Deep in My Heart, Dear
Derek McGovern
of Deep in My Heart, Dear was his best. "The MGM Student Prince
recording," I answered in a flash. The only problem was that my father
then wanted to know which CD it was on -- and, of course, it isn't
(well, not in its complete form, at least). It's always frustrated me
that the beautiful version with Ann Blyth that we hear in the film
couldn't, for contractual reasons, be included on the RCA LP. Instead,
what we get on record (and on CD) is a very unsatisfactory hybrid of
part-soundtrack (Mario), then Elizabeth Doubleday inserted in the
middle (singing her lines *and* Mario's!), and then a clumsy repeat of
Lanza's opening as the conclusion. Very messy.
It's such a shame, since this recording features some of Mario's
tenderest, most exquisitely delicate, singing. We'll always have the
film, of course (and it's a magnificently shot sequence; gloriously
romantic with all the fog!), but that's little compensation without
Lanza actually in the scene.
There are two existing *outtakes* of the duet with Ann Blyth, though.
They're both quite different, and while neither is as good as the
version that appears in the film, they each have their moments. I've
just been comparing them, and I thought I'd share them with our group.
Here's a stereo take, complete with Maurice de Packh's sublime
orchestral lead-in (he and Mario certainly make a great team!):
http://www.4shared.com/account/file/182262760/bc7093ec/Deep_in_My_Heart_Dear__in_ster.html
And here's a mono take in lesser sound, but better sung (overall), I feel:
http://www.4shared.com/account/file/182263356/c18baaa3/Deep_In_My_Heart.html
I don't have a link for the film version, unfortunately. Perhaps
someone can upload it for us?
And, just for fun, here's the 1959 version with Norma Giusti. This is
probably the best we'll ever hear this recording from the
much-maligned remake -- and you know what? Lanza does a pretty good
job. (For starters, it's much better sung than the Coke version, and
preferable, I feel, to the live 1946 radio version.) It's a much more
*operatic* performance, of course, but there are touches of the
youthful tenderness Lanza brings to the film version on the lines "As
deep in the shadows, your eyes look in mine":
http://www.4shared.com/account/file/182264827/684fdbaa/Deep_in_my_heart_dear__1959_.html
Thoughts, anyone?
Vince Di Placido
versions from 1952 that Mario sings the line, "Fragrant with roses &
dew, our paths may sever..." that flow from "dew" to "our" is a lovely
touch & his outpouring on "paths" is something I've always loved :-)
lovely Lanza touches.
The bridge has some lovely singing "It looks like the start of a
beautiful day, just holding you here in my arms" is just so
romantically sung, it would melt anyone...
The 1959 recording lacks a bit of the lyrical romance of 1952 but has
some nice singing & Mario's voice is strong & clear on that last
"dream" cosidering how sick he was...
Strange little change Paul Francis Webster made to those Dorothy
Donnelly lyrics "always I'll dream of you" to "I'll always dream of
you"... I suppose the change was to make the line more modern...
By the way, sorry I haven't posted in a while, the curse of working in
retail at Christmas :-(
I hope you all had a lovely time, Buon Natale!
Lou
have yet to hear), but what absolute gems they are! They showcase
Lanza's soft singing at its most tender and poetic. Anyone who has
experienced only the visceral thrill of the full-throated Lanza sound
should listen to his gorgeous mezza voce in these renditions. I bet
they will find it a revelation that will captivate their ears and
their hearts.
What's not to like about the more "operatic" 1959 version with the
darker, heftier Lanza voice? Nothing, unless you miss the melting soft
touches that the 1952 renditions have in spades. If I must nitpick, in
his delivery of the rather startling (to my ears) last line, "Deep in
my heart, dear, I'll always dream of you," Lanza seems oblivious of
Giusti. But what the heck, with that gleaming, vibrant "dream," all is
forgiven.
