Singin' in the Rain (1952 Film Soundtrack) (Deluxe Edition)

The complete 50th Anniversary Edition and a bonus disc featuring the original recordings that inspired the 1952 MGM classic! Includes 12 previously unreleased tracks 'Would You?' (duet) (unused version), 'Beautiful Girl' (unused original version), 'Singin' In The Rain' (alternative vocal), 'Should I' (unused instrumental), 'You Were Meant For Me', 'All I Do Is Dream Of You', 'Broadway Rhythm', 'You Are My Lucky Star', 'Would You?', 'Dancing On A Rainbow' plus 'Broadway Melody Ballet' (original version). Rhino. 2002.

A vibrant tribute to MGM's legendary confluence of brains, talent, hard work, ambition--and dare we say it?--massive egos, Singin' in the Rain long ago took its rightful place among the first rank of the studio's dizzying catalog of film musicals. This double-disc, 46-track 50th-anniversary edition features all of the film's familiar songs, as well as numerous outtakes and extended versions, many culled directly from the film's original recording masters. Its second disc also chronicles the film's clever--if studio imposed--self-referential musical gambit of recycling a slate of Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown songs from Metro's first decade by including 14 of the originals, including performances by Jeanette McDonald, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Freed himself. Featuring a dozen previously unreleased recordings and an illustrated booklet containing the insightful reminiscences of the film's original writers, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, it's the ultimate musical companion to one of cinema's magical, enduring masterpieces. --Jerry McCulley