Film Soundtrack, 1958 (MGM/Rhino) (5 / 5) This beloved Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe score is tremendously appealing, and the soundtrack album is one of the all-time great recordings of any screen or stage musical. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, Gigi won nine Academy Awards, including “Best Picture” of 1958. Time has been kind to this subtle adaptation of Colette’s novella; it holds up well even today as a great feminist story. Leslie Caron’s performance as Gigi adds believability and weight to the tale of a young girl who uses her intelligence and steadfastness of character to stand up against an entire society’s misguided conceptions of sex and marriage. But it’s the score that has made this film an enduring classic. Lerner’s lyrics are among his most brilliantly crafted, while Loewe’s dazzling music evokes Lehár, Ravel, and Brahms, even as the composer retains his own distinctive melodic voice. Conductor André Previn, Conrad Salinger, Bob Franklyn, Alexander Courage, and others came up with superb arrangements/orchestrations; the gorgeous counter-melodies of the French horns and the Offenbachesque staccatos of the brass and percussion create spine-tingling effects. The vocal performances of Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, and Hermione Gingold are all treasures. In Chevalier’s artful rendition of “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” he skillfully walks the fine line between great charm and eyebrow-raising naughtiness, and his performances of “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore” and (with Gingold) “I Remember It Well” are supremely witty. Betty Wand dubbed the singing of the title character, and her voice well complements Caron’s plucky Gigi; the CD offers Caron’s unused vocal tracks (with solo piano accompaniment) as bonus cuts, so you can judge for yourself whether producer Arthur Freed made the right decision in hiring Wand to post-dub Gigi’s songs. Also included here is the film’s magnificent background score, plus several reprises and the “Gossip” number, none of which were on the original LP. Other outstanding selections are “The Waltz at Maxim’s,” “The Night They Invented Champagne,” and the Oscar-winning title song, beautifully delivered by Louis Jourdan. — Gerard Alessandrini

Original Broadway Cast, 1973 (RCA) (2 / 5) Here’s the cast album of a stage production that came 15 years after the film Gigi. The world had changed so much in the interim that the show seemed antiquated, aside from the flaws of the adaptation itself. The new orchestrations sound opaque and soporific; the production apparently had a kitschy, 1970-ish operetta look, and this album reflects that ill-advised concept, although some of the performances sparkle. Maria Karnilova sounds charming as Grandmama, Agnes Moorehead must have been riveting as the tough-as-nails ex-courtesan Aunt Alicia, and Daniel Massey is well cast as Gaston. Yet only Alfred Drake as Honoré seems fully at ease and in his element. Amazingly, he is able to dispel the ghost of Chevalier’s performance and offer a fresh characterization. While “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” will always conjure memories of Chevalier, Drake’s other numbers — including “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore” and “Paris Is Paris Again,” the latter written specifically for the stage version — are highlights of the recording. The major drawback is the tepid title-role performance of Karin Wolfe, who displays none of the pluck and intelligence that are essential elements of Gigi’s character.  — G.A.

London Studio Cast, 1997 (JAY) (3 / 5) This well-done digital recording features Ron Moody (of Oliver!) fame as Honoré and the distinguished actress Sián Phillips as Mamita. Graham Bickley sings very well and gives an intelligent and vibrant performance as Gaston, while Lindsay Hamilton is quite charming as Gigi. It’s clear by everyone’s interpretation that this is still essentially a young women’s coming of age story. Moody’s vocal performance certainly leaves something to be desired,  but all of the other music is well interpreted and performed. Several numbers are missing from the score of the 1973 Broadway stage version, including “The Earth And Other Minor Things,” “I Never Want To Go Home Again,” and “The Contract, ” but all of the more familiar songs from the movie are included, and the large orchestra sounds excellent playing what sound like the 1973 orchestrations enlarged a bit and with touches of the film orchestrations added here and there. All in all, the results are quite pleasant and lovely. — G.A.

