Customer Reviews

Chicago - The Musical (1998 London Cast)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a really great album. More music and dialogue than the Broadway counterpart album, and it has a lot of superior lead-ins to the songs as compared to the Broadway album. Ute Lemper (as Velma) is -- well, what can one say about Ms. Lemper? I definately like her, she is quite a stirring performer. But my admiration for her is more out of a sense of mystery, and out of some sort of reverence. To tell the truth, I'm so confused I can't tell if she's brilliant or terrible, but she does give an exciting "All That Jazz" and a funny "I Can't Do It Alone." She also gives the show a Brecht-Weill feel that I find is appropriate to the show. Ruthie Henshall (as Roxie) is SOOO cute. She is a major plus on "Foxy Roxie Hart" and "Funny Honey," and while she might milk every last laugh out of her Act I Soliliquy, she is SOOO cute doing it, and is obviously having fun in the role. Nigel Planer (as Amos) does wonderfully in his interpretation of "Mister Cellophane." He gets Amos's rage in their perfectlly. Yelling out the line "Beside one man for SEVEN YEARS . . . !" shows his true anger at Roxie's infidelity. I appreciate Henry Goodman's performance (as Billy Flyyn) a lot more now then I did before, and I appreciate the edge he has on the role. Meg Johnson packs a punch as Big Mama, and even Mary Sunshine has an edge to her/his/its performance (LOL). Other pluses on this album. Hearing the murderess' ad-libs at the beginning of the "Cell Block Tango." Listening to Fred and Roxie commit adultery, frollicking and laughing through the musical interludes on the "All That Jazz" track. The chorus's sinister laughter during Henry Goodman's icy "Razzle-Dazzle" is a major plus, too. All in all, this is a very styllistic interpretation of the show. It is content being its own creation, instead of merely copying the Broadway production, and this is an admirable quality that should be followed by all true artists of the theatre. BUY THIS ALBUM!

The London Cast Recording of CHICAGO is absolutely fantastic! As far as I'm concerned this is the one true CD that has the most talented cast of performers to play these phenomenal characters. Ruthie Henshall is absolutely amazing as Roxie. In fact she's the best Roxie I've ever seen or heard for that matter. Her "Funny Honey" and "Roxie" numbers will have you guessing "How does she do that with her voice? " Ute is fabulous too, although it does take some time to get used to her smokey, sexy voice. Chita Rivera originated the role of Velma and ofcourse is the best, but Ute holds her own as she belts "All That Jazz" and "I Can't Do It Alone." The supporting cast is fabulous also. Songs to hear include; the belty "When Your Good To Mama", the harmonious "My Own Best Friend" and the hilarious "Mr. Cellophane". Highlights of this CD also include a higher range for the girls' duet in "My Own Best Friend", and most of the tempos of each song has been sped up. And I won't forget Roxie's Soliloqy which is not heard on any of the previous records. This CD is a mussssst buy. Buy it over the dreary recording of the Broadway cast anyday. Bebe is great but her singing is nowhere near as strong as Ruthie's or Ute's. CHICAGO-LONDON ROCKS!

I saw this production on tour in the U.S., and then soon after bought the Broadway revival CD. Soon after that, I sold it. I did find the London CD in the library and listened to it, and I must say, if you are going to choose between the Broadway and London cast recordings of the revival of CHICAGO, this is the better of the two. The orchestra is just as lively, and in fact, this album is more complete, with dance music and some dialogue added.

While I am not fond of her Fantine in the 'Les Miserables', Ruthie Henshall, as Roxie Hart, does some of her best work here. However skilled a dancer Ann Reinking is, she unfortunately is a weak singer and actress.

Ute Lemper is a fabulous Velma Kelly. Both she and Bebe Neuwirth on Broadway have big voices, both are strong and sassy, but where Lemper is effortlessly smooth, cool, and sexy, Bebe seems like she's struggling to relax and comes off rather stiff. Simply listen to 'All that Jazz' and you'll know what I mean.

As for the accents, while the native German Lemper does have a slight lilt, it's easy to ignore (especially since her singing is superb) and the British cast doing American accents didn't bother me one bit.