On Dec 28, 6:10 am, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Derek McGovern
on the 1959 version; unlike Ann Blyth on the 1952 takes, she wasn't
actually with him in the studio! But, yes, there are some lovely
touches throughout this recording ("the heart of a rose", for example)
that belie the (physical) shape that Lanza was in at the time.
Mike, bless him, has just sent me a link to the film version, which,
thanks to the McAdam remastering magic (it even has a stereo
opening!), sounds the best I've heard it:
http://www.4shared.com/file/184450612/44dd6a4c/DeepInMyHeartDear-Soundtrack.html
(Mike would have posted this himself, but for some bizarre reason
Google won't let him sign in today.)
I hope others will take the time to compare the three 1952 takes, and
give us their feedback. What I especially love about the film take is
its extra tenderness (listen, for example, to how Lanza sings
"forever" on "But I'll remember forever" just before the bridge) and
its ending. The only (slight) letdown is that Ann doesn't fare quite
as well on this version, especially pitchwise. Still, she's a lot
easier on the ears than Kathryn :-)
> > I hope you all had a lovely time, Buon Natale!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Anita
wonderful, successful 2010. Today I received some cds from Fan
Faire.com. One of them is called :"If You Were Mine" and it has Deep
In My Heart with Ann Blyth on it on track 34.
On Dec 27, 9:55 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> My father was asking me the other day which of Lanza's many versions
> of Deep in My Heart, Dear was his best. "The MGM Student Prince
> recording," I answered in a flash. The only problem was that my father
> then wanted to know which CD it was on -- and, of course, it isn't
> (well, not in its complete form, at least). It's always frustrated me
> that the beautiful version with Ann Blyth that we hear in the film
> couldn't, for contractual reasons, be included on the RCA LP. Instead,
> what we get on record (and on CD) is a very unsatisfactory hybrid of
> part-soundtrack (Mario), then Elizabeth Doubleday inserted in the
> middle (singing her lines *and* Mario's!), and then a clumsy repeat of
> Lanza's opening as the conclusion. Very messy.
>
> It's such a shame, since this recording features some of Mario's
> tenderest, most exquisitely delicate, singing. We'll always have the
> film, of course (and it's a magnificently shot sequence; gloriously
> romantic with all the fog!), but that's little compensation without
> Lanza actually in the scene.
>
> There are two existing *outtakes* of the duet with Ann Blyth, though.
> They're both quite different, and while neither is as good as the
> version that appears in the film, they each have their moments. I've
> just been comparing them, and I thought I'd share them with our group.
>
> Here's a stereo take, complete with Maurice de Packh's sublime
> orchestral lead-in (he and Mario certainly make a great team!):
>
> http://www.4shared.com/account/file/182262760/bc7093ec/Deep_in_My_Hea...
>
> And here's a mono take in lesser sound, but better sung (overall), I feel:
>
> http://www.4shared.com/account/file/182263356/c18baaa3/Deep_In_My_Hea...
>
> I don't have a link for the film version, unfortunately. Perhaps
> someone can upload it for us?
>
> And, just for fun, here's the 1959 version with Norma Giusti. This is
> probably the best we'll ever hear this recording from the
> much-maligned remake -- and you know what? Lanza does a pretty good
> job. (For starters, it's much better sung than the Coke version, and
> preferable, I feel, to the live 1946 radio version.) It's a much more
> *operatic* performance, of course, but there are touches of the
> youthful tenderness Lanza brings to the film version on the lines "As
> deep in the shadows, your eyes look in mine":
>
> http://www.4shared.com/account/file/182264827/684fdbaa/Deep_in_my_hea...
>
> Thoughts, anyone?
