Man of La Mancha: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Album (Original 1965 Broadway Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Man of La Mancha: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Album (Original 1965 Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: A Jewel
Hit: 4 Stars
I recently took my daughter to see this musical. It is one of my favorites and was my Mother's favorite. I hadn't seen it since my mother took me as a girl... many years (we won't discuss that hideous movie.) I hoped that I wouldn't be disappointed, and that my daughter would "get it." I wasn't. She did. She even remembered me playing the album when she was a little one. I came home and bought the CD. I went back and forth about getting this one, or the revival version. I'm so glad I got this one, as Kiley's voice is the voice of Don Quixote and it's as timeless as the story and this wonderful music. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that it is remastered from old technology. But you'll play it often and remember the words when you are old.Free Music Review: Check out Other Versions. Don't be swayed by Others' Reviews.
Hit: 3 Stars
I've never seen this show on stage and my first exposure to the music was the Sony CD Man of La Mancha featuring Placido Domingo, Pandy Patankin, and Julia Migenes-Johnson. Despite lackluster reviews of the disk, I enjoy it, and when I saw this version at a second hand book/music store, I decided check it out too. My initial impression was that the Sony version was the better disk but decided to compare both versions by setting up a playlist in Media Player, playing tracks from both version back-to-back.
After that test, I have to agree with the reviews here that Richard Kiley is the superior Don Quixote. Domingo's voice is, of course wonderful, but Kiley acts the role better on the CD and Domingo's accent is a major distraction.
In the role of Aldonza - no contest. Julia Mingenes-Johnson's singing and performance on the Sony version is far superior to Joan Diener's. I didn't have to hear the tracks back-to-back to realize that. Ms. Diener's performance just grated on my ears from the beginning.
Bucking the crowd, I prefer Mandy Patankin's Sancho (Sony version) to Irving Jacobson's. I may be biased, having had more exposure to the Sony version, but Patankin seemed to be trying to inject a bit more feeling into the character. Jacobson, singing in an annoying, scratchy voice, came across almost like a cartoon trying to fit in among live characters. It seems like most people either like Patankin or hate him. Guess I'm one of the former.
The Orchestration does seem brighter/clearer in this version compared to the Sony version, but, in general, the tempo on most tracks seems slower than the same tracks on the Sony version. I preferred the up-tempo, Sony versions of "The Barber Song", "Little Bird, Little Bird", "The Dubbing" and "A Little Gossip".
In Summary: For Kiley's Don Quixote, you'll probably want this version, but for tracks featuring Aldonza (and maybe Sancho) you'll want to check out the Sony version. Since I have both disks, I will probably come up with a mix of my favorite tracks, in general, favoring the Sony disk but substituting the tracks that feature Richard Kiley's Don Quixote where I can.
Free Music Review: I Simply Like Him (it)!
Hit: 3 Stars
I've seen "Man of La Mancha" at least 5 times on stage over the years but never with the members of the original Broadway Cast. It is probably still my favorite stage production be in musical, drama or comedy. But I am an unintentional contrarian when it comes to the stage productions and the much maligned film version with Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren. As best as I've been able to determine over the years, just about every film critic and musical fan detests the Arthur Hiller flim version of "Man of La Mancha." I, however, love the movie and even the soundtrack over the Orignal Broadway Cast version. I was able to track down an old 33 1/3 soundtrack recording from the movie a number of years ago but I don't believe it has ever been released on CD. I look forward to that happening one day if there might be a few others odd-balls like me that prefer this musical version. The movie did finally come out on DVD this past year and they did a fair job of restoring it but didn't include a lot of extras. I don't glory in being different but I simply know what I like and don't follow the crowd unless the crowd has more going-on than just a majority opinion.Free Music Review: Wonderful show, not-so-wonderful recording
Hit: 3 Stars
I saw this show done by my high school and was amazed by, one, how well they did it and, two, how amazing the show was. I borrowed the original broadway recording from my library and found myself disappointed. Although I only actively disliked one of the performers (Aldonza, who had a screeching voice that was difficult to listen to), none of them actively impressed me either. It felt like there was something truly lacking from the recording that was probably there on stage. There wasn't the passion you hear more from actors when their in a show on stage.Free Music Review: Without Joan Diener, it would be fantastic
Hit: 3 Stars
Joan Diener was married to the director of Man of La Mancha, Albert Marre, so there essentially was no competition for the role of Aldonza. Thererfore, what we get is a screeching, vituperative voice that rankles the ears. I have the utmost admiration for Richard Kiley, though I wish the rendition of 'The Impossible Dream' was recorded with more passion and orchestrated with more style as it is one of my favorite Broadway songs. All in all a good album, but with the glaring casting error of Diener.