has anyone listened to the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Live Cast recording?

[winston89]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 3:01pm

I just got my hands on the new Les Miserables cast recording celebrating 25 years of the show. I must say that out of the four that I previously owned prior to getting this one ( London cast recording, Broadway Cast recording, Complete Symphonic Recording, Paris revival album and the tenth anniversary concert) this is by far the best.

I will start out by saying that to me, it can replace the Complete symphonic recording as far as I am concerned, not only does Jones give off a better performance of Valjean than Gary Morris, but it's by far better sound quality. Furthermore, there is no sense of of lack of chemistry between the actors because unlike the CSR which was recorded in 3 different places, this album was recorded live during one the performances on tour.

There are some orchestration changes. A little hard for me to describe but not nearly as bad as the ones that were in place for the Broadway revival. All the line cuts and changes were the same as the Broadway revival. Upon listening I half expected to hear Ten Little Bullets rather then the reprise of Little People during Gavroche's death. All in all, it is a great addition to any theatre cast recording collection or for any Les Miserables fan. And, strangely enough, it was one of the first albums that i have ran into for awhile that was cheaper to buy as a CD rather then in a digital format. I just want to know if anyone else has listened to it and cares to share their thoughts.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 3:05pm

I believe this (or something like it) is being shown in US movie theaters on 11/17, by Fathom Events.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 3:11pm

No. It's the 25th anniversary CONCERT that's being shown in the US on 11/17, which was done at the O2 last month.

The CD Winston is talking about is an official live recording of the 25th anniversary UK tour.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 3:14pm

Actually, that's the 25th Anniversary Concert, this CD is (as the OP mentioned) from the 25th Anniversary Tour in the U.K.

winston89, is this a complete recording of the production? You said that there were the cuts from the Broadway version, but was anything from the production left off the CD?

[EDIT: oops! Looks like someone answered before me] Updated On: 11/1/10 at 03:14 PM

[Mark_E]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 3:23pm

I agree,, the recording is fabulous and has replaced the OLC on my iPod :)

[winston89]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 4:10pm

Danny,

The only thing that I noticed that wasn't on the recording was the mini scene between Stars and Red And Black, where Ponine realizes that she and Cosette were children together back at The Inn. However, now that I think about it I don't know if that bit was cut altogether or not. I say this because on this particular CD at the end of Castle On A Cloud, Madame T doesn't sing any of the lines that were there originally about Eponine being treated better by Cosette.

But, other than that it is pretty complete.

[p.s.]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 4:15pm

The CD Winston is talking about is an official live recording of the 25th anniversary UK tour

Recorded live over the course of six performances.

p.s. I've been listening to this two CD set to psych myself up for "U.S. Tour" opening at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

One More day Two More Weeks!

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 4:43pm

There are a few cuts on the recording, mainly recit. section such as the bit between the Cart Crash and Who Am I?

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 11/1/10 at 4:48pm

Well said Winston.