How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]

 (7 customer reviews)

The sound quality of this disc is quite good, and it is an exact replica of the original 1967 LP. The song "Coffee Break" which was unwisely cut from the film is included here. Michele Lee is so good on "I Believe In You" and in her performance on film, that it is a real shame that her part and her character's songs were so badly minimized. As it stands, this is a very good soundtrack and the score is quite catchy. "Been a Long Day" and "Brotherhood of Man" are well performed and orchestrated, as are all of the numbers. A couple of bits of the underscoring are also included to round out this set.

If you love "How to succeed...," you'll love this CD of the Motion Picture Soundtrack. Wonderful to hear Michelle Lee's renditions of "I believe in you!" The Original Broadway Cast recording is wondferful, but this is a very faithful recapturing the wonderful spirit and humor of the 1967 film. So if you like the DVD of this movie, this is the best way to listen to the music in your car! The disc also has a video of the movie trailer that can be viewed on a PC or Mac, which is the "enhanced" part of this presentation.

In typical Hollywood fashion the Pulitzer Prize winning musical was brought to the screen with a nearly intact script and much of the original cast but the score was not respected. Five of the original thirteen songs were dropped (COFFEE BREAK was recorded and filmed but cut out of the final print - it is here on this recording). At least all of Robert Morse's numbers are kept. So with only eight numbers it's a "part-time" musical. The sound here is quite excellent and the performances are superb. Michelle Lee (who took over from Bonnie Scott in the original cast on Broadway) is much more appealing and much less of a conniver here than in the original. It's been softened somewhat but the meat of the original production is on screen and the score (what there is of it) is lovingly and respectfully scored and performed. Of the three recordings available of the work, the best by far is the Broadway revival with Matthew Broderick.