Conrad Salinger

Here's the second in our series of favorite or requested 12-inch LPs.

If the name Conrad Salinger is unfamiliar to you, think of the sounds of the classic MGM musicals, and you will have a pretty good idea of what's in store for you here. Some of the most beloved numbers in those movies - the ones universally acclaimed as the high points of the American musical, such as The Trolley Song and Singin' in the Rain - were as much a credit to the orchestrational genius of Conrad Salinger as they were to the performing genius of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, or the writing skills of Martin/Blaine and Brown/Freed.

This is the sole LP ever issued under Salinger's name, and it is in effect a tribute by Verve A&R man Buddy Bregman to Salinger and his orchestrations. The genesis of the record is detailed in a fascinating article on the Robert Farnon Society web site.

The article delves into Salinger's influences, citing various Impressionists. Well, maybe, but to me the driving force behind the sound he produced in Hollywood was the many years he spent working on Broadway. In the MGM movies, you hear an exceptional Broadway pit band playing beautifully balanced and paced orchestrations. When added to the stunning array of on-screen talent at MGM - well, let's just say I don't think we're ever going to hear or see anything like it again.

I have to say that this LP is not quite on that level, to my ears - although it it undoubtedly good, and Bregman is complimentary of his own work in the article mentioned above. But it is a rarity, and I highly recommend it to all fans of Hollywood's golden age.

By the way, Salinger died not long after that golden age ended, in 1961.