Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado (abridged)
Frank Luther with the "Broadway Players"
Issued in 1963
United Artists UAC-11027, one mono LP record
Link (FLAC file, 82.69 MB)
Link (MP3 file, 39.26 MB)
About the only part of Gilbert & Sullivan's original conception that survives in this treatment is the story itself, which is mostly intact. Sullivan's tunes are rewritten (in two cases almost completely) and his orchestra replaced with a jazz combo of Hammond organ, guitar, bass and drums with xylophone, and Gilbert's song lyrics are almost all dumbed down, one imagines in an attempt to make them more comprehensible to the children at which this record was aimed. One imagines that, but, on the other hand, some of the rewritten dialogue contains jokes that were surely over the heads of kids in the 60s. Here's an example:
Nanki-Poo: "I'm a poor musician, my lord."
Ko-Ko: "A poor musician? You're a terrible musician! How'd you ever get in the union?"
Rather adult humor, if you ask me. Then again, Frank Luther (1899-1980) was at one time the most respected purveyor of children's records in the English-speaking world, even serving as a Decca executive in charge of their children's department during the 1940s and 1950s. So this "Mikado" probably represents a sincere attempt to introduce the glories of Gilbert & Sullivan to children, but it falls a bit flat on that score simply because there's so little of Gilbert or Sullivan left in the end product. And yet, it has its endearing qualities, too, if you approach it in the right spirit and don't expect too much. I'm strongly reminded of the Rankin/Bass holiday TV specials - it has the same cartoonish kind of energy.
I should say a word or two about the series in which this recording was issued, since it's obvious that the reviewer I referenced above assumed that the United Artists "Tale Spinners for Children" was a junk series. Hardly! They were cheaply made (I remember them being sold at Kresge's department store for 99 cents per LP) but the material was of high quality. Most of them originated from England as "Atlas Tale-Spinners." They told familiar children's stories against a background of classical music, probably culled from existing recordings, and there were even stories of composers added into the mix. To this day I have battered copies of "The Story of Beethoven," "The Story of Chopin," and "The Story of Mozart" that I had as a lad of five. Many of these can be heard online; see under my list of "Some Favorite Record Links" at the right for a Tale Spinners site that features these.
Execrabobble indeed! The principal problem is that they've taken all the
ReplyDeleteGilbert and Sullivan out of it, and it goes downhill from there...
MIke in Plovdiv
Agreed, quite atrocious, but to keep things in perspective, it is after all a children’s record and they are not renowned for their adherence to established scores They’re more about entertaining children. If they can do that AND give an accurate performance, so much the better, though they rarely do. Franks Luther was an interesting character: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Luther I believe his wildly inaccurate interpretation of the Nutcracker was one of my children’s records, though I was more drawn to Frank’s Symphony in D Minor.
ReplyDelete"Treasure Island" was my first encounter with Berlioz, age 7 or so. Wonderful series. Too bad they savaged Mikado...
ReplyDeleteBryan,,
ReplyDeleteSInce since listening to this the other day I can't get bloody "Titwillow" out
of my mind! Mnyeh! Could be worse, I suppose. Might have been "La Bamba...."
Mike in Plovdiv
Frank Luther had his voice in so many genre's and record labels from the late 20's into the 50's. He must have been an interesting guy.
ReplyDelete