Track Listing

1. Main Title - MGM Orchestra & Chorus
2. Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
3. Cyclone [Extended Version] - MGM Studio Orchestra
4. Come Out, Come Out - Billie Burke
5. It Really Was No Miracle - Billy Bletcher, Judy Garland
6. We Thank You Very Sweetly - Frank Cucksey, Joseph Koziel
7. Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
8. As Mayor of the Munchkin City - Billy Bletcher, , Pinto Colvig, J.D. Jewkes
9. As Coroner, I Must Aver - Harry Dean Stanton
10. Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead (Reprise)
11. Lullaby League - Lorraine Bridges, Betty Rome, Carol Tevis
12. Lollipop Guild - Billy Bletcher, , Pinto Colvig, Harry Dean Stanton
13. We Welcome You to Munchkinland
14. Follow the Yellow Brick Road/You're off to See the Wizard - Judy Garland
15. If I Only Had a Brain [Extended Version] - Ray Bolger, Judy Garland
16. We're off to See the Wizard [Duo] - Ray Bolger, Judy Garland
17. If I Only Had a Heart [Extended Version] - Jack Haley, Sr.
18. We're off to See the Wizard [Trio] - Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Judy Garland
19. If I Only Had the Nerve - Ray Bolger, Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Sr., Bert Lahr
20. We're off to See the Wizard [Quartet] - Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Judy Garland, Bert Lahr
21. Optimistic Voices - Debutantes, , MGM Studio Orchestra,
22. Merry Old Land of Oz - Ray Bolger, Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Sr., Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan
23. If I Were King of the Forest [Extended Version] - Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Sr., Bert Lahr
24. Jitterbug [Outtake] - Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Sr., Bert Lahr
25. Ding-Dong! Emerald City [Outtake] - Ken Darby, , MGM Studio Chorus
26. Delirious Escape/Delirious Escape Continued/The End [Extended Version] - MGM Studio Orchestra

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7940 in Music
• Released on: 1995-09-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Lions and tigers and bears, the yellow brick road, gamboling midgets, warnings scrawled high above by a skywriting witch: No movie ever imprinted itself on young imaginations or endured in adult memory more than MGM's classic 1939 musical, and no movie score ever hooked as forcefully into our collective cultural memory. This exemplary soundtrack finally treats this deserved classic to a thoughtful and comprehensive rendering (an even more detailed, expanded version was also released simultaneously as a deluxe box) that confirms the enduring power of Harold Arlen's original music and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg's lyrics. On film, the songs unreeled as a mixture of discreet songs and multi-themed medleys with frequent reprises, a presentation preserved here, epitomized in the "Munchkinland Musical Sequence." If not as concise as Bobby McFerrin's legendary, hilarious concert compression of the entire musical story, this telling of The Wizard of Oz relives the film just as vividly. "Over the Rainbow" is here, of course, precisely where it should be in the sequence, as as timelessly luminous and wistful as ever. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Classic "Wizard of Oz" music makes me feel 8 again!
There are probably few people in the world who love this classic motion picture more than I do and hearing this beautifully recorded soundtrack brought back so many wonderful memories and tears to my eyes as I sang along and listened to them again. I have waited years for someone to record an album with JUST the songs and not with the accompanying dialogue and this is it! I admit I was leary of the title "Selections" from the "Wizard of OZ," figuring that it might have some of the better known songs: "Over the Rainbow," "Off to see the Wizard," If I only had a brain, ...heart, ...courage, so imagine my surprise when EVERY song I remember was on the disk, even extended versions of songs and songs never heard or seen because they were cut from the movie before its release in 1939. I first saw the movie in 1955 at a drive-in movie (does that date me or what?) and immediately fell in love with it and Judy too. (Who wouldn't fall in love with her?). It has been my favorite ever since! I know the dialogue and songs by heart so It's so great that the music is from the original score too and not redone my someone else or a shortened version of them. Anyone who loves the "Wizard of Oz" has got to buy this CD!! Gratefully, Alex Thompson.

Sound Quality was Good;All the Favorite Songs from the Movie
My daughter has just discovered the Wizard of Oz and is enthralled. I was hesitant to purchase the soundtrack, given how the other reviews said the sound quality was poor. I don't know if they re-mixed the songs or what, but the sound quality on our CD is just fine -- it's equivalent in quality to the soundtrack on the DVD. The CD has all of the favorite songs from the movie, of course. I highly recommend it.

Almost Over the Rainbow
This version of The Wizard of Oz proves three things: 1) MGM may well have been the Tiffany's of movie studios back in the 30's, but their sound department was pretty primitive; 2) Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg were a stupendous team and Herbert Stothart (MGM's music director) was a darned good arranger; 3) Judy Garland was a miracle.

Hiss, scratches, pops and limited sonic range notwithstanding, you can't beat this recording to provide the essence of the movie. Judy and her fellow cast members (especially Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley) are just wonderful.

The album notes don't point it out, but there's an interesting "extra" performer on many tracks: Buddy Ebsen. Ebsen was cast as the Tin Man (without a heart), and worked for about a week on the film before becoming desperately ill as a result of the toxic aluminum powder that was ground into his makeup. When it was clear that Ebsen wasn't going to recover quickly, he was replaced by Haley. (The makeup formula was replaced, too!) But Ebsen's voice, which had been pre-recorded for performance playback, appears on a number of tracks on this recording.