Bugs Bunny on Broadway

Though it's the "cast album" to the touring Bugs Bunny on Broadway show, which featured a 50-piece orchestra playing to the original cartoons, the real stars here are not the musicians but Carl Stalling and Milton J. Franklyn. As the composers behind the Looney Toons cartoons, Stalling (and later Franklyn) expertly composed scores that borrowed from classical music, popular songs of the day, and the whimsical compositions of Raymond Scott. Working with talents like Chuck Avery (the most musically adventurous of Bugs Bunny's directors) and voice actors Arthur Q. Bryan (Elmer Fudd) and Mel Blanc (virtually everybody else), they created some of the best-loved music of the century. They also introduced classical music to new generations through their loving reenactments of Rossini's The Barber of Seville (as "The Rabbit of Seville") and, amazingly, the entire Ring cycle (condensed to seven minutes in "What's Opera, Doc?"). Not as expansive as the two volumes of the Carl Stalling Project, Bugs Bunny on Broadway nevertheless is a fine collection that concentrates on an oft-overlooked legacy of Bugs Bunny and company. --Randy Silver Amazon.com

Wonderful Listen!

The music is clear, and best of all, many of the pieces have the spoken or sung words we remember - this isn't just a CD of musical scores. It's wonderful hearing Mel Blanc's voice and reliving those Saturday mornings watching cartoons... August 29, 2008

Musical mastery

This is one redoubtable recording. The music is unbelievable. Mel's voices are so unique. You can see the cartoons as you hear the intermix of sound effects, voices and incredible music. I was laughing so hard the first time I listened to it that I had to check outside my window every so often to make sure the "Pysch wagon" wasn't coming to get me. My neighbors must have thought I had gone mad. What a joyous hoot this CD is. Its brilliant. The music is a wondrous farrago of complex imagery, intense notation and sublime virtuosity. You swear you can see the various cartoons in your head as you listen. This recording is packed with immense fun and musical complexity.
You simply cannot ignore this one. August 27, 2007

Not For Purists

If you have an ear for the original recordings, then this collection is not for you. On tracks like "The Rabbit of Seville" the switch from the original soundtrack to the modern re-recording is both jarring and unsatisfying. If you loved the "live" show then this may bring back some memories for you. If you want to hear the original performances of the great music from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, I recommend "The Carl Stalling Project" instead. September 22, 2004

Cute CD for Looney Tunes fans

Sure, it's not for everyone's taste but no fan of Bugs or Daffy can be without this CD. Outside of the famous 'Merry Go Round Broke Down' and Merrie Melodies theme the Looney Tunes cartoons are well known for paying tribute to and parodying classical music and there's loads of that behavior to be had on this CD. The popular song 'What's Up Doc' is also featured here and there's just enough of Daffy Duck included to keep me happy. Hard to come by but worth getting if you can pick it up cheap. April 3, 2004

Oh, the memories this brings back!

I never thought I'd hear some of these again. At their height, the Warner Brothers studio used classical music very cleverly in their animations, and this compilation gives us a sampling of the best. About the only thing that made me not give it the full five stars was that it didn't have the excellent "Daffy's Rhapsody." March 5, 2003

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