There really is no 'definitive' album of this show. The original cast recording with Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon should be listened to at least once for historical value, and the film soundtrack is great if you're into pop culture. But think, kids: No cut songs. No movie stars with iffy musical abilities. No hip-hop 'Cell-Block Tango'. The London CHICAGO is the one to own.

...I am a professional musician and play musicals all of the time, and am also a dancer and actor. I have found that most imports of musicals have a MUCH better grasp on the orchestral understandings and are able to play with the American flare much better than we do! This is very evident in the West End production of CHICAGO. The B'Way revival CAN'T TOUCH the orchestra on this London recording. The musicians play with an amazing flare and stylistic edge that this show requires.

Overall, the cast acts the show better. Fosse shows require a touch of characterization and melodrama...this production sees to instilling these elements. Ruthie Henshall is AMAZING as Roxie (as Anne Reinking is ust a poor rip-off of Gwen verdon). She provides dramaric sides to Roxie found no place else. The ensemble has soooo much energy that it creates an amazing backbone to this cd. This is very obvious in such numbers as the Cell block Tango when compared to the B'way revival. My biggest dissappointment of this recording is Mary Sunshine...never before have I heard such a poor rendition of "A Little Bit Of Good."

Granted there are other little imperfections, but nothing to warrant a suggestion NOT to purchase this cd. This recording is definitely worth it!

When the Broadway revival CD was released, I was so excited! I remember seeing the original Broadway production and CHICAGO has always been one of my favorites. LP, 8-track, i had them all and wore them out. Imagine my disappointment when the revival was released. It was like listening to a funeral march. I HATED IT!!!!!!!!!! And then, one day, the London cast was released. All the energy, great music spirit, raw bawdyness was there and so much more. Example; The Cell Block Tango. There is a certain regional flavor that the original and the london cast grasped right away. ( Cicero is just down the road from me and has to be heard to be believed ) This one matches the original and adds some very commedic touches of its own. I stands alone and Diserves to be listened to, again and again. The Broadway revival was DEAD ON ARRIVAL!!! Bebe and Ann, ( Joel, what the heck were you thinking??? )How sad to be given really funny material and shoot it full of holes. I'm sorry, but you just didn't get it!The London cast did!!! great lead vocals and strong supporting cast. Not only do they do justice to the material, they completely make these characters their own, not a carbon copy of the original. Heck, if you can't bring something new to a revival, why do it? This group is great! treat yourself to a truly terrific cast recording. Skip the Broadway revival and go for the inmates across the pond!

It's unique in recording history when four productions of a musical are staged (and/or filmed) and all four produce superb original cast/soundtrack albums. Such is the case with CHICAGO. The 1975 Original Cast, the 1996 New York Revival Cast, the 1998 London Revival Cast, and the film version all boast superb recordings with superb performances.

The length of the lp being what it was, the original cast recording is shorn of some numbers which are present on the revival cds.

Both revival recordings feature new recordings of the Entr'Acte, the song I Know A Girl, as well as the Hot Honey Rag. The NY revival adds a short reprise of I Can't Do It Alone, which the London revival does not. To counter this the London revival provides the short Act One Finale, which the NY revival does not. The London revival also adds the opening spoken soliloquy intro to Roxie, whereas neither the original cast nor the NY revival recorded this piece.

Of the two revivals the London revival comes out the strongest in my opinion. It has more spark, more dazzle. Lemper imitates Chita Rivera in a number of spots and Ruthie Henshall is vocally amazing (especially in her Roxie number) as she runs the gamut of her origial characterization.

Ann Reinking does an amazing job of totally mimicking Gwen Verdon's voice in the NY revival - why, I don't know - but it is amazing.

Buy the original cast but if you can only afford one of the revivals, make it the London cast.

It took me a while to get used to Velma on this one. She seems to have a much better vocal range than Bebe Nduwirth but I think Neuwirth's comic timing was a bit better. The one in the English cast recording does a much better job with "All That Jazz".

BUT the Roxie Hart here is great. And there's a lot of stuff not on the American recordings too. She is amazing! The song "Roxie Hart" is definitely a highlight. And on the American recording, that wasn't one of my faces... infact, it's one I usually fast-fowarded past!

Billy Flynn is also much better here.

