My Fair Lady was one of the first cast recordings I ever owned. I played it over and over, finding Julie Andrews a marvel and chuckling at the clever lyrics, like the reference to the English language, “well in America they haven’t spoken it for years.” The original cast LP was mono only, but a stereo recording was made shortly thereafter in London that retained most of the principals. Both of these are marvelous efforts and stand together as two of the best in the “original cast” canon. It’s not surprising, then, that this Jay recording can’t quite live up to those earlier classics. The two-CD set, presented in the label’s Masterwork Edition series, does present the whole score and even throws in a discarded song, “Come to the Ball”, as a bonus. The big ensemble numbers are played with the vigor and enthusiasm of a live production, and indeed, if this were the whole show it would be a performance to cheer. But when it comes time for the big solo numbers to deliver, when star power is needed to sell songs like “I Could Have Danced All Night” or “On the Street Where You Live”, it just isn’t there. I’d still recommend one of the original cast recordings, even though they don’t present the entire score. But for those who really study Broadway and want every last note, this release is a must. It’s very well recorded, and this time producer John Yap has used Dolby surround not only to give the impression of a three-dimensional front stage, but has had some fun mixing in a few surround effects as well, such as the street sounds on track 6, the dramatic introduction to “With A Little Bit of Luck”.
