Original or Revival Recording: Which Do You Prefer? — Page 2

I buy both the original and the revivals if I really love a show. However, I usually prefer listening to revival recordings because the sound quality is much better.

The only time I would prefer the original is if it is drastically different from the revival (in a good way, that is).

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Updated On: 6/19/07 at 11:12 PM

I, too, enjoy listening to both recordings of a show (or more than both if it applies), but lately I've been more partial to revival recordings. For example, I love both recordings of "Sweeney Todd," and even though I believe the original recording is the definitive recording of the show, I still prefer to listen to the new cast album.

I guess, for me, it's whichever recording I think of as THE definitive recording of the show. Examples: revival of "Company," London cast of "The Phantom of the Opera," revival of "Chicago," original and revival casts of "Cabaret" (they're so different that I can't pick just one to best represent the show), and plenty more which I am too tired to write about.

It's 2:49 in the morning...why aren't I asleep?

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I generally prefer the revivals. Especially if I saw the revival live, but even if I have never seen the show I just prefer the cleaner production of most newer recordings. That said, if they ever revive any shows of which I saw & loved the original production (RENT, Ragtime, etc) I will cling to my OBC recordings. I'm biased towards whichever version I first saw live, I will fully admit that.

I generally prefer the original cast recordings. The original orchestrations are more authentic and sound better to me. Give me the orchestrators Robert Russell Bennett, Philip J. Lang, and Don Walker any time over today's orchestrators, with the exception of Jonathan Tunick. And with digital remastering of older shows from the original tapes, the sound of the older shows going back to the late 1950's is truly excellent. Digital remastering has been a remarkable god-send to OBCR's!

There are a few revival recordings that I prefer to the originals, particularly because they include more music from the shows: GUYS AND DOLLS, the Encores recordings of PAL JOEY and DO RE MI, and SHOWBOAT's studio cast recording are four that come to mind.

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In most cases I prefer the original casts. After all these were the performers who spent weeks in rehearsals and try-outs to shape mould the finished product. Early recording technology may have limited the amount of material recorded and the overall sound quality, but no modern digital cast album can ever re-create the freshness heard on the OCR's of OKLAHOMA! or SOUTH PACIFIC.

I am always glad when a revival cast does serve the score as well as or better than the original. The new 110 IN TEH SHADE does and I think because it is more complete the new CHORUS LINE is more a document of what the score sounds like in the context of the show. Still, I would not part with the original recording of either.

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