(3 out of 5 stars)
"This so-called expanded CD of THE KING AND I is not nearly as good as it could have been mainly because the source used for this CD is plagued with Foley effects and dialogue which don't make much sense separated from the visual elements of the film and actually detract from the musical enjoyment of this great score. The original discrete stereophonic "music and vocal only" separation soundtracks for the KING AND I (also CAROUSEL, OKLAHOMA and SOUTH PACIFIC) are in the 20th. Century Fox studio vaults and could have been made available to the producers for these re-masterings if anyone had cared enough to ask. In fact, the deluxe laserdisc of THE KING AND I contained a CD of about 76 minutes including the complete vocal score and Alfred Newman's excellent underscoring, all completely free of extraneous sound effects and dialogue. Why weren't these tracks used for this CD release? These performances are important enough to use the best and cleanest sound source in existence and I don't think it is childish to comment on this omission. These original tracks should have been used exclusively for the expanded versions of these albums. The end result would have much more musically pleasing. As a long time audiophile myself I don't think this is asking too much and other Amazon reviewers of musical soundtracks in which the producer of this CD, Didier C. Deutsch, was involved have commented on the sound effect and dialogue snippets that marred the expanded versions of WEST SIDE STORY and MY FAIR LADY.I can't imagine any intelligent person who would want these intrusions on a music only recording if an alternate source without them were readily available.This recording of THE KING AND I as well as the film soundtracks of CAROUSEL and OKLAHOMA are musically the finest recorded performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals. These recordings deserve and could have gotten a far better sonic presentation than the producers and EMI-Angel gave them. I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with my personal observations concerning these releases. That is what this forum is all about, after all and from a musical standpoint I cannot recommend these soundtracks more highly. I just wish the producers had been more careful in their execution of these releases."