Finian's Rainbow (& Brigadoon)

European copyright law puts recordings more than 50 years old in the public domain, and there are record companies that jump right in and put out their own versions of vintage records the minute they no longer have to get permission from the original copyright holders and pay licensing fees to do so. The result is plenty of shoddy reissues. Although it, too, depends on unlicensed out-of-copyright material, the British Living Era label has always put more effort into its releases, assembling them thoughtfully, including useful annotations, and working on the sound quality (although it cannot match the CD reissues from the original companies based on master recordings). This disc, combining the original Broadway cast albums for Finian's Rainbow and Brigadoon is a good example. To begin with, the idea of combining the two shows on a single CD is a good one. Both musicals opened on Broadway in the winter of 1947, and both were fantasies with British backgrounds -- Finian's Rainbow concerned Irish emigrants to the U.S., while Brigadoon was set in a mythical Scottish village. This made for musical similarities, so that a disc combining the scores works well. As usual, the annotations are good, and the sound is adequate. Also, Living Era has added two period pop recordings -- "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?," by Dick Haymes and "Almost Like Being in Love," by Frank Sinatra -- bringing the disc's running time up to 77 & ½ minutes. It should be noted, however, that these recordings are still claimed for copyright in the U.S. Consumers may wish to stick with the legitimate American versions, which boast better sound, particularly because the number of European releases is beginning to become confusing. (Only two months after this album was released, another British label, Naxos Musicals, came out with its own disc combining the original Broadway casts of Finian's Rainbow and Brigadoon.) ~ William Ruhlmann|