Best Andrew Lloyd Webber Cast Recording

[broadwayaddicts]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 11:48pm

What is the best cast recording of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

[hork]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 11:51pm

The 1996 London recording of Jesus Christ Superstar

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:05am

Tie between Evita & Sunset Blvd

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:07am

Evita

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:07am

I'm partail to the 1993 OLC of SUNSET BOULEVARD. On a good system that recording sounds flucking amazing. The bass on the prologue alone. And I love the score and cast.

 

Or the concept album of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. One of my all-time favorite albums period.

 

As for EVITA, the material and cast is amazing but the mixing (at least on the CD) is terrible. So low and compressy.

Updated On: 3/4/16 at 12:07 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:20am

hork said: "The 1996 London recording of Jesus Christ Superstar"

 

That was the first one I thought of when I saw this thread as well! I also enjoy the 2006 London recording of Evita. OLC of Phantom is pretty good too, but maybe I just say that because I sort of grew up on it. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:25am

I agree with Mr. Roxy.  I think it is hard not to acknowledge that SB has a great score after listening to the score a few times.  A New Argentina is for me one of the most perfect tracks on any Cast album.

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:53am

In this order:

Sunset Boulevard (American Premiere Recording)

Jesus Christ Superstar (1996 Studio Cast)

Evita (New Broadway Cast Recording)

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Original Canadian Cast Recording)

 

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 2:45am

Sunset Boulevard (Campbell and Close)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Damian)

Phantom of the Opera (Crawford)

Evita (OCR)

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 2:49am

An Oxymoron.

 

but historically speaking, the original JCSS album, which is a pop culture milestone. 

[nicnyc]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 3:36am

My three favorites are:

Sunset Blvd (Close and Campbell)

Jesus Christ Superstar (film version - Neeley and Anderson)

Evita (I love both the original broadway cast and the broadway revival cast recordings for different reasons)

 

[jo]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 4:17am

*Aspects of Love

*Sunset Boulevard

*Phantom of the Opera

*Jesus Christ Superstar

*Evita

 

[chewy5000]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 6:42am

For me, the Sunset OLC is ruined by the lacklustre gunshot sound effects.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 7:59am

My favorite is the Canadian Cast Recording of "The Phantom of the Opera". The sound quality and mixing is absolutely superior to the London cast recording, which to me always sounds muddy and super echo-y.

The cast is also fabulous, giving very different performances than Crawford and Brightman (who I also love). The only downfall is that this is a highlights album. If you've never listened to it - I urge you to!

Updated On: 3/4/16 at 07:59 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 11:14am

The first that came to mind was the cast recording of Evita with Patti LuPone. It's certainly my favorite to listen to. I also love Jesus Christ Superstar and I tend to go back and forth on which of the two is his best score but I've never heard a complete recording of Jesus Christ Superstar that didn't have fade out tracks which I can't stand. "Superstar" gets faded out often and the end of that song is so good I don't understand why. I also enjoy the recording of Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close as it features virtually the entire score and the performances are so vivid it's very easy to picture how it must have been staged and to listen in like a radio play.

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 11:21am

Madonna aside, I love the Film CD for Evita (does that even count?)

On the international side. my two favourite ones are the Hamburg Cats (it's live and wonderful) and the second (1992) Japanese Phantom

[gypsy101]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 11:29am

Evita is the best recording of his work despite the fact the cd desperately needs to be remastered. Patti is wonderful as Evita. I don't love Bob Gunton but he's not terrible.

[Jallenc32]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 11:45am

My top three:

1996 Superstar

Evita concept album

Evita OBC

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:17pm

The OBC of Evita is certainly the one that gets the most play on my iTunes.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:22pm

Has Evita never been remastered? I'd love it if Kritzerland was able to do it if Webber refuses.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:25pm

I'm going to agree with jo on the OLCR of Aspects of Love. The music is beautiful and haunting; the orchestrations, played by a small ensemble, are gorgeous (though, admittedly, the lyrics and story leave much to be desired). I know the show isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the recording is a terrific representation of it.

 

Pushing thirty years on, I'm surprised the London recording is still the only available English-language cast recording. Obviously the show wasn't a great success, but it seems to have a cult following. I'd love to see it revised to make parts of it just a bit less... silly. :)

Updated On: 3/4/16 at 12:25 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:30pm

Concurring with Mr. Nowack and Scarywarhol -- the original concept album of JCS is pretty much it for me, especially as far as that show goes. True, it has imperfect notes, rough moments, the orchestration's a little primitive -- it doesn't have that acrylic slickness and polish that marks Webber's later work (especially revivals of this show). There's a rawness you'll find the way you might find in certain points of the best classic rock albums. And not all of the later material that expanded and further deepened the piece is there (I, for one, welcome the extra lyrics in "Hosanna," "The Temple" and "Trial By Pilate," and enjoy what "Then We Are Decided" and "Could We Start Again Please?" bring to the show). But it has passion and drama, in spades, to say nothing of some of the best rock vocals and instrumentation on any album anywhere.

 

(Only reason I don't concur with nicnyc on the film soundtrack is that it has been very poorly mixed ever since the original LP, and no amount of remastering has corrected those problems, unfortunately. The terrific performances from Neeley, Anderson, and many of the other principals are lost in the muddy sound quality -- the recent 40th anniversary screening tour showcased both the performances and the sound in much better light with its restored digital print.)

 

I must also say that I don't get the love for the 1996 studio cast at all, unless you're more of a fan of Webber's later work. This, for me, is where the show began its decline. Webber took total control of the proceedings pretty much from here on out, and in my opinion slanted the show more toward musical theater and farther away from rock, to its detriment. There are little things that I like about the newer versions of the show, but they have nothing to do with the performers, for damn sure. (Except for Alice Cooper... that version of "King Herod's Song" nicely straddles the line between rock and vaudeville, and is the only version -- barring that on the JCS: A Resurrection studio cast album -- that has ever sounded to me like it was of a piece with the rest of the score, and not just comic relief stuffed in late in the recording process because they realized the second act was too heavy.)

Updated On: 3/4/16 at 12:30 PM

[10086sunset]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 12:50pm

Sunset Boulevard -Close and Campbell

Phantom of the Opera -Crawford

Evita - OCR

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 1:05pm

Aspects OLC

JCS Concept

Sunset OLC

Evita OBC

Phantom Toronto

S&D OBC

Joseph Toronto

Starlight OLC

 

Personally, I think Kuhn and Hearn are the ONLY reasons to own the OBC of Sunset.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 1:42pm

I too am sort of surprised how many people list the 1996 SUPERSTAR. I heard it once and for me it was no comparison to the concept album. But hey, by that point t i had heard the latter maybe 100 times and at that point its hard to embrace something different.

 

I can understand the love for the OBC/LA SUNSET but for me the changes to the score are just plain inferior to the original. Sublime as always Judy Kuhn aside.