” (1936) – a rare extended version of the lovely ballad “It’s Love I’m After” duetted by Betty Grable and Johnny Downs, “The Balboa”, “You Do the Darndest Things, Baby” and “You’re Slightly Terrific” (Tony Martin) and Judy Garland’s full-throated version of “It’s Love I’m After” and ending with two sides from the 1938 musical “Thanks for Everything”, this set has something for everyone.
The icing on this particular cake is that all the sides emanate from rare playback and rehearsal discs made at the time and sound crisp, clear and beautifully transferred by Robin Cherry.
Some of the other highlights are Tony Martin and Barbara Stanwyck duetting on “Where the Lazy River Goes By” and a breath-taking acapella version of “St. Louis Blues” sung by the Hall Johnson Choir (both from “Banjo on My Knee”: 1936), “Swing is Here to Sway” (Eddie Cantor and the Peters Sisters) – one of seven sides from the 1937 musical “Ali Baba Goes to Town” – and eight tracks from the Shirley Temple musical “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” (1938), including a rare outtake of the song “A Dreamland Choo Choo to Lullabye Town” making its debut on CD here.
Ethel Merman gets two songs from “Straight, Place and Show” (1938): “Why Not String Along with Me?” and the sensational “With You on My Mind”, showing us her on-screen star quality. And she also shines in a couple of songs from “Happy Landing” (1938): “You Are the Music to the Words in My Heart” and “Hot and Happy”.
56 musical rarities make this another “must-have” set to add to your collection.
Link here:
The 20th Century Fox Years: Volume 1 (1936-1938) (SEPIA 1368) (sepiarecords.com)
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