Porgy & Bess (1959 Film Soundtrack)

The story behind the controversial 1959 film adaptation of Gershwin's Porgy & Bess is a strange one. In the film starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge, director Otto Preminger took artistic license against Gershwin's wishes and the Gershwin estate eventually pulled the film from circulation and it has not been seen in over 30 years (although bootleg copies are sure to exist). The film's soundtrack itself has been called 'the definitive version' of Porgy & Bess and was arranged and conducted by Andre Previn. Vocalists include Cab Calloway, Pearl Bailey, Robert McFerrin (Bobby's father), Adele Addison and many others. A spectacular version of this 'opera', one that makes you long to see the withdrawn film. Bacbi. Album Description

Info about CBS/Sony CD release

Porgy & Bess (1959 Film Soundtrack) There exists a neat and legal CBS CD release of the soundtrack of this Opera/Musical film, copyrighted (P)1974 CBS Records Inc./(C) 1989 CBS Schallplatten GmbH Germany, product# CBS S 70007, and approved by BIEM (Bureau International des Sociétés Gérant les Droits d'Enregistrement et de Reproduction Mécanique - coordinating statutory license agreements among different countries) and the Dutch music rights authority STEMRA (representing the interests of music authors in the Netherlands). Its cover is the same as the one used for the original CBS Records #60002/Philips #ABL.3282 LP covers, but without the label (Columbia, CBS nor Philips). Strangely enough the cover doesn't even mention any performer at all! But the imprint on the disc itself (in the center ring) is Sony Music IFPI L555 S0707000710-0101, and that looks pretty original! No LP cracks or ticks as mentioned in an other review. April 3, 2008

Excellent, considering

Having had the Columbia LP since the mid '50's, I have long desired CD of this sound track as it is perhaps the best presentation and I have heard several. Sound quality, fidelity is very good plus, stereo separation is also very good. A music geek may not agree, but most of us are not. If this album was a favorite in the past, and tired like mine, this is a great CD. December 9, 2007

Seek out Japenese CD pressing of this LP

I have a long out of print Japanese issue of the Columbia soundtrack LP. It has very good to excellent mastering from original LP sources. The LP was a big seller for Columbia records and was readily available until CDs took over during late 1980s. An extremely popular, if not accurate, version of the Gershwin original with wonderful orchestrations. It deserves to be available again on CD. It would be great if Columbia/Sony/BMG could revisit the movie's music masters and give a complete redtion with Sammy Davis' vocals and more of the Oscar winning underscore, perhaps on 2 cds. However, considering PORGY & BESS's troubled leagal history this may be a long stretch. September 8, 2007

Required listening. Sublime.

Cab Calloway, as Sportin' Life, steals the recording. (For contractual reasons, he had to replace Sammy Davis Jr.(?), who was in the film. Lucky for us.)
Despite the Gershwins' own criticism, I believe this is the definitive version of the opera.
Let's hold our breath for the release of the film.
~!an May 13, 2007

LONG-LOST SOUNDTRACK OF A TROUBLED MOVIE . . . . .

This 1995 CD from the German Back Bite label is a curious release. The occasional ticks and pops indicate that it is an LP-transfer to which too much noise reduction has been applied. The tape hiss is gone, but so are the upper ambient frequencies, giving it a peculiar "boxed-in" sound. Recorded in stereo, it has a very nice spatial feel with the orchestra placed behind the singers. However, at times the chorus seems too distant, too far away from the action. (Sounds great in the car, however.)

I agree wholeheartedly with Michael Portantiere's comments in The TheaterMania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings: ". . . Cab Calloway['s] . . . engaging performances . . . lack the sense of menace that the character needs. Despite its flaws, this recording is worth tracking down if only for baritone Robert McFerrin's extraordinary performance of Porgy's music . . . and Adelle Addison's lovely singing for Dandridge . . . both rein in their operatic voices for the film but they still sing beatifully, under the tasteful, respectful musical direction of Andre Previn and Ken Darby."

Perhaps Ms. Addison "reins in" her voice just a bit too much; I would have preferred a little more passion, especially in "What You Want With Bess?" and "I Loves You Porgy." (For an excellent example of "stage vs. movie" singing, compare Giorgio Tozzi's Emile De Beque on the 1959 film soundtrack of SOUTH PACIFIC and the 1976 Lincoln Center Cast recording.)

Not having seen the film, I can only assume that director Otto Preminger softened the roles of Bess and Sportin' Life to conform to the regulations of Hollywood's infamous Production Code (aka the Hayes Office). It most certainly would have been denied a code of approval if two of the major characters were a whiskey-guzzling "easy" woman and a drug dealing pimp - especially since neither had to "pay for their sins." Preminger challenged the Code with three other films - The Moon Is Blue (1953), the first film to use the words "virgin," "seduce," and "mistress;" The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), a film which graphically dealt with drug abuse; Anatomy of a Murder (1959), rape is the central issue - but I have a feeling he played it safe with Porgy, a major studio Samuel Goldwyn Production. (For further information about the film, go to the ISAM [Institute for Studies of American Music] website at htpp://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/isam.)

Because Ira Gershwin and the Gershwin estate were unhappy with Preminger's film treatment, rights to the movie were rescinded during the 70s. As a result, the film has never been legally transferred to video and only a few public showings have been allowed. When the hassles regarding the film are finally settled, hopefully the engineers at Sony/BMG will track down the original master tapes and produce a truly fine restoration of this long-lost movie soundtrack. All the proper ingredients are there; they just have to be pulled together.

Additional weirdness abounds on the CD's sleeve. None of the singers are listed - (Pearl Bailey and Brock Peters did their own singing, Loulie Jean Norman dubbed Clara's songs, and Inez Matthews sang the role of Serena. Sammy Davis, Jr. also sang his own songs, but Cab Calloway replaced him on the recording - due to contractural reasons) - and all of the photos are from some unidentified production of the opera, not from the movie. This recording may not be perfect, but right now it's all we have.

Recommended. March 19, 2007

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