Cats (1981 Original London Cast) [CAST RECORDING] [IMPORT]

Trevor Nunn, Bonnie Langford, Myra Sands, Richard Stilgoe, Cats (Related Recordings), Elaine Paige, Andrew Lloyd Webber, T. S. Eliot, Jeff Shankley, Sarah Brightman, Paul Nicholas

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1981
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording, Import
• Label: Polydor
• ASIN: B000006XI0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,140 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Since its debut in 1981, London's and the world's longest-running musical still fills seats in a dozen theaters worldwide. Uncountable recastings and reorchestrations later, Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats strives to please the ears of ever-new generations. This is the original cast recording, and it retains a freshness from the still-recent opening, its novelty untarnished by decades of success. Also, the abundance of "names"--both singers and musicians--makes this one of the high-class musical recordings of all time. Elaine Paige rose to stardom as Grizabella with the hit "Memory"; at the time, though, bigger names were Wayne Sleep, Paul Nicholas, and Brian Blessed. Sarah Brightman and Bonnie Langford are also on the cast list. Lloyd Webber himself plays keyboards and the impressive roster of session musicians includes Barbara Thompson and David Locke. Lloyd Webber, well versed in the practice of "auto-quotation," can always look back to this work for cat-chy material: the Overture, "Old Gumbie Cat," "Rum Tum Tugger," and "Mr. Mistoffelees"--the list of good tunes and themes goes on and on. This remains a fun listening experience, even for those few who still haven't caught the show. It's also available in a highlights version. --Yngvil V.G.

Product Description
The Original London Cast Performs the Entire Andrew Lloyd Webber Masterpiece (Based on a Story by T.s. Eliot), from the Opening "Overture" to the Last Bar of "Ad-Dressing of the Cats". Originally Released in 1981, this Piece Has Since Been Digitally Remastered. Features the Classic "Memory" as Sung by the "Grizabella" Character (Elaine Paige).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars London vs. Broadway, February 21, 2001

By	"the_grasshopper" (Sunny Florida) - See all my reviews

Are you unsure about which recording to buy? Please, let my track-by-track analysis assist you in making the right decision for you.

1. Overture: TIE. There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two overtures, at least none that I can tell. They're both fine recordings.

2. Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats: LONDON. Unquestionably, the London recording is the better of the two. The Broadway recording is weak and not as precise as the London recording.

3. The Naming of Cats: TIE. This track is completely spoken. If, other than accents, there is any noticeable difference between the two recordings, it has eluded me.

4. The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball: LONDON. Both casts are fine during the chorus efforts. However, the London Munkstrap sounds much more keen in his solos, as opposed to the Broadway Munkstrap who just sounds indifferent.

5. The Old Gumbie Cat: LONDON. This is no contest. The London version contains lines that were deleted from the Broadway version. To me, the Broadway recording always seems incomplete.

6. The Rum Tug Tugger: LONDON. The London Tugger is much more subdued. While it is understood that this is supposed to be a fun piece, and the Broadway Tugger is certainly fun, his constant squealing and weird timing are something I still haven't gotten used to.

7. Grizabella: LONDON. I don't know how else to say this. The Broadway version is puny. The London version isn't.

8. Bustopher Jones: BROADWAY. While the British recording is fine, and probably more technically precise, I find the voice of the Broadway Bustopher to be absolutely charming.

9. Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer: LONDON. The London and Broadway recordings of this track differ immensely. I prefer the London version, which is sung by the characters Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer, themselves, as opposed to the Broadway version, which is sung solely by the character Munkstrap. Also, the London recording just has this sly aura about it that the Broadway recording, in its differing style, fails to capture.

10. Old Deuteronomy: BROADWAY. I can't explain it; the Broadway version is just more emotionally uplifting and magical.

11. The Jellicle Ball: TIE

12. Grizabella, the Glamour Cat: TIE. This piece is really too short to gage either way.

13. Memory: LONDON. What we've all been waiting for. While there's nothing wrong with the Broadway version of this track. `Memory' is never sung more dutifully and emotionally charged then when sung by Elaine Paige. At least that's what my chorus instructor thinks.

14. The Moments of Happiness: BROADWAY. Truthfully, I don't care for either of the recordings very much. However, I've always felt that Ken Page, Broadway's Deuteronomy, had the better singing voice.

