Question About Collecting Cast Albums

I am always buying, downloading, collecting cast albums. But I just wanted to get some opinions on as to what to collect.

As of now, I collect just about anything. But I wanted to know, to build a good collection, should I worry about going after the many international recordings out there? I mean, for example, should I include something like the French, Italian, Swedish, and Spanish cast albums of Grease, Cats, etc? Or just "English" recordings? (Broadway, London, etc).

My issue is, I think collecting i.e. the Swedish cast of Cats is something interesting. Will I listen to it? Probably not. Money isn't really an issue with that, so it just becomes should I have it, to have it? Or not worry about it?

Updated On: 12/20/09 at 05:37 PM

Your collection should be shows you want to own, not shows you think you should own.

Especially when it comes to things like international cast recordings.

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HAHA Its all about taste. For me I try to buy every recording every year that comes to broadway and each year I focus on a decade. Started with the 90's going down this year is the 60s. But thats just me.

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I think what is being said here is no one can decide that for you.

At one point in my life I owned literally every cast recording that was available at that point on cd, pretty much, except for international versions. (I also realized recently I never got a recording of Cliff Richards' Heathcliff. I can live with that.) Then came the day I was really strapped for cash, and sold off maybe 25% of my cast album cd collection. I made sure to hold on to the top 200-or-so favorites. =)

Recently, I started buying some back and have had to ask myself, "will I listen to Seesaw ever? Here's Love? Maybe." What matters to me at this point is whether or not I'll listen to it, can I perhaps just own it digitally, or must I have every Cy Coleman and Jule Styne score in a physical copy???? (Yeah, I must. Just bought Hallelujah, Baby! again)

Just have fun! Enjoy the albums that you can and perhaps jettison the ones you'll never listen to. I've decided not to re-purchase A Day In Hollywood/A Night In Ukraine because it never struck a chord in me. I'm on the fence about The Happy Time. There are a dozen off-Broadway snoozers I couldn't even sell off back when I needed to that I will never listen to!

Here is all you need (OBC where applied):

1. Gypsy
2. Carousel (actually, the 90s revival is best)
3. Whoop-Up
4. The Human Comedy
5. The Baker's Wife
6. House of Flowers
7. The Marvin Trilogy (Falsettos)
8. Goldilock's
9. Evita
10. Les Miserables (reunion cast too, maybe?)
11. Subways Are For Sleeping
12. Wildcat

Take it away, boys and girls.... (start with some Sondheim)

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I'm one of those OCD completists, so I originally was just going to get everything possible. Then I realized, I will never have the space for all of that, so I narrowed myself down to English language recordings only (the exception being Notre Dame de Paris or anything pertaining to The Wizard of Oz).

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I would definitely pick up the Japanese cast of Scarlett, and the German casts of Tanz der Vampire and Der Glockner von (?) Notre Dame. Scarlett is especially breathtaking, I think.

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^ The Icelandic cast albums usually are pretty good. I like their Evita a lot. I may not know what they are singing, but the energy is damn good.

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I can't get into foreign language recordings. I have a couple because it's the only recording of a show available but I never play them.


As for being a completist I guess I'm one to a certain extent, but if I really don't like a score I won't buy it just to have it.

For example, I won't be buying Fela (no reflection on the show, I just don't like the music).