I am one of those who almost always prefers the originals but sometimes it is a very close and a few times the revivals exceed the original:
OKLAHOMA - my preference s for the OCR on Decca but it was recorded on 78 RPMS so some songs were shortened and there is brittleness to the sound that even the brilliant remastering can't hide. I like the London revival with Jackman and the 1979 Broadway cast (for completeness..though it seems a bit over-acted at times.)
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN - I much prefer the 1966 Lincoln Center cast with Merman over the truncated and surprisingly dull OCR on Decca
FINAN'S RAINBOW - superior sound and cast win out for RCA's 1960 revival over Columbia's original.
BRIGADOON - though not a revival the Shirley Jones-Jack Cassidy album on Columbia has better sound, better singers and is more complete.
KING AND I - I much prefer the 1977 revival cast with Brynner over the flat sounding Decca original. (Before the 1977 album came out my favourite was the 1964 Lincoln center version because it included "Small House of Uncle Thomas.) BTW my first Broadway show was the Brynner revival in 1977.November 1st, 1977 to be exact. The album was recorded Oct 31st, 1977. :)
DAMN YANKEES - I like both but really enjoy the layout f songs and dialogue on the revival cast.
HOW TO SUCCEED - Better sound on the revival and it is more complete.
FORUM - again, neck and neck, but I do like the better sound on Nathan Lane's disc.
CABARET - again I like both a lot, but the original wins out for Lotte Lenya and Jack Gilford's "Meeskite" which has been dropped from more recent productions. (Without Gilford it really doesn't land.)
FOLLIES - I prefer the concert cast or the paper mill playhouse version to the truncated original.
DREAMGIRLS - I am glad the complete concert got recorded. Given how much I griped about the horribly truncated (and altered) original I have to say I have only played the concert set all the way through twice. Odd.
Someone asked if SHOW BOAT had an original cast. Not really. The earliest SHOW BOAT album was the set of 8 selections by the 1928 London cast, and Brunswick’s set of six songs from the 1932 revival (only 3 of which are by revival cast members. The rest are studio cuts by drab singers.) The 1946 revival was the very first cast album made by Columbia records, but I prefer the Barbara Cook studio version made in the 1960s for that rewritten version. EMI’s complete SHOW BOAT is the best and I have to say the 1993 Toronto cast CD (now out-of-print) is my preferred single disc highlights version.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com