Annie Get Your Gun: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Re-release of 1950 Film)
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Description
Irving Berlin's Wild West Show-themed romp Annie Get Your Gun has long been a Broadway evergreen, including a wildly successful modern revival starring Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat. But its original 1950 MGM film translation was fraught with production problems and recasting; Judy Garland was initially signed to star and even recorded her vocal numbers before being dismissed (due largely to her notorious personal problems) and replaced by Betty Hutton. While several of Garland's performances as Annie Oakley have been released on other compilations, this generous, 31-cut release not only marks the CD debut of the film's original soundtrack (originally just eight tracks), it compiles all of the various Garland versions (including the first release of a spectacular stereo Garland version of "There's No Business Like Show Business") onto its second half, essentially re-creating the "Annie that never was," in addition to the first complete release of the Hutton score. Also included is a superbly illustrated and well-annotated booklet that tells the complete story of the show's Broadway origins and rocky journey to Hollywood. --Jerry McCulley
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