Derek McGovern
Just to clarify: that take of Deep in My Heart, Dear on the Damon
Lanza Productions CD is not the film version; it's the second take
that I mentioned in my opening post.
leeann
Lou's phrasing--"the melting soft touches that the 1952 renditions
have in spades"--and knowing the timing of the recordings, it's
interesting to hear how different songs and interpretations are
appropriate at different ages and stages of a career, perhaps a life--
and definitely color my responses. The 1952 interpretations all speak
to me of the wonder of first love; the 1959 to me sounds perhaps more
retrospective. Less wonder, less emotional exploration, more
certainty, perhaps.
I listened to them in sequence of their appearance on the thread, and
Mike's was a grand climax of the earlier versions. I'd been going back
and forth between the first two then came the jackpot. Thanks!
I know this has been discussed often, but particularly with the
varieties of genres consolidated with the release of the Original
Album Classics 5 CD set, the difference is interesting between songs
that are forever grand--Deep in My Heart, Dear, being one of them for
me at least--and songs that are perhaps more dated, period pieces and
"work" ONLY because of the way Mario Lanza sings them. (Not counting
the oddities such as Pineapple Pickers and Italian Calypso.)
The Touch of Your Hand is one such song for me--the short verses, the
rhyming couplets would seem tremendously awkward poetry simply to
speak, to say nothing of trying to sing with the articulation Lanza
does. And I understand from going back to a thread from a bit more
than a year ago (http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/
browse_thread/thread/a78dcb5dd43da0a7/ee2f643c893581f7?lnk=gst&q=touch
+of+your+hand#ee2f643c893581f7)--there seem to be many opinions about
that particular song :-)!
Very best wishes for the new year to everyone, and as always thanks to
everyone as well. Lee Ann
Lou
remastered film version is no exception. Thank you so much, Mike!
I was wondering how Mario's singing in the two outtakes could possibly
be bettered, so exquisite it sounded to my ears. But one listen to the
film version was all it took to convince me that it was possible to
improve on perfection. I too love the extra tenderness pointed out by
Derek. How delicately Mario floats "heart," "starlight," "sever,"
"remember," "forever," "dream" - almost as if he savors the words
themselves and not just their meanings. And then there's the
shimmeringly beautiful ending. It's simply to die for.
On Dec 30 2009, 3:22 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi Lou: There's a good reason Mario sounds "oblivious" to Norma Giusti
> on the 1959 version; unlike Ann Blyth on the 1952 takes, she wasn't
> actually with him in the studio! But, yes, there are some lovely
> touches throughout this recording ("the heart of a rose", for example)
> that belie the (physical) shape that Lanza was in at the time.
>
> Mike, bless him, has just sent me a link to the film version, which,
> thanks to the McAdam remastering magic (it even has a stereo
> opening!), sounds the best I've heard it:
>
> http://www.4shared.com/file/184450612/44dd6a4c/DeepInMyHeartDear-Soun...
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
Vince Di Placido
to have the best rendition in such good sound :-)
Mike McAdam
on another thread Vince, if these recordings were in MGM stereo.
Simple answer: yes and no. I'll elucidate on that in the other thread
(think it was Joe's "...in the Vaults" thread where I put my video
captured/doctored "I'll Walk With God"? Lord, what a great memory I
have, wot? ;-))
Mike
On Jan 7, 3:32 pm, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Mike McAdam
Heart, Dear", I'm presently attempting to take Ms Blyth's softer
passages in the 'middle eight' of the Rhino outtake version and insert
them judiciously to replace her almost strident vocals on the film
soundtrack I made available earlier in this thread.
This is all part of my giant, never-ending SP project. Yikes, sounds
like Mr. McGovern's thesis, with just as many sidetracks! ;-))
Cheers, Mike
> > to have the best rendition in such good sound :-)- Hide quoted text -
Tonytenor
opinions expressed (on the various subjects, on this forum) as it
helps me to perhaps look at and listen to some things, I thought I had
steadfast opinions on, in a new way.
Many, many thanks to Derek, Mike, et al for all of the work on the
various audio files and, most especially, for sharing them.
Ciao,
Tony
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -