Les Mis CD question

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Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 1:41pm

Help would be greatly appreciated here!

I'm interested in buying the Les Mis CD but I had some questions on which one to buy. (I've never seen the show or anything or really heard any of the music). I found the OBCR on amazon.com and I also found the OLCR on iTunes the other day. Which one would be a better choice? I don't know, I guess in your oppinion, which is better???

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 1:43pm

i like the obcr a lot better

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re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 1:44pm

The OBCR is a better choice of those 2.
The CSR is a good one too though.

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re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 1:59pm

I hate the OBC.

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re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:42pm

Well, if your in the mood for not spending a lot of $$$, get the Itunes CD.

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:47pm

I too like the OBC more than the OLC. But, there are some excellent things about the OLC (Patti LuPone, Michael Ball, and Alum Armstrong to name a few).

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:50pm

In my opinion, the OLC has a much better cast, but if you're looking for something closer to what you would see nowadays, get the OBC. It definitely has some performance shortcomings, but it's much more up-to-date than the OLC.

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 2:57pm

OLC all the way. I hate hate the Broadway one. Blah.

You should get the French one.That one is the best

"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 3:06pm

I actually recommend the Tenth Anniversary instead of either of those. I know for a fact that Amazon has it, and I seem to recall that iTunes actually has it as well (could be wrong about that). If you're only going to buy one Les Miz CD, that would be the one to buy (in my opinion).

If you really want either the OBC or the OLC, I would recommend the OLC. I also really, really dislike the OBC.

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#10

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 3:22pm

There will never be a definitive answer to this question, as everyone's tastes vary. For me, there is not one perfect 'Les Miz' recording.

The original London boasts what is arguably the best cast - Colm Wilkinson, Roger Allam, Patti LuPone, Frances Ruffelle, Michael Ball, Rebecca Caine, etc.

The Broadway version has Wilkinson and Ruffelle reprising their roles (I think they both improved on this version) and Judy Kuhn - a great Cosette. However, Randy Graff, David Bryant and some others are pretty lackluster.

The complete symphonic has Garry Morris as Valjean (my least favorite recorded Valjean) and Kaho Shimada in Eponine (who did not speak a word of english at the time of the recording, and it shows). On the plus side, it has Debbie Byrne as Fantine (the first one who gave LuPone a run for her money), Michael Ball back as Marius and a complete recording of the score (which I believe is no longer used).

The 10th Anniversary has Wilkinson, Ball, and Kuhn back (all sounding glorious). Ruthie Henshall gives a hearbreaking Fantine (quite different than the others), and Miss Saigon herself, Lea Salonga as Eponine. Now, I loved her in Miss Saigon (and also did see her Eponine on Broadway), but she has never surpassed Ruffelle for me in the role.

So, again, it is really a matter of taste.

My mother always used to say, "The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana." - Rose Nyland

Updated On: 12/27/06 at 03:22 PM

#11

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 3:48pm

If you like having a more complete recording of the show, I would say either the 10th anniversary recording or the CSR. The CSR has the entire show on 3 discs and the 10th anniversary one has almost the entire show on 2 discs (Plus outstanding performances from Colm Wilkinson, Ruthie Henshall and Lea Salonga)

If you don't mind not having the whole show, I would say the OBCR. The only reason why I say that is because I find the tempos in a lot of the songs on the OLC too slow.

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

#12

re: Les Mis CD question

Posted: 12/27/06 at 3:49pm

Thanks guys!

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