Julie Andrews: A Little Bit of Broadway compliation on Cd

In response to something I recently stated about Julie Andrews, a reader pointed out that as a young singer, Ms. Andrews had a freakishly high voice that she used in her English Music Hall performances. I decided I needed to get over some unwarranted bent I have against Ms. Andrews and give her another chance in my Year. I was glad to come across A Little Bit of Broadway in the bin at the library and to give another listen to some of Ms. Andrews' performances.

This compilation disc was released in 1988 and contains tracks from cast albums that featured Andrews, along with some studio recordings she made in 1961 and 1962. The cast album cuts come from the television production of Cinderella (1957), Camelot (1960), and the London version of My Fair Lady (1959).

I enjoyed listening to some of Andews's most famous recordings along side songs not associated with her career, but deserving of her attention. I particularly liked her renditions of "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" from Kismet, "A Little Bit in Love" from Wonderful Town, and "How are Things in Glocca Morra" from Finian's Rainbow. Even this early in her career (she would have been between 22 and 27 when she recorded these tracks), Ms. Andrews is an accomplished performer, with a malleable voice that can caress a phrase and communicate a lyric very well.

None of her early "freakishly high" soprano singing is on display in this recording, however, and even the final high notes of songs like "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "I Feel Pretty" are only Fs or Gs by my (perhaps faltering) ear. Her real money range, if I can use such a vulgar phrase to describe such a polished singer, is the octave from F1 to F2, not what I would categorize as a soprano range.

Perhaps I'm over-Thinking the case, though. Why don't I just shut up and listen...

Julie Andrews: A Little Bit of Broadway
Compilation released in 1988
From recordings made in 1957-962