Broadway Cast, 2015 (DMI) (1 / 5)  If you are looking for a good, new recording of the classic Lerner & Loewe score for Gigi, this isn’t it. In fact, what’s presented here is hardly recognizable as Gigi at all; lyrics have been added, deleted, or changed, seemingly arbitrarily, by an uncredited lyricist, and much of the music is poorly arranged and orchestrated. The more experienced performers — Dee Hoty, Victoria Clark, and Howard McGillin — come off well, but Vanessa Hudgens as Gigi and Corey Cott as Gaston are miscast vocally, and they are not playing the characters as created by Colette and adapted by Alan Jay Lerner. Hudgens’ Gigi is bratty and overbearing;  Cott has a pleasant singing voice,  but he sounds too young and sweet for the role, and his performance is devoid of contrasting emotions. Most disastrous to this recording are the new and altered lyrics. Whoever did the rewrites chose to eliminate Gaston LaChaille’s problem of perpetual ennui by changing “It’s a Bore” to “It’s NOT a Bore.” Mis-scansion aside, the excision of this facet of the character means there isn’t much for Gaston to overcome. Reassigning “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” to Mamita and Aunt Alicia seems a rational choice for the modern age, but changing Gigi’s solo “Say a Prayer for Me Tonight” to Mamita’s “Say a Prayer for Her Tonight” throws the heroine’s dilemma completely off balance. Perhaps this was done to pad Victoria Clark’s role, but the new lines in the lyrics hardly have the good taste and polish of Lerner’s original version, and they fall awkwardly on what’s left of Loewe’s music. It’s arguable that Gigi needed a fresh approach to appeal to modern sensibilities, but almost every choice here makes you wonder why the producers even bothered to revive (or revise) this musical, rather than creating a new one.  If Gigi can’t be successfully presented for a contemporary audience as written by Lerner and Lowe, better to have left it alone and allowed it to live on in the form of the beautiful film version. — G.A.

Original Broadway Cast, 1968 (Columbia/Sony) (4 / 5) This is a brassy, heart-pounding, and ear-pounding show based on the life and songs of the great showman George M. Cohan. The title role is played by Joel Grey, fresh from his triumph in Cabaret and at the height of his talent. He delivers a brash, charismatic performance. The cast recording was spectacularly well produced by the young Thomas Z. Shepard; the orchestra and chorus sound so huge and exciting that playing the album is like setting off a box of fireworks in your living room. As with fireworks, you should beware: Although the brassiness of the score is certainly not inappropriate for the flag-waving aspects of the story, it’s sometimes monotonous, and it shortchanges the softer, more charming aspects of the era it’s trying to evoke. But “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Over There,” and other Cohan hits are as infectious as ever, and the dance music is thrillingly arranged. The overture and the instrumental “Popularity” are alone worth the price of the album, which also offers the joy of hearing Bernadette Peters early in her career. It’s easy to understand why her unique voice catapulted her to stardom. The recording contains many delightful Cohan songs that aren’t featured in the famous bio-film Yankee Doodle Dandy and are hard to find elsewhere; the epilogue track is full of forgotten but wonderful numbers such as “The American Ragtime” and “It’s All in the Wearing.” Their presence makes the album even more appealing.  — Gerard Alessandrini

Original Broadway Cast, 1949 (Columbia/Sony) (4 / 5) This is a buoyant performance of a delightful score by Jule Styne (music) and Leo Robin (lyrics), based on the popular 1920s novel and play of the same name by Anita Loos. Don Walker’s orchestrations and Milton Rosenstock’s musical direction are exciting, a great mixture of Roaring ’20s jazz and Broadway pizzazz. Crowning it all is the legendary performance of Carol Channing as Lorelei Lee, the ultimate blonde gold digger. Her satiric portrayal is as funny and delightful today as it was when the show premiered in 1949; her hilarious renditions of “A Little Girl From Little Rock” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” beg for repeated listening to hear how she twists the phrases and inflects the words. The rest of the cast is also stellar, with Yvonne Adair and George S. Irving lending particularly strong support. As recorded here, the choral work and dance music do not seem dated at all. The mono sound is excellent, even by today’s standards. Even though the show itself is something of a trifle, the score and this cast album are first-rate. — Gerard Alessandrini

Film Soundtrack, 1953 (MGM/various CD labels) (3 / 5) With the most voluptuous blonde of all cast as Lorelei Lee, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes became a fine piece of Hollywood fluff, made classic by Marilyn Monroe’s presence. Six cuts from the soundtrack were originally released by MGM records (oddly, since this was a 20th Century-Fox film), and have been reissued on several albums by various labels over the years. They’re great fun, but by no means representative of the Broadway score; only three of the Styne-Robin songs are included, and the new material is middling Hollywood musical fare. Jane Russell shares star billing with Monroe, and is vocally appealing. The highlight of the recording is “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in an overtly sexual performance by Monroe that’s extremely different from Channing’s brilliantly funny rendition. — G.A.

