re: Miss Saigon vs. Miss Saigon- Page 2

[musical_devotee]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 9:26am

I also prefer the OLC, mostly due to better cast. On CSR almost everybody sound so lackluster; while the OLC really hits the spot.

As a whole, I am also more inclined to Miss Saigon than to Les Mis.

[Sant]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 10:19am

Can't stand the Complete... recording!! The orchestrations are horrible! Tempos are way too fast, especially in "Bui-Doi" and "Now That I've Seen Her".

MS is not my favorite show but when I do happen to listen to its music, I play the OLCR - it's just SO MUCH better.

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 10:23am

Yes, Simon can sound a bit whiny in the OLC. There were so many good actors that played Chris after Simon. Matt Bogart, Will Chase, Steve Pasquale, Chris Stone(?), were some of the good ones in the US. On stage, Matt and Chris have the x factor. But, Will stood out the most overall. He was an excellent actor, great voice, excellent chemistry with Lea Salonga and his portrayal of Chris is different from the others. Vocally, they sounded amazing together. He was a good choice for the farewell performance on Broadway. It was unfortunate that his voice was never recorded (officially) on any Miss Saigon albums.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 10:25am

There are pros and cons to both recordings, the biggest being, IMO: OLCR: Lea CSR: completeness

Updated On: 11/11/06 at 10:25 AM

[shiksa_goddess]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 1:46pm

OLC. All the singers on the symphonic recording grate my nerves. I wish that they had recorded the whole show with the London cast, but, oh well.

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 2:30pm

"I wish that they had recorded the whole show with the London cast, but, oh well."

Or, they could have released an Original Broadway Cast recording.

[James885]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 3:15pm

Hey this is slightly off topic, but I was just listening to the CSR and discovered a possible mistake on the recording. During the song "I'd Give My Life For You" , during the break before the first group of boat people start chanting "No place, No hope....", if you listen closely it sounds like someone came in a few measures early before the rest of the ensemble. Did anyone else notice this? Or am I just hearing things?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 3:17pm

moulinrougehk: Miss Saigon is a much more intimate, emotionally-driven show. Les Mis feels very, very rushed and packed at times. Also, to me the musical just cannot compare to the novel whereas MS's plot is in many ways an improvement from Madama Butterfly (before people jump down my throat, I do love MB too.)

Anyway... I hate the guys on the CSR. Peter Coussens doesn't sound like a believable American and has no chemistry with Joanna. Hinton Battle makes John sound more like a cast member in RENT than a US Marine. Charles Azulay is good, though. I dislike the Engineer on both recordings (it just drives me nuts that Pyrce is white. I know, I know, he's Eurasian, but if he doesn't look Asian how does he get along in Vietnamese society?? Isn't that the whole point of the Bui Doi thing?)

As for Lea vs. Joanna, I think that both have their good and bad points. The instrumentals on the OLC pretty much completely own those on the CSR which sound really fake. But the CSR has some great songs which the OLC is missing.

I prefer the Gigi on the CSR to the one on the OLC, though.

[Calvin]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 3:25pm

I mostly like Hinton Battle's performance on the recording (I won't say anything about his performance in a fairly recent production I saw, however), but the way he pronounces "children" on "Bui Doi" drives me nuts. Cheeeeeeel-draaaaaan.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 4:08pm

Yeah, why didn't they release a recording of the OBC?

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/11/06 at 5:13pm

"Yeah, why didn't they release a recording of the OBC?"

Good question. There was a plan to release one because of its popularity, record breaking ticket sale (at the time), and the award winning performances from the 2 leads. But, because of unforseen reasons, more revisions of the play (i.e. Little God of My Heart was omitted), schedule of the leads, they just waited until the CSR. Unfortunately, Lea Salonga was also busy doing a film and had to bow out of the CSR. By the time it was recorded, the musical was already revised.

There was an Original Broadway Cast recording but, wasn't released commercially. To test the sound and revised sequencing when it first opened on Broadway, a "sound board" tape recording was made during a live performance by the crew. This was the only one on record and quite a treasure to have, that is, if you are a cast or crew member. The other recording I can think of is the Canadian Broadcast Company's video of the making of Miss Saigon in Toronto where "Little God of My Heart" was filmed. A similar version was officially released by the Japanese production but, it's in Nihongo/Nippongo and it's a complete symphonic recording.

