Amelie - Original London Cast Recording

London cast recording is released now (just listened to it on Spotify) and it's absolutely brilliant. The orchestrations and overall quirkiness of this album is exactly what the Broadway version missed - and I'm saying that as someone who really enjoyed the Broadway production and listens to the OBCR often. Audrey Brisson is great.

Jordan Catalano said: "For a show that I felt was “meh” on Broadway, seeing this new version last year I was completely enthralled. I loved every single second of it."

The biggest change is that it finally has a sense of identity. The original film is so unique in it's presentation and story, and the Broadway adaptation sucked all the life out of it. This is the Amelie musical we deserved.

Jordan Catalano said: "For a show that I felt was “meh” on Broadway, seeing this new version last year I was completely enthralled. I loved every single second of it."

As wonderful a performer as Phillipa Soo is, and as ideal her casting seemed when announced...she ended up being the wrong actress for the role. Audrey Brisson in the UK tour and eventually in London (I saw it in Liverpool) had the right amount of eccentric steely gamine that Phillipa lacked. The rewriting helped, and the instruments-in-hand style fitted the show perfectly. So glad they recorded it!

I haven't listened to the full album yet, but I've skipped around a bit to get a sense of it.

For context, I saw the first preview in Berkeley and really enjoyed it. I was a big proponent of the show on these boards through its tryout process. I didn't get to see it on Broadway, but I've listened to the cast album a few times, and I think the changes they made for Broadway were definitely for the worse. The new music and lyrics were far more bland and trite, and it seemed to lack the sense of charm that I felt so strongly in Berkeley. So given that here are some initial thoughts:

--The prologue is from the Berkeley production, but it doesn't seem to be on the Broadway album, so it seems it has been re-instated.

--The new song "Going Round in Circles" is inspired by a song that was in the show in Berkeley, but it's not quite the same song. It serves the same purpose in the story, has some of the same lyrics, and fragments of the same melody for the chorus. But the verses are a totally different melody. Personally, I prefer the Berkeley version.

--Thank GOD they re-worked the segment with Amelie as a child early in the show. That was one of my biggest issues in Berkeley, and I believe it stayed the same until Broadway. Not only is it shortened, but also it seems that adult Amelie sings it as a flashback, which I like better.

--Regarding the new orchestrations and the accents: obviously, the creatives were responding to the criticisms that the show lacked a sense of "Frenchness." And they have more than made up for that. Personally, I never had an issue with the lack of Frenchness. The original style seemed clear and deliberate to me, though I realize many feel different. The new orchestrations and accents are more interesting, for sure, but they seem to give the score a more heavy, robust, assertive quality to me, whereas the music was written for a lighter, airy quality. I personally prefer the lighter quality, but I wish they could have found a middle ground between the two.

--"Thin Air" is at a faster tempo and a lower key, and I don't care much for it.

-- "Time Are Hard For Dreamers" wasn't there in Berkeley, and on Broadway, it seems to have replaced "Going Round in Circles" as a kind of intro song for Amelie as an adult. Now that "Going Round in Circles" has been put back in the show (in another form, at least), I would be curious to know what the new context is for "Times Are Hard for Dreamers."

I might edit this post, or add a post, once I listen to the full album. All in all, despite my criticisms, I would have loved to see this reworked version for myself. I bet I would have liked it, but maybe in a very different way from the Berkeley version.

Updated On: 6/6/20 at 03:43 PM

VintageSnarker said: "Did you purchase the album? Where did you all find it?"

It's on Spotify. For me, it doesn't show up in the albums but when I searched Audrey Brisson, it showed up in the playlists.

I get the idea from these two albums that the Broadway and London versions of the show take the protagonist on slightly different journeys. My impression from the Broadway album is that the show is presented from Amelie's perspective, and she doesn't realise that she's 'odd' or that her upbringing has left her with some serious baggage. She thinks she's doing fine at first, and there's more surface-level cheerfulness and 'normalcy' in the tone of various songs.
In the London version, the character is a bit more self-aware a bit sooner. For example, the song ''The Commute' on the Broadway album includes the line "She thinks she's okay", but on the London album ('The Commute Home' ) it does not. In London, the song 'Halfway' includes a section wherein adult Amelie recounts her mother rejecting a gesture that Amelie made to reach out to her as a child; the Broadway version of the song does not have adult Amelie reflecting on that incident.
I guess it's all what resonates most with a particular listener, but I actually like the Broadway album's take better overall. I don't know how either version plays out onstage though.

Updated On: 6/6/20 at 08:16 PM

SouthernCakes said: "I still can’t find the complete album on Spotify. I’m in the minority but I thought this was one of the most gorgeous new scores and sad it didn’t get any love. Love to hear this version."


Type in Amélie London and click albums. It should show up.

I am in love with this album from the new orchestrations and vocalizations to the new lyrics. So stunning!

I am so damn happy they put back Everything's Connected. That was my second to favorite number from the pre-Broadway Amelie and I was sad that it was cut from the Broadway production. And now we finally have a recording of it. And I love the new Times are Hard for Dreamers. It's one of my favorite songs of all time and the more broad lyrics makes the message more universal.

Telling from the show trailer, the UK version looks much better than what we got from the direction to the mood. I wish we have gotten this version on Broadway. A transfer wouldn't be possible, right?

Amazon has the CD available.

I bet lots more people will be interested in putting the show on when they hear this version. That must have been at least one goal of the recording.

Owen22 said: "Amazon has the CD available."

Thanks, but I can only see the Broadway recording, not the London one. I'm hoping they're going to bring out the CD at a later date like they sometimes do.