EVITA: Which Recording?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:30pm

I really love Evita, and I really want a complete recording because I love all the more recitative in between the songs, but I hate Mandy Patinkin's voice. Any help? Or should I just get the Broadway cast?

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:32pm

Get the original studio recording. It's my favorite version of the score.

[philly03]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:43pm

Everyone usually hates one of the Che's for some reason! I hate Colm Wilkinson's Che (who is on the concept recording as listed above).

I'd either go for the Original London Cast starring Elaine Paige & David Essex (sort of highlights - 15 songs), or the Original Broadway cast.

I also like the movie soundtrack, especially the orchestrations & Antonio Banderas, although some do not like him.

The OLC is really good though it's too bad there's not a full recording of it!

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:43pm

The studio cast is REALLY good, but Patti Patti Patti is so fierce in the role.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:45pm

Just get the LA cast recording. Julie Covington is far more agrivating than Mandy Patinkin.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:51pm

Orig. B-way all the way! The orig. London is good also, it has a funky 70's vibe to it. So buy them all.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 8:57pm

I love the OBC, but the Original London Cast is so interesting because I like to compare the whole sound to the Broadway one. it sounds very 70s and very pop-y on the OLC.

[laura is broadway]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 9:03pm

You don't like Mandy? =/

I really like the concept recording. Especially Colm Wilkinson, his voice is very interesting, much different from how he sounds on his various Les Miserables recordings.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:46pm

No I hate his voice, but I loved Sunday in the Park when I watched the DVD, so that's saying a lot about Mr. Sondheim and his material. But if I want to LISTEN to something, I wouldn't choose him, but I might just get the OBC because I want the full show. i wish the London revival was a full version. I really enjoy Elaine Rogers in the role, and their Che isn't horrible, though he's a bit nasal. Is the Studio Recording pretty much the same show as the Broadway version.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:48pm

The Original London CR suffers from a dull EVITA, Elaine Page.
My favorite is the London revival recording, Elena Roger is fantastic. I do think that the most complete album with the best performances is the OBCR. I dislike Mandy Patinkin as well but his performance in this album is great.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:50pm

Go with the white album, Julie is perfect.

[laura is broadway]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:50pm

There's a few change in a few lyrics I believe but nothing to significant, and there's the addition of "The Lady's Got Potential" which is a song I really enjoy. It's pretty much the whole score too, the only thing I can think of off the top of my head that's not included is "Hello and Goodbye", which I don't particularly miss.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 10:53pm

i think the orchestrations of the london revival are SUPER bland and sound very weak. Any of the other recordings have a lot more power behind them. I like Julie Covington because she is both vulnerable and powerful, in my opinion.

[broadwayfan310]

Posted: 9/21/08 at 11:29pm

Original Broadway recording.. I love that one!!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 12:02am

I think "Hello and Goodbye" is included on the studio CD. It's missing "The Art of the Possible" because that wasn't written yet, but it does have "The Lady's Got Potential" and "Eva's Sonnet" which I've actually always been a little sad that they truncated because it's rather pretty.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 12:59am

This is one of my favorite shows. I did it last summer, and it's one of those shows I could have done eight times a week for a year. It's just so much fun to sing because the score is so demanding. I think I'm going to go with the OBCR, I just love Patti Lupone, and her voice is so powerful.

[killertofu333]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 1:00am

I'm actually not a big fan of the London Cast Recording, it just doesn't do it for me. The score from the film isn't bad, but I'm all about Patti. Her vocals are crazy and really pack a punch. I say go for Patti.

[Weez]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 4:41am

i wish the London revival was a full version. I really enjoy Elaine Rogers in the role

Or Elena Roger, as we know her better. O_o

Posted: 9/22/08 at 8:36am

def the movie soundtrack. Antonio finally gave it the Latin touch that character needed. And madonna humanized the role as opposed to yelling and raging the whole time.

[jcdenton08]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 8:53am

Becky and I are both huge Evita fans, and own every cast recording, as well as other recordings.. I've only actually seen two different professional productions live, the current U.K tour and the 2006 London Revival.. so the easiest way is to list my favourite people in the roles;

Evita - Elena Roger (Amazing live, doesn't work on the rushed CD, therefore either Madonna or Julie Covington)
Che - Antonio Banderas or David Essex
Peron - Jonathan Pryce or Philip Quast

The best overall album, with the quality of the ensemble and Banderas' performance in particular, is definitely the movie.

As for the worst English-language recording, I am not fond of Elaine Paige in the role.. It's just a shame the 2006 London recording was so dire too, Elena Roger was phenomenal and remains one of the best individual performances I have seen.. (so much so I had to go back the next week to see it again - at full price!)

BUT if you're a 'purist' and prefer the stage arrangements go for the Julie Covington studio recording, and you'll just have to put up with the appalling Juan Peron!!

:)

[jennamajig]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 10:12am

I love the OBCR and I guess I'm one of the few that really enjoys Mandy on this recording. His "And the Money Kept Rolling In" is my favorite version of that song. And Patti is amazing and my favorite Eva to listen to.

The movie recording isn't bad, but Madonna pales next to Patti. Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce, however, are worth the price of buying.

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 10:38am

I've always preferred the OBCR to the original studio version because I prefer Lupone's Evita to Covington's. I like both better than Elaine Paige's or Madonna's.

It's been a while since I listened to them back to back to compare, but are the Che insecticide songs only in the original studio version? I don't remember them in other versions (but it could be that I just disliked them enough to block them out).

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 10:54am

I like the London revival minus Matt Rawle, who doesn't have a very good voice and whose Spanish pronunciations just kill me.

I would say that the OBCR is the best. I don't like Mandy, either, but oh well.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 1:28pm

NOTHING can compare to Patti & Mandy on the OBC.

And it's complete.

That said, I have them all and enjoy something about each one of the others as well.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 2:41pm

I think Julie Covington's Evita is far better sung than Lupone's. The concept album is a bit much in places, the whole subplot about Che's insecticide, I mean really. I think Covington manages to negotiate the role's complexities better than Lupone. Covington's combination of bitchery and vulnerability is unmatched by any of the recordings I've heard.