Alan Jay Lerner - On A Clear Day You Can See Forever: The Original Broadway Cast Recording

Wonderful Score!

I wore the original LP of this show out from constant play...a wonderful, tuneful score that never fails to please...there is something about the music that prompts repeated playings! I now have the CD, and Barbara Harris never fails to come through for me..I wish she would have done more musicals during her prime..I have The Apple Tree and this one..I don't know of too many others she did...I might add as a side note that I saw Van Johnson and Linda Lavin in a roadshow production of this at the St.Louis Muny...very good!! They were in very good voice at that time..Again it is a play that kind of drags, but I do think the music fits the story very well!! Enjoy!! August 22, 2008

Music--Fine; Story--Weak

To earn a five-star rating, or to be a success on Broadway, a musical needs both a good score and a good book. Unfortunately, "On a Clear Day ..." has only the former. As the story goes, a friend complimented Alan Jay Lerner (who wrote the book), "I remember in the intermission feeling so happy that I didn't know how 'On a Clear Day' was going to end." Lerner replied, "I didn't either; that was the problem."
So much for the weakness of this musical. Now for the strengths.
First, the music. We are fortunate that Richard Rodgers dropped out of the project. He seemed to lose his touch after Oscar Hammerstein died. Burton Lane has provided some excellent tunes for a fine set of lyrics. The chorus, singing the title number as part of the overture, was one of the most enticing openings to a show since the offstage "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning." "Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here," "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?" "She Wasn't You," "Come Back to Me." All excellent. The only number that did not work for me was "When I'm Being Born Again;" I think Burton Lane must have been listening to "If I Were a Rich Man" when he composed this one.
Then, the stars. Fortunate again, that Louis Jourdan left the show in tryouts and was replaced by a real singer, John Cullum. And incidentally, unfortunate that Hollywood chose "name" power over appropiate talent, and used a different Barbara (Barbra) for the female lead. Barbara Harris WAS Daisy.
Just forget about story line. Load the cd. Sit back and enjoy the excellent music. July 2, 2008

On a Clear Day skip this one.

This CD just fails for me. The voices are ok; the lyrics are ok; the music is ok; it's all ok. Nothing stands out as stellar on this CD. This show is mainly ballads and dance numbers. I love ballads, I think most shows have too few ballads, but this show makes me wish for more group songs. It's no wonder this show gets so little attention, it just isn't worth it. I think this show might be a good show for community theaters, and high schools, although there are some questionable themes for younger audiences. I don't think this is a CD anyone would listen all the way through. In today's world a listener would only want one or two songs from this CD. I am suggesting that you buy "Wait Till We're 65" and "Come Back to Me" other than that, not worth it. Of course collectors must have this in their collection and some listeners of older musicals might find bits of this enjoyable, but on the whole. PASS! Favorite song: "Come Back to Me." February 12, 2008

Hearing a classic after many years

My father had the LP when I was a boy and I enjoyed the music. I later purchased the movie (Montand, Streisand, et al.) I watched it and then remembered the Broadway production, and wondered....

This reissue is faithful to the original recording. The voices sound as good as they did back in the 70's. The composer and lyric writer did a great job. It's nice to have in my collection. September 29, 2007

There's more to us then surgeons can remove...

"On a clear day rise and look around you", that is the clarion call from Allan Jay Lerner, from his lyric and libretto of "On A Clear Day". Produced for the 65' 66' Broadway season this charming score remains one of my favorites, composed by Burton Lane and lyrics by the aforementioned Mr. Lerner. The team of Lane and Lerner had previously created "Brigadoon" and a few MGM musical scores. Then in the late fifties Mr Lerner who was on the lookout for a new collaborator, met Mr Lowe at The Lambs Club, and, well they owned Broadway for many a year. Lowe wanted to move back to Europe and enjoy the spoils of his life while Lerner kept going and enlisted Mr Lane to compose this exquisite score. Barbara Harris and John Cullum were the leads in this tale of past lives intersecting with present. The show had a modest run in part because the book was too muddled. I have heard that the book is being rewritten and there will be a revival. It certainly deserves it, lesser shows have been brought back to life while this has been sadly neglected. Meanwhile you can pick up the original cast recording and sing along...you can see forever more. A beautiful score, truely. November 5, 2005

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