15. Gus: the Theater Cat: LONDON. I feel very passionately about this one. The London version of `Gus' is very humble, and for that I shall reward it. However, the Broadway version borders on disrespectful, given the subject matter, and that I cannot forgive.

16. Growltigers Last Stand: NO COMMENT

17. Skimbleshanks: the Railway Cat: LONDON. London is better for tons of reasons: more solos, better sounding Skimbleshanks, and jazzier opening chords. The Broadway versions habit of having the company sing all the verses together grows tiring very quickly.

18. Macavity: the Mystery Cat: TIE. One version can't be better than the other; they're both too dull.

19. Mr. Mistoffoleese: LONDON. I think the chorus of this song is best sung by the company, as in London, rather than by an individual, as in the Broadway recording.

20. Journey to the Heavyside Layer: TIE. There's no noticeable difference.

21. The Ad-Dressing of Cats: BROADWAY. It's all about Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy.

Personally, I found the London recording more satisfying as a whole. I hope you will, too.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A weak yet acceptable official English CATS recording, August 12, 2000

By	Yi-Peng (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This recording of CATS features the original London cast, headed by Elaine Paige and Brian Blessed. Because it is the first official full-length recording of CATS, this does not always mean that the world-premiere rendition is always the best. The London cast gives a fairly adequate performance of the score, and perform it with a softer-grained approach as compared to their Broadway counterparts. And the lean-textured recording has sounded even better than before with this recent digital remastering.

Elaine Paige may be acknowledged as a foremost interpreter of Grizabella, but here her performance shows that she neds some time to get into the spirit of the role. She does give a fine rentition of Memory that, despite competition from Betty Buckley, allows her to hold her own. Brian Blessed gives a firm, commanding and sonorous portrayal of Old Deuteronomy. He has a convicting voice that he demonstrates to great effect in his solos, even in his powerful Ad-Dressing of Cats. The lower-level principals don't seem to fare that well. Wayne Sleep as Mr. Mistoffelees and Paul Nicholas as Rum Tum Tugger cope adequately with the demands of the score, but they don't sing their parts with character and hence sound rather stilted. But nevertheless, most of the supporting cast members make up for these disappointments with crisp choral diction, even if their singing is a little laid back. The minor cats feature Myra Sands as a sprightly and no-nonsense Jennyanydots and Susan Jane Tanner as a soothing Jellylorum. Not to mention Bonnie Langford's lively portrayal of Rumpelteazer, and young Sarah Brightman's sweet, innocent and pure Jemima. Perhaps Jeff Shankley could be weak as Munkastrap here. And Stephen Tate makes a cameo appearance as a somewhat weak-voiced Gus: the Theatre Cat and Growltiger. The cast is ably supported by a firm hand in David Firman's direction of the orchestral accompaniments.

It would be worth noting that this version of CATS is interesting in itself as a concept album. This is because the show underwent some extensive revisions for its Broadway premiere before the revisions were incorporated into all CATS productions worldwide. Almost the whole of the T.S. Eliot text is presented in this performance, with less verse cuts than the Broadway recording. In addition, you can also get to savour two draft versions of songs that were re-written. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer is given a jazzy setting which, in context, sounds a little stilted as compared to the jaunty music-hall setting written for Broadway. But, it is still interesting in itself. And so is the Ballad of Billy M'Caw, included during Growltiger's Last Stand. It may be more restrained than the Italian aria, but it still shows the character that Growltiger could have adopted if this song was retained. Other than these two notable drawing-board versions, the early drafts are minor, but still interesting.

On the whole, I find this performance of CATS lacking in some sort of joie de vivre and spirit. Yet, for its historical value, I still recommend it, and makes a good alternative listening experience as compared to the Broadway cast. The packaging in a slimline double-disc jewel case includes a booklet with some production photographs from the London production, a cast list and a poorly-produced libretto in small print. There is also an abridged version of this recording (like the Broadway cast version has) that makes an ideal introduction to this recording in general, and it features the same selections as its Broadway counterpart.