Updated On: 11/11/06 at 05:13 PM

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 9:01pm

musicaltheater1... i think you're referring to Greg Stone... who was Chris in the national tour... he was good...

and i though th OBC wasn't recorded because Cameron Macintosh didn't want to spend the money on a recording when the OLC was already gold or platinum of whatever... which was stupid to me because there were so many changes made to broadway... oh well...

and i believe John Barrowman was supposed to be CHRIS on the CSR but for some reason he couldn't perform... and i've said it before... it REALLY bugs me that Peter Cousens hadn't performed Chris yet on stage but he was aske to be on the CSR... now thats what somene told me... and you know what... it really does sound like he never performed the role because some of his acting choices in songs are so horrible that it kills me...

and Kevin Gray needs to be seen as the engineer because he was FANTASTIC... and i'd rather listen to him than jonathan pryce because his voice didn't translate well on CD... i guess i'd have to see him...

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 9:36pm

Thanks, eatlasagna. It was Greg Stone.
I completely agree with you on Kevin Gray. As the Engineer, he was amazing in person. His recording vocals was quite deceiving. Same goes for Joanna Ampil. I thought she was also amazing in person but, personally didn't like the recording voice. I saw John Barrowman as Chris. He would have been better than Cousens. Since most of the ensemble in the CSR were from the Broadway production, why didn't they pick Matt Bogart who was playing Chris at that time? Coulda, woulda, shoulda! :) At least re-release the OLC with a remastered version.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/13/06 at 3:35am

well the CSR is supposed to be an international cast.... so they already had two from london (Ruthie as Ellen and Sonia Swaby as Gigi); two from Toronto (Charles Azulay as Thuy and Kevin as the Engineer); one from Broadway (Hinton as John) and two from Australia (Joanna as Kim, who had not done London yet and Peter as Chris) and plus the entire Broadway Company as the ensemble... personally... i think they should have used an American Chris just because....

[Spacedog78]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 12:38pm

I loved Ruthie, her Ellen was fresh and amazing. Have you ever heard her live singing "Now That I've Seen Her." freakin' awesome. Way better thatn Claire. They need to do a new complete recording with Lea, Ruthie, and Kevin. I also enjoyed the Thuy on the newer recording, but I hated Hinton and the guy that did Chris. I am glad they cut "Sacred Bird" it gave away too much and I loved the new ending. I also would love if they worked "Too Much For One Heart" back into the show, I can't belive they cut it, it was one of the most powerful songs.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 12:41pm

musicaltheater1, I'm pretty sure John Barrowman WAS supposed to be the CSR Chris (I remember the first few press releases), but they opted for a half-assed Australian cast recording instead.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 3:05pm

"plus the entire Broadway Company as the ensemble"

According to the liner notes, they used the touring company since they were in L.A. at the time.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 3:08pm

I saw the show in LA a few months after the CSR was recorded, and unless they tour cast had a major exchange in the meantime, it's the Broadway ensemble. (FWIW, I have no idea where my liner notes are...)

[Colle]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 3:30pm

There are some performances I like more than others on the recordings. I might take time to go into more detail later.

My notes on the CSR say it is the broadway ensemble. Rona Figueroa, who I saw play Eponine in Les Mis, is in the ensemble of the CSR, but I know she was with the tour before she went to broadway as Kim.

Someone mentioned Greg Stone, I got to see him play Valjean in Les Mis, and I thought he was pretty good in that role. It would have been interesting to see him play Chris.

[clarky]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 7:56am

i find it very funny, that the high note in Ruthie's "Now That I've seen her" was cut out....there is no "who I ALWAYS trusted"...there is only "Who I......trusted"

I guess if you go on a certain page and see the live performance, one understands why...nonetheless, still a great rendition of the song.

[vinnylin]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 10:16am

"musicaltheater1, I'm pretty sure John Barrowman WAS supposed to be the CSR Chris (I remember the first few press releases), but they opted for a half-assed Australian cast recording instead."

I remember hearing a story that he actually recorded some tracks, but CamMac didn't like the sound and fired him. But that could just have been rumor. Cousens, unfortunately is a disaster. I can't stand the CSR. Aside from Kevin Gray, all the other leads are clearly surpassed by their London counterparts. This is not to say that these actors were not good when they tackled the roles on stage (I saw Ampil in London and she was lovely, and Battle in NY and he was very passionate), but they just didn't do it for me on record. After the OLC, the Japanese recording is my clear second favorite.

I think part of the problem, aside from the obvious one of selecting the right voices, is that bringing together a studio cast, particularly one composed of actors from all over the world, makes it less likely that you'll have the right chemistry amongst the actors. When you record a stage production, the actors already relate to one another in a certain way, and this becomes part of the performance they put down on record. It's an intangible quality, but it's important. It's very difficult to achieve that with a studio recording, particularly with one like the CSR, which was recorded by traveling around the world to the actors (I don't believe the actors -- even just the leads -- were ever all together in the studio at one time). I had the same issue with the Les Miz CSR (though on the whole I think it's a more successful recording than the Miss Saigon CSR).