Les Miserables Original London Cast
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Free Music Notes for Les Miserables Original London Cast
Free Music Review: An 'okay' album
Hit: 4 Stars
I love Les Miserables and I have four of the cast recordings. Of the four, I would place this in my bottom two primarily because of Frances Ruffelle. No person who claims to know anything about singing can honestly say that FRances sings well. Her rough voice is hard on the ears (the excuse commonly used is that it's "unique" -- puhleez!), plus she can NOT articulate. She just mumbles or keeps dragging the words that any listener would wonder whether she has forgotten that in musical theater (versus pop singing), it's all the more critical to COMMUNICATE to the audience; people should be able to understand what she's singing. As for her Tony Award, as one poster has already said, she was just lucky that Lea Salonga (or Kaho Shimada) weren't around yet; otherwise, she wouldn't have even been offered the part!Free Music Review: My Favorite
Hit: 4 Stars
I had no real idea what I was doing when I bought this two CD set. I didn't know anything about different versions of Les Miserables and so I just picked one off the shelf. Imagine my horror when I discovered I picked the Valjean with the twangy accent! But over the years I've grown to like Valjean's accent. Yes it is horrible but it's so endearing! As for Javert, I just can't find a better Javert. He has this subtle threat in his voice that sounds like he is going to kill you. What's not to like. I was comparing this CD with my friend's different version and I'll admit, this version has a whiny Eponine, a foreman with little character, and I've heard stronger Fantines. I can't explain why I like this set of Les Miserables. I just do.Free Music Review: Okay
Hit: 4 Stars
I love this musical and have the four English language recordings. This particular recording is good, but like many people, I find the Complete Symphonic and the 10th Anniversary Recordings to be superior. In the Eponine role, for instance, while Frances Ruffelle's acting is superb, her singing isn't -- she has such a bad voice and an annoying way of articulating (she eats her words); Kaho Shimada and Lea Salonga do much, much better. If you're a big Les Mis fan, however, it wouldn't be bad to get all four recordings as they show the musical's transformation over the years.
Free Music Review: Les Mis 85 - An Examination of Valjean and Javert
Hit: 5 Stars
Original concept album, delightfully complete Symphonic Recording, and drab Broadway Transfer aside, the "Les Miserable Original Lodon Cast Recording" still remains the difinitive.
Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, the part he was born to play, is unconventional, unique, and a fantastic actor, many qualities he lost during his transfer to broadway, in which he sounded strained and tight throated. His voice is something to expierience, and he handles his solos wonderfully. He especially soars in Bring Him Home and What Have I Done.
Roger Allam as Javert is also a highlight. Many Les Mis fans openly prefer Phillip Quast as the relentless inspecter, and although Quast is, I'll admit, exceptional, he is still nothing more then a close second to the original Javert. Allam sounds old enough to be the character, a characteristic many other Javerts have lacked, his voice, like Wilkinson's, is equaly unique, and ranges from dark, to emotional, all with a slight nasal quality that ties it together with an eerie feel. My only gripe is Soliloquy, which although sung beautifully, one of the best on his part, lacks the overwhelemed, life threatening emotion necessary for that point in the characters development, something I will give Quast for finding and excuting perfectly.
(Some of you may have noticed I haven't mentioned Terrance Mann, and I must throw in my two cents - Mann is a wonderful Rum Tum Tugger, a greaat singer, but not a Javert. To his credit I will quote him, seeing as he returned to the role 16 years after he left it, now suitably older, and as I've read, a better singer -
"When I did the show originally, I'd never taken voice lessons," he said. "I'd just been kind of rockin' and rollin' and gutting out stuff. Since then I've learned about the voice, learned about where to place it. When I did the show before, I would tend to put a lot of tension in my throat. Now I don't know if you call it confidence or just a certain ease of being on the stage, but I'm more relaxed and comfortable."
Alan Wasser, general manager of Les Miserables since it opened, has seen the show as many times as anyone. He said the difference in Mann's Javert then and now is striking.
"There's a mature sort of bearing he brings to the part now. Javert is a serious older force, as opposed to the super vigor that Terry used to bring to it.")
Free Music Review: A Little...Er...Slow.
Hit: 3 Stars
Les Miserables would be my pick for favorite musical. Oh,yeah! Seriously! Anyway...I have this Les Miz CD and really think it's slow. The music and lyrics remain the same except for the added longer version of "Little People". Colm Wilkinson is in every Les Miz CD, and is still wonderful everytime.