Broadway Cast, 1995 (DRG) (2 / 5) Although this recording features a talented, enthusiastic cast, it’s almost heartbreaking to hear Jule Styne’s jazzy, brassy score played by what is basically a chamber orchestra. True, the orchestrations are skillfully reduced and expertly conducted, but this is not the type of score that lends itself to an intimate sound. The good-natured performers KT Sullivan (as Lorelei Lee), Karen Prunzik, George Dvorsky, and Allen Fitzpatrick simply don’t have the proper musical setting in which to shine. Their singing is fine but never delivers the rush of excitement that comes from a big Broadway show or the feel of the Roaring ’20s. Also, the small cast compromises the sound of the big choral numbers “High Time” and “Bye, Bye, Baby.” This album does have some pluses, however. The classic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” is performed uncut by Sullivan, so lovers of witty lyrics can enjoy every spicy verse of the song. Also note the interpolated Styne number “A Ride on a Rainbow,” an ingenious little charm song, beautifully sung by Dvorsky and Prunzik. But overall, as this musical’s earlier stage and film versions prove, it works better when it’s played big. Since the original album with Carol Channing is still readily available, there’s little reason to hear this version other than curiosity.  — G.A.

Encores! Cast, 2012 (Sony Masterworks) (4 / 5) This is a vibrant and successful re-recording of the catchy Jule Styne-Leo Robin score. The original orchestrations and choral arrangements are intact, and it’s wonderful to hear them in digital stereo. The stars are also terrific. Rachel York as Dorothy gives a stylish and dynamic performance; her melodious, colorful voice is front and center while backed up by some thrilling late 1940s (masking as ’20s) choral sound. But the real star here, as she should be, is Megan Hilty as Lorelei Lee. Her vocals are perfectly clear and right on pitch, so we get to hear the music as never before; not that there’s anything less than fabulous about Carol Channing’s or Marilyn Monroe’s performances of these songs, but their unique vocal stylings do not put the tunes front and center as Hilty does. Especially enjoyable is her take on “Little Girl From Little Rock.” Here, she goes for all the wit and melody, and she hits out of the park the naughty lyrics that were sadly unused in the film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But that’s not all: Fans of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” will be glad to hear Hilty sing all of the choruses and encores of this classic comedy song. There’s also very fine support from Clarke Thorell, who croons “Bye, Bye, Baby” etc. to perfection. Add to this the gorgeous voice of Aaron Lazar in such Styne-Robin ballads as “You Say You Care,” and you have a superior cast overall. The only drawback of this recording lies in the score itself;  much of what’s here is excellent, of course, but it seems like a “short score,” unfinished by today’s standards. You can’t help but longing for a few more hits, and some of the songs fail to rise to the level of the gems in Styne’s scores for Gypsy and Bells Are Ringing. Perhaps that’s why 20th Century-Fox dropped some of the lesser numbers and added two excellent Hoagy Carmichael songs to the film — and why, when this show was revived for Carol Channing in the 1970s and renamed Lorelei, it had several new songs with music by Styne and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Although this cast album is very well done, it falls just a little short of ultimate entertainment value. — G.A.

Original Broadway Cast, 1961 (Capitol/Angel) (3 / 5) After the film Gigi, nobody was interested in another musical tale of a virgin and a rake in beIle epoque Europe, but Fay and Michael Kanin went ahead and adapted Arthur Schnitzler’s The Affairs of Anatol anyway. Even with Barbara Cook singing a score by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, The Gay Life ran only 113 performances, yet this is one of those flops that shines on disc. Cook is Liesl, a respectable girl who was raised to make a good marriage but who prefers the rakish Anatol (Walter Chiari). As Liesl’s brother, Max, Jules Munshin offers wry commentary on mating rituals in “Bring Your Darling Daughter” (“Who knows how many bows she will have upon her string? / She may annex a sexy sauerbraten king!”). Chiari, with his mush-mouthed diction, can be hard to take. But Cook is at her peak in delivering such thoughtful ballads as “Magic Moment” and “Something You Never Had Before,” and she’s a spitfire in “I Wouldn’t Marry You” and “The Label on the Bottle.” Thanks to her superb work and the first-class songs, Liesl is no standard-issue ingenue; she’s a fascinating young woman. The sumptuous, worldly score wittily analyzes the characters’ hypocrisies even as it brims with emotion. Don Walker’s orchestrations add an extra level of plush enjoyment. This is a rarity worth seeking out.  — David Barbour