As an aside, this recording of CATS is not wholly complete, because it lacks The Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles due to the need to accomodate space on record.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CATS - NOW AND FOREVER, November 19, 2004

By	Marijan Bosnar "(the historian)" (Croatia) - See all my reviews

In many ways Cats was a turning point for Andrew Lloyd Webber. At the beginning of the 80-is he was already a hugely successful musical theatre composer, thanks to his work with the lyricist Tim Rice on "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita". In the early 1980-is he decided to part ways with Rice and many people predicted him a quick downfall, even more so when he decided to use T. S. Eliot's book of children's poetry called "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" as a basis for his next musical. He used then a relatively unknown musical director Trevor Nunn and Gillian Lynne as a choreographer. Cats was imagined as a mixture of pop songs and ballet; by that time an unseen combination for a musical, so it is no wonder that Webber and his producer Cameron Mackintosh had trouble finding financial backup. The show opened in London and became a phenomenon in its own right. It closed in London after exactly 21 years of running in May 2001. The same thing happened when the show came to Broadway in 1982; it closed after 18 years of running, in 2000. Cats thus became the longest running musical in the history of both West End and Broadway.

So you may wonder what it's all about. It's quite simple really. Many people say that Cats hasn't got a story. It's certainly true that the plot is very simple and that's part of the appeal for the audiences. We are presented with a group of special cats, known as Jellicle cats. They meet once a year to decide who among them is worthy to get a chance to be reborn and start a new life. Since we meet them at that precise night, each of them tells us about their lives and habits through the musical numbers. There is one character among them, Grizabella the Glamour Cat, once of great beauty, but now an ugly and dilapidated thing, because at some point in her life, she decided to leave the others in her tribe and get to know the outside world; a move which eventually led her to prostitution. Because of that she is repeatedly rejected by other cats when she tries to make an entrance and compete as a candidate for a new life, determined to change her life style and pursue a happy life style she once knew. So besides the fact that we meet all kinds of different characters that often have characteristics very similar to human ones, Cats at the same time is a wonderful story of redemption and forgiveness. Besides the story the audiences loved the excellent choreography and dancing together with beautiful and distinctive feline makeup each character of Cats had. It is a show that is suited for the young and the old.

It is surprising that the longest musical in history can boast with only two recordings, the London and the Broadway one. The London recording in question here certainly has its merits after all these years, yet because the show was somewhat changed with time, it can't be considered definite. That honor would go to Cats DVD that was filmed in London in 1997. The song interpretation, orchestrations and the cast are spotless there. The lyrics are included in the booklet.

This recording here is almost complete, with only a short narrative song missing. It is remastered, so the sound quality is excellent. There are many great songs a listener will enjoy. Some of them are: "Old Gumbie Cat", about a nice and warm house cat; "Rum Tum Tugger", a naughty and never satisfied cat played by Paul Nicholas; "Bustopher Jones", an aristocrat among cats, "Skimbleshanks: The railway cat" and many more. Of course, by far the best known of all the songs and melodies from Cats is "Memory", which, I dare to say is among the top five songs Andrew Lloyd Webber has ever written and one of the best known and most beautiful songs ever to be found in musical theatre. It is preformed by Grizabella character, here played by the one and only first lady of the British musical theatre, Elaine Paige. Ms. Paige made her name several years prior to Cats, with her portrayal of Eva Peron in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She joined the ensemble of Cats at the last minute as a replacement for the badly injured Judi Dench, thus confirming her talent and stardom status. Although many people sung the role after Elaine, Betty Buckley including, her rendition is still considered by many to be definite. That is confirmed by the fact that when the show was filmed for TV and DVD, Ms. Paige was called once again to reprise her role after 16 years. Her performance on this CD from 1981 captures the longing and desperation of the character. With time, Ms. Paige's vocal abilities have matured and her best rendition of "Memory" can be heard in that Cats DVD or in her latest compilation entitled "Centre Stage: The very best of Elaine Paige", which was released in May this year. That recording of "Memory" is for sure the best to date, because of her voice and the fact that the score is played by the 80-piece orchestra. Among other interesting thing in this recording is Sarah Brightman's debut as Jemima; her voice being very young and full of innocence.

Although this recording may sound a bit dated in some aspects, it's nevertheless a gem and should be heard by everyone who have interest in modern musical theatre. But if you want to experience Cats in all its glory, buy yourself the CATS DVD.