all right all you Les Miz lovers out there...

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 4:55pm

I am looking to get ANOTHER recording of Les Miz, the full version. I have I think the symphonic recording on cd (highlights) and full version on tape. I HATE the Eponine on this recording, by the way. What is your favorite recording? I am thinking either OBC or tenth anniversary. Opinions?

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:00pm

I Love the complete Symphonic Recording! I can't stand the Valjean....he's a bit much for me, but I Love everyone else on the recording!

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:00pm

Between the OBC and the 10th anniversary, I'd say go with the 10th anniversary. Colm Wilkinson, Philip Quast, Ruthie Henshall, Judy Kuhn, Michael Ball, Lea Salogna, Alun Armstrong, Jenny Galloway, and Michael Maguire. IMHO, the only thing that could've been better is Anthony Warlow as Enjolras, instead of Maguire, but he was in The Secret Garden in Australia with Quast, at the time, and they could only use one of them. Or something.

Anyway, I love the OBC, but the 10th anniversary is superb.

[Jwei123]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:01pm

10th anniversary. no competition

[zepka102]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:01pm

10th anniversary concert definitely... lea salonga is amazing as eponine.. she's my favorite

[pab]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:01pm

I'm going to have to go with "The Complete Symphonic Recording". Mostly because it's the COMPLETE SCORE. I know that there are better performances in some songs on other recordings but again I have to say two words: COMPLETE SCORE!
Complete Score

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:03pm

Don't even bother getting another cast recording in English.

It's all about the Paris (1991) revival recording.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:07pm

Both the Broadway cast and London cast are 2 Cd sets of just the key songs, missing approx 1/2 the show. The 10th anniversary concert makes a few minor trims to squeeze it all onto 2 Cds, but this is also out on DVD, so you might want to get that instead.

BTW why did you not like Kaho Shimada's Eponine? I thought her performance was revelatory, especially since she had to learn the English translation for the recording. I have always preferred the complete symphonic recording because it has the whole show, well sung and acted. Some complained about Gary Morris' vibrato, but really on those high notes even Colm suffers from a bit of that.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:08pm

I have the complete symphonic recording, just on tape. But I am looking to get a different one. Pab, what do you mean, complete score? Doesn't say, the OBC or tenth anniversary have the complete score also as long as you don't get highlights. I'm pretty sure I saw that at Borders the other day.

EDIT: Frontrow, her voice really just irks me. That's great if she had to learn the English trans. or whatever I just don't prefer it. I think her vowels are weird for me or something. I would have to listen to it again to know for sure. I just don't like her.

Updated On: 3/28/05 at 05:08 PM

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:10pm

Neither have the full score, but the 10th Anniversary has a little more than the OBC/OLC.

[keggss23]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:13pm

I have to say that I would go with "The Complete Symphonic Recording" also because it is the complete score. There are some people on this recording I could have done without, but I am just happy to have the complete version. I just got the Manchester sampler a few months and I absolutely love the Eponine on that one. There was no case with the disk, so I don't know her name. I guess I'll have to Google it..

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:13pm

So the only place the full score is on cd is the symphonic recording?

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:13pm

No the OBC and the 10th Ann. cast both had songs cut. The only score (in English) that has the Entire score is the CSR.

I'd get the 10th Ann. Since you already have the CSR on tape. Also no one has mentioned the Original London Cast. It has the only reocrding of Cosette's cut solo "I saw him Once" also it has a slightly different rendition of the Prologue (it's reallly cool). But overall it isn't the best recording. Get it if you're a die hard fan.

For you. Again I'd get the 10th Ann. cast.

[Jwei123]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:14pm

i feel like there are 37.5 million different versions of les miserables. which languages?

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:16pm

If I could I would have every recording ever done. I forgot about the London Cast, I was thinking about that one too.

Jwei- did you mean what languages do I want? I guess English but I also really want the French Concept Album.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:17pm

"So the only place the full score is on cd is the symphonic recording?"

No. There's that and the new Czech recording.

The CSR is no longer accurate, anyway, given lyric changes that happened in 1997 and 2000.

(Oh, jwei, your icon reminded me -- I saw Caren Lyn Manuel as Eponine ten years ago. :) She was fantastic!)

Updated On: 3/28/05 at 05:17 PM

[Jwei123]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:17pm

oh no, sorry, i took over your thread (mwhahaha) and wanted to know which languages Les Mis was in. English,French, what else?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:19pm

"Les Misérables has been translated into 21 different languages: English, Japanese, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, German, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, French, Czech, Castillian, Mauritian Creole, Flemish, Finnish, Argentinian, Portuguese, Estonian and Mexican Spanish."

Although they should probably say "Argentinian Spanish," and Flemish is a dialect of Dutch, so that's not entirely accurate...
http://www.lesmis.com/inspiration/facts/generalinfo.htm

[pab]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:21pm

"The CSR has every single note of Les Misérables. While it is also known as the 'International Recording' of Les Misérables, it is dominated by North American, British and Australian performers, with Kaho Shimada as the only non- English-speaking performer.

This recording sounds wonderful. With a large cast, it manages to capture the very epic nature of Les Misérables and the ensemble songs in particular leave all other recordings far behind. In addition to that, there are little gems which have always been missing in other recordings."
Link

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:22pm

jwei- it's all good. That's a lot of languages!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:23pm

The CSR comes across to me as very sterile and devoid of chemistry. It's no wonder, seeing as it was recorded all over the world with people who never met. A technological feat, certainly, and with the added bonus of the entire show on CD -- but as for a full performance? It suffers.

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:28pm

Agree with LizzieCurry about the CSR. I pretty much only listen to it when I need my Anthony Warlow fix. On the other hand, it IS the only way to hear the entire score in English. There are pros and cons...
Updated On: 3/28/05 at 05:28 PM

[pab]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:29pm

To each his/her own.

I personally don't think that it suffers at all having seen the show in London and New York and having both of those CDs and the concert DVD. The CSR is the CD that I listen to the most and the one that I put on when I want to hear the entire show.

Updated On: 3/28/05 at 05:29 PM

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:32pm

There's just something about the CSR I don't like (excluding the fact that I can NOT listen to Tracy Shayne's Cosette- no offence to her). Usually, I'd rather listen to the TAC, though. As you said, though, to each his/her own.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 3/28/05 at 5:32pm

I really didn't like the Valjean or Fantine on the CSR. It irks me a bit. Otherwise it might have been my favorite recording. But on the flip side all the Barricade stuff is reallly good, Gavroche's death is heartbeating on the CSR.