Cabaret: Original London Cast Album (1986 London Revival) [Cast Recording]

Cabaret (Related Recordings), Vivienne Martin, Wayne Sleep, Fred Ebb, John Kander | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 1998)
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: First Night Records
• ASIN: B0000038W1
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,031 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Wilkommen

2. So What

3. Don't Tell Mama

4. Perfectly Marvellous

5. Two Ladies

6. It Couldn't Please Me More

7. Why Should I Wake Up

8. Money

9. Married

10. Meeskite

11. Tomorrow Belongs To Me

12. If You Could See Her

13. Maybe This Time

14. What Would You Do

15. Cabaret

16. Auf Wiedersehen (finale)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly Marvelous!, February 6, 2005

By 

Michael A. Wank "Theatre Buff" (Tiffin, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cabaret: Original London Cast Album (1986 London Revival) (Audio CD)

Just this evening, I got this CD in the mail. Immediately, I slipped it into my CD player, and I was VERY pleased with what what I heard!
Let's start with the main characters. I have loved Wayne Sleep since I first heard him in CATS as a very sweet Mr. Mistoffelees. This recording perfectly displays his ability to swing from two completely different spectrums of role... from an innocent little kitten magician to a bisexual beast of a man, but nevertheless endearing entertainer. His renditions of "Wilkommen", "Money" and, especially "Two Ladies" ooze with spritely panache.
Kelly Hunter is brilliant as the hoplessly romantic singer Sally Bowles. When I originally heard her, I thought that her voice was too formal for Sally, who shouldn't be very talented. Take, for example, the other extreme, Natasha Richardson. A marvelous actress, but a dismal singer. But, I soon grew to allow Kelly to replace the radiant Jill Haworth as the best Sally Bowles. She portrays Sally as a drunken, giddy darling that one can't help love and pity at the same time. She displays her voice perfectly, particularly in "Don't Tell Mama", "Maybe This Time", and her GORGEOUS version of "Cabaret". A perfect role for her.
I must say that I do not really like Peter Land. His voice is rather operatic and overdone, and his accent is pitiful. Vivienne Martin is a very good Fraulein Schneider, but not on par with the groundbreaking Lotte Lenye. Oscar Quitak is okay, but I never really favored any Herr Schultz.
But I must say that I despise Grazina Frame and Rodney Cottam as Fraulein Kost and Ernst Ludwig. Their duet in "Tomorrow Belongs To Me", a lovely song, reminds me of two singing hippos. Absolutely horrible. I never liked Michelle Pawk, but she is WONDERFUL compared to Grazina, who also sounds like a man.
The ensemble is very entertaining, and the Kit Kat girls are shrill, brassy, and divine. Coroline O'Connor and Caroline Clare are hilarious in "Two Ladies".
This CD, overall, is wonderful and a grand buy. I also strongly reccomend the Original and New Broadway casts, as each has each own's gem to offer.

4.0 out of 5 stars Wayne Sleep and Kelly Hunter in CABARET, March 3, 2004

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Cabaret: Original London Cast Album (1986 London Revival) (Audio CD)

A pretty good recording of a successful revival. Wayne Sleep headlines this production of CABARET in which he sheds his Royal Ballet image and flaunts his theatrical clout. While not having the vocal finesse of Joel Grey, Sleep makes a fine impression as the asexual Emcee. His rendition of "Two Ladies" is curiously fascinating.

A very strong cast is evident here, and no more so than in the two female leads: Kelly Hunter gives us a pixie-like Sally Bowles and Vivienne Martin is a heartbreaking though very comical Frau Schneider. Hunter is affective in her desperate clutch for redemption in "Maybe This Time", while Martin is in fine voice in "What Would You Do?".

Rounding out the cast are Grazina Frame (BLITZ!), Oscar Masteroff, Peter Land and Rodney Cottam.

This was the last major London revival before Sam Mendes' revolutionary revival at the Donmar Warehouse starring Alan Cumming and Jane Horrocks; which later transferred to Broadway in 1998.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good of its kind!, July 27, 2001

By 

Mr. James A. Church (Berkshire, England, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cabaret (1986 London Cast) (Audio CD)

I came across this recording when I was fishing at my local library. As I was finding it increasingly hard to return it I decided to purchase my own copy, due to the longing to hear the music - continuallyIt was right for me at that time.

It is basically a revival, meaning it brings Cabaret into a new light. I must admit that it hasnt gone through drastic change, nether-the-less it still has a newer feel  making the music a sure hit! The music, though, is a little bit limited, sticking only to the main songs and cutting out all the instrumentals. They only included one version to Tomorrow Belongs to Me! for example.

The chorus has been arranged so that, especially in the Willkommen and Finale Ultimo sections, the male chorus echoes the female chorus, and vice-versa which livens up the tunes. The new orchestrations are very neat or clean which work to an advantage.

The music has been shortened in a few places, laying stress on the need to move on this, surprisingly, is the case during the Finale Ultimo where I feel that the tempos could have been a little more exaggerated, although I particularly liked the special sound effects which they used during this piece which merged the voices into each other at times. The music lost enthusiasm some times and could have done with speeding up, for e.g. during If You Could See Her and Dont Tell Mama. The change of lyric in If You Could See Her, i.e. she isnt a meeskite instead of she wouldnt look Jewish at all!, niggles me a little as this is changing the directness of the story!

The performances were very mature and performed at a high standard. They all have respectable accents. Some of the performers were a bit reluctant to go beyond the given notational parameters. This can be said to be the case with Kelly Hunters performance of Cabaret. I think she could have performed it well on stage, but it was very hard to capture the feeling of Sallys death song through the C.D. It was far too jolly. This is also the case with Hunters performance of Dont Tell Mama with the opening sexy speech - sung! Hunter has a strong voice, needless to say. I was impressed with every performer, especially the older couple  Fraulein Schneider played by Vivienne Martin and Herr Schultz played by Oscar Quitak. Their voices are beautiful and they are perfect for the parts. You can feel their presents and emotions as much as the characters would normally let on. Although you only hear Fraulein Kost once, she is also perfect for the part (very low, sexy voice!) Wayne Sleep as M.C. is also excellent in the part  bringing the character out very well, with real enthusiasm in his solos and especially during the company songs. Cliff has a beautiful, strong voice which stands out. He is very, very dynamic and his solo song, Why Should I Wake Up?, was extremely well-judged. With more acting it could be overwhelmingly dynamic!

The orchestrations and performances of the above and What Would You Do? are very dynamic and are the best I have ever heard them!

I would say that if you dont want to spend loads of money on a full cast recording, do go for this as it does capture the essence of the revival very well (London). It could be better, but Im not complaining - !