Title: Lucky To Be Me: A Life In Music
Artist: Drake, Alfred
Label: Stage Door Import
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 5055122190622
Genre: Musical Soundtrack

Lucky To Be Me - A Life in Music' represents the first time a solo album of Alfred Drake's recordings has been issued. Presented as a Deluxe 2CD set, the album includes an entire disc of "Demos, Live Performances and Rarities" culled from Drake's own private archive of recordings. Alfred Drake is undoubtedly one of the most iconic figures in the history of musical theatre. In a career that encompassed every possible aspect of the performing arts, from Gilbert and Sullivan operetta to classic Broadway musicals and the plays of Shakespeare, his legacy is unparalleled. However, when you listen to his elegant voice a true picture of his spectacular artistry emerges. Stage Door have selected beloved songs from 'Oklahoma!', 'Kiss Me, Kate', and 'Kismet', but have used less familiar performances to create a truly unique compilation with which to honour the great man. Of special note is the inclusion of the great "Soliloquy" from Carousel, the recording of which he was most proud. Highlights from these unreleased treasures on disc 2 include his 1940 Metropolitan Opera Audition and demos recorded for the Broadway musicals 'The Liar' and 'Courtin' Time'. Compiled with the assistance of Broadway historian and Alfred Drake archivist George Dansker, 'Lucky To Be Me - A Life in Music' showcases the brilliance of Alfred Drake's work on stage and in the recording studio. There were many great stars on Broadway in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. The distaff side had, of course, Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, to name only two of the most famous of that era. But there was only one comparable male star in this musical theatre galaxy - and that was the great Alfred Drake - who remains to this day Broadway's ultimate leading man.

Tracks:
1.1 Lucky to Be Me (From 'On the Town')
1.2 Maria (From 'West Side Story')
1.3 The Surrey with the Fringe on Top (From 'Oklahoma!')
1.4 Were Thine That Special Face (From 'Kiss Me Kate')
1.5 Wunderbar (From 'Kiss Me Kate) - Alfred Drake, Jane Pickens
1.6 Why Can't You Behave? (From 'Kiss Me Kate') - Alfred Drake, Jane Pickens
1.7 The Olive Tree (From 'Kismet')
1.8 And This Is My Beloved (From 'Kismet')
1.9 You're Devastating (From 'Roberta')
1.10 In the Spring of the Year
1.11 Spring Came Back to Vienna
1.12 Forgotten
1.13 Till the Sands of the Desert Grow Cold
1.14 The World Is Mine Tonight
1.15 The Happy Wanderer (Val-De-Ri, Val-De-Ra)
1.16 Destiny's Darling
1.17 Beyond the Sunrise (From 'The Adventures of Marco Polo')
1.18 So in Love (From 'Kiss Me Kate')
1.19 Greensleeves
1.20 Tea for Two (From 'No, No Nanette') - Alfred Drake, Mimi Benzell
1.21 The Nightmare Song (From 'Iolanthe')
1.22 If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
1.23 Lonely Town (From 'On the Town')
1.24 Soliloquy (From 'Carousel')
2.1 Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (From 'Oklahoma!') - Introduced By Andy Williams
2.2 People Will Say We're in Love (From 'Oklahoma!') Piano Rehearsal
2.3 Where (From 'Sing Out, Sweet Land!) Piano Rehearsal
2.4 We're on Our Way (Infantry Song) - Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, Alfred Drake
2.5 Almost Like Being in Love (From 'Brigadoon')
2.6 The Heather on the Hill (From 'Brigadoon') - Alfred Drake, Roberta Roberts
2.7 A Glass Is a Glass (From 'The Liar') - Demo
2.8 Maiden Fair (From 'The Liar') - Demo
2.9 Rose By Any Other Name (From 'The Liar') - Demo - Alfred Drake, Esther Harvey Brown
2.10 The World Is So Dull (From 'The Liar') - Demo
2.11 You Often See Men at the Fair (From 'The Liar') - Demo
2.12 Fixing for a Long Cold Winter (From 'Courtin' Time) - Demo
2.13 Hat in Hand (From 'Courtin' Time) - Demo
2.14 In the Still of the Night - Practice Recording
2.15 I See Your Face Before Me - Practice Recording
2.16 Thoughts of You - Practice Recording
2.17 None But the Lonely Heart - Metropolitan Opera Audition
2.18 Crudel! Perchè Finora (From 'Le Nozze Di Figaro') - Metropolitan Opera Audition
2.19 Queen Mab Aria (From 'Roméo Et Juliette') - Metropolitan Opera Audition
2.20 I Have a Song to Sing (From 'The Yeomen of the Guard') - Alfred Drake, Barbara Cook
2.21 Oh! a Private Buffoon (From 'The Yeomen of the Guard')
2.22 Love Me Tonight (From 'The Vagabond King') - Live
2.23 Where or When (From 'Babes in Arms') - Live
2.24 For Every Man There's a Woman - Live
2.25 Wandering (From 'Sing Out, Sweet Land!') - Live
2.26 Sweet Danger (From 'Kean') - Live
2.27 Let Her Not Be Beautiful (From 'Zenda') - Live