New Complete Recording of Guys and Dolls

Thoughts on the upcoming complete recording of Guys and Dolls from the same people that brought us complete versions of Oklahoma!, Carousel, and My Fair Lady? I've overall been really enjoying these recordings -- I'm a sucker for a complete anything. I was a little disappointed that Guys and Dolls was picked for the next release, since for me there's no need to look beyond the 1992 revival recording as the definitive version (plus that production was my very first Broadway show) and it already feels pretty complete. But I of course will give the new one a listen. Three tracks have been released on Spotify so far.

The original orchestrations were actually by George Bassman and Ted Royal. They were restored by Larry Moore for this recording. I much prefer the Michael Starobin charts from 1992 - they are genius.

Updated On: 8/24/26 at 11:42 AM

Agreed that the sensational Michael Starobin orchestration is the best... or at least so ingrained in my conception of what Guys and Dolls IS that it's hard to hear anything else as exciting. And I think --- whether they are conscious of it or not --- this is true for many, many fans of the show.

But it will be great to have this as a historical document, and I'll listen with an open mind.

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Robert McDonald said: "...was this same concept not already done first on Jay Records' 1996 Guys and Dolls recording?"

Yes, but that's the (monetarily valuable) point, I believe.

For collectors/fans, one can never have less than every available iteration. I know that's certainly true for me and Sondheim recordings - and I'm still very disappointed that there's no Katrina Lenk recording of Company.

As long as there's something slightly different from previously released versions, a collector will have to have it, if the price is reasonable.

Updated On: 9/16/26 at 07:11 AM

No one but me cares but I'd love a recording of the 70s charts from the Motown produced revival.

"Can anyone report on these recordings as a whole? They're an exciting concept but I've been sort of put-off by the casting of mostly relative unknowns (to me!). Are the casts strong despite my ignorance? Are the performances memorable?"

I've listened to all of them so far and there are tradeoffs. They sound much more old-fashioned than more recent recordings of these shows, but since they're meant to reconstruct exactly what audiences would have heard at the time, that's kind of the point and not necessarily a criticism. They don't have the dynamic acting of cast recordings. "My Fair Lady" probably comes off the best in that department, since it includes a lot of spoken dialogue. I was very disappointed in the "Carousel" recording when I first listened to it because I was comparing it to the 1994 London revival cast recording (I've heard the '94 Broadway recording is the best, but I can't find it to stream). But as a stand-alone recording it's grown on me. For me, the big selling point is that all of the recordings contain so much more than any other. It's hard for me to listen to another version when I know there's such a complete one out there. On the other hand, all of them are real time commitments, so less complete recordings still have a place if you want your fix and don't want to spend nearly two hours listening to it.

John has already recorded a complete West Side Story which should be released next year. He has talked about wanting to do a complete Camelot and She Loves Me, and he has spoken to Kim Criswell about potentially recording a complete Gypsy and Hello, Dolly! Not sure what else is in the works. I was disappointed he didn't do the Big 5 R&H, especially since we have no complete Sound of Music - I guess that won't happen now since the Lincoln Center revival is coming and will likely release an album. I also would have loved to have heard a period-specific King and I and South Pacific closer to their original sounds rather than JAY's bloated symphonic recordings.

The Donna Murphy recording is the best so far.

I agree. The Donna Murphy revival is tough to beat, though I do wish that production had included an overture and that the recording included the Small House of Uncle Thomas ballet.

John Adams said: "The woodwinds (sax in particular) are played implementing a vibrato from the period that I don't hear employed by today's musicians."

This is one of the John Wilson signatures. Swoony strings, too. Sometimes it goes too far, imho.

Runyonland is great and the tempo is BRISK. More tracks like that, please!

I love Thomas Allen, but him as Arvide is too much voice - and too low a tessitura - for that part. Not helped by the tempo (though the only tempo of that song that has ever worked for me is the brisker take of the 90s revival recording).

As for Sierra, Frank Loesser put "I'll Know" in a HIGH key (it was wisely lowered for the 92 revival), and nearly every Sarah I've heard struggles with it.

Updated On: 9/18/26 at 05:27 PM

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "John Adams said: "As for Sierra, Frank Loesser put "I'll Know" in a HIGH key(it was wisely lowered for the 92 revival), and nearly every Sarah I've heard struggles with it."

If there is no accidental modulation happening (for whatever reason) in the digital sample available in the iTunes Store, Sierra's pitch for that first note on the word, "I'll..." is a C# (C#6).

Per Duck, Duck Go's AI: "...Her highest note in the show [Lloyd-Webber's Phantom] is a high C (C6), which she sings during the song "The Phantom of the Opera."

She's a pro, and certainly is immensely talented (and a graduate of my alma mater ), still...

I know the key is just what it is (by Loesser's choice). That does explain why I hear something uncharacteristic in how Boggess projects the syllable. It's up a half step from her highest note in Phantom, and the vowel is also changed from an open "/ah/" (in Phantom) to a more pinched, "/ai/" in Gs&Ds.

Updated On: 9/19/26 at 09:32 PM

I’ve listened to Act I so far and I think Boggess is great, including on ‘I'll Know’. It's rare for a Sarah to upstage an Adelaide, but so far she has. Her ‘If I Were a Bell’ is indeed fantastic, you can tell she had a ton of fun with it. Other than her, the recording is alright. A few of the songs have slower tempos than I would prefer, and it kind of saps the energy from them, including the title song. But the clarity of the instruments is far superior to the Jay version, where everything sounded far away.