Amos and Mama Morton were never my favorite characters and certainly didn't sing my favorite songs from the show so I'm still not sure who did better here. The Americans or the Brit's.

the British "Cellblock Tango" is also superior to the American revival.

I still have yet to hear the original cast recording---I saw Chita on TV performing "All That Jazz" at the TONY Awars last year & she made Bebe Neuwirth look like a whipped dog... still... even at her age!

This fantastic cast-album of the 1998 London production of CHICAGO actually improves on the 1997 Broadway cast (refer to my review for this). It boasts the fantastic performances of Ute Lemper and Ruthie Henshall, as well as a capable supporting cast.

For a start, YES, Ruthie Henshall sings Ann Reinking right off the stage, but Henshall lacks the vulnerable 'little-girl-lost' quality that Reinking brought to the part. Added here is the monologue that preceeds the "Roxie" number, and the song is much better for it. Henshall also sings a mean "Funny Honey" and a comical "Me and My Baby".

Famed German singer Ute Lemper is right at home with the bitchy Velma Kelly; who could be seen as an extension of the 'femme fatale' character that Lemper uses in many of her songs from Kurt Weill and Brecht. She sings a showstopping "All That Jazz" and her "I Know a Girl" is hilarious.

Henry Goodman is a fine Billy Flynn (most would remember the dreadful incident last year where Goodman was fired from THE PRODUCERS on Broadway after only a week, with many unhappy with his performance), such is not the case with CHICAGO; he is well-suited to the role of Billy Flynn and sings a fantastic "All I Care About is Love".

Meg Johnson, Nigel Planer and C. Shirvell are fine as Matron 'Mama' Morton, Amos Hart and Mary Sunshine respectively.

The recording includes a bit more dialogue than the Broadway version, thanks to wunderkind producer Thomas Z. Shepard.

Highly-recommended.

The excellent original cast album is sadly truncated, the longer Broadway revival album features performances that aren't as impressive off stage, and the soundtrack (like the movie) is missing much of the score.

This is not only the most complete reading of CHICAGO (including lots of dialogue, brief reprises, dance music and other odds and ends), but it's possibly the best performed overall. Ruthie Henshall seems at times to be channeling Judy Garland as Roxie; it's a shocking, thrilling, totally satisfying account of the role. Also excellent is the great jazz singer Ute Lemper, perhaps the most distinctive vocalist ever to take on Velma Kelly.

Henry Goodman has all the voice required for Billy Flynn and puts a wonderfully wry spin on the lyrics. Nigel Planer is the most obvious piece of casting of the leads as Amos, and curiously the least successful; even if he can't touch John C. Reilly, he's an improvement over Joel Grey. Meg Johnson snarls more than she sings, but that's absolutely fine for Mama Morton, and she's a riot.

The orchestra is marvelous and the tempi are kept brisk. Every minute of this album is compulsively listenable, which is important because it's such a long sucker. If you can only get one recording of this great score, this is definitely it.

The 1998 London version of the smash hit Broadway Musical Chicago, is quite a good album.

Ruthie Henshall and Ute Lemper are the two leading ladies. Both ladies are spectacular. Ruthie has an amazing voice, which definetly surpasses Ann Reinking's voice, but also Ann had some great contributions to Roxie. Ruthie gives a powerful "Funny Honey", and "Roxie". Meanwhile, Ute Lemper is just as entertaining. Ute has a very powerful voice. I think Ute's renditions of Velma's songs are fantastic. I think she's very comical as Velma, and I actually enjoy her accent. I can't choose who is better though, Bebe or Ute..they are both just amazing.

The London cast recording is also a plus because here the great Act 1 Finale is included, along with Roxie's Monologue. But missing is Velma's "I Can't Do It Alone" reprise. Another plus is the beautiful harmony Ute and Ruthie do in "My Own Best Friend", the harmony is definetly what the song needed.

Henry Goodman is no James Naughton, but Henry pulls off a pretty good Billy. The supporting cast is mediocre, not as good as the Broadway Revival supporting cast. And the ensemble is better on the Broadwy Revival recording. But I think the male ensemble members do better harmonies than the Broadway male ensemble members in songs like "Roxie", and "When Velma Takes The Stand".

So, this is a great version of Chicago, goes great with the Broadway Revival recording. Ruthie and Ute will amaze you!