Customer Reviews

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Original London Cast Recording)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

. . . but if you've seen the show recently, only know that the charming song "Speak English!" is not on it, but instead the original "Think Vulgar!" A disappointment, to be sure, but not a deterrant.

This remake is crisper, and slightly different than the original, but I still like the original better.

At the risk of not being Politically Correct, the London cast, while not bad, is simply not as good as the American cast. It's that simple.

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, the cheerfully-mindless musical by the Sherman Brothers, was mounted for the West End stage in 2002, opened at the London Palladium and enjoyed a run of nearly three and-a-half years (the subsequent Broadway production fared less well). The Sherman Brothers score sparks either rapture or revulsion depending on whom you ask, but the musical does offer some quaint charms.

The stage version of CHITTY operates almost like a glorified pantomime, the story remains the same but the score has been re-jigged and altered. In this cast album of the original 2002 London Palladium cast, Michael Ball adds his own special touch to the eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts, with newcomer Emma Williams as Truly Scrumptious. Ball is at his best with the plaintive lullaby of "Hushabye Mountain". Emma Williams doesn't get all that much to warble as Truly (her big movie number "Lovely Lonely Man" was mercilessly cut from the stage score), however Williams has a charming way with "Doll on a Music Box".

Brian Blessed and Nichola McAuliffe push the 'camp' gear into overdrive with their performances as Vulgaria's hideous Baron and Baroness ("Bombie Samba", one of the additions to the stage score, has to be heard to be believed). Richard O'Brien of ROCKY HORROR fame plays the equally-odious Child Catcher with yet another bland addition, "Kiddy-Widdy-Winkies". Carrie Fletcher and George Gillies play Jeremy and Jemima. Stage veteran Anton Rodgers is wonderful as Grandpa Potts.

Happily though, all the best movie songs ("Me Ol' Bamboo", "Toot Sweets", "Posh", "The Roses of Success" and the Oscar-nominated title song) are all here, making the new additions to the score even more inferior by their presence.

[Sony Music/Chitty Records MRBB001]

I buy several items over Amazon, mostly from the UK (Books, DVD's and CD's). The service is always perfect and I never got an article in a "bad shape" even tough some products have a very long journey to take, for example my last ordered CD which came from New Zealand.

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Andrea Kohler

Sickly, effeminate broadway adaptations of the movie soundtrack. The rendition of Hushabye Mountain is... it makes me sick thinking about it. Don't purchase if your looking for anything remotely similar to the original movie soundtrack. When in a rush, I mistakenly purchased thinking it was the original.

WOW!! I have no clue what is happeneing to broadway? What is with the boring show of this year like, Little Women, The Light in the Piazza, The woman in White and this crap, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Now just from the title this show should be a romping, roaring, good-time musical. Instead we get half-assed atempts at being cute which in turn are syrupy enough to keep New York in pancakes FOR-EV-ER! The sappy-ness goes way overboard when the KIDS, sing "Truly Scrumptious" to , you guessed it! Truly Scrumptious.
Other AWFUL songs include:
You Two
Them Three
Toot Sweets
Think Vulgar!
Hushabye Mountain
Come to the Funfair
Me Ol' Bamboo
Posh
Vulgarian National Anthem
The Roses of Success
Kiddie-Widdie-Winkies
Teamwork
Chu-Chu Face
The Bombie Samba
Doll on a Music Box/Truly Scrumtious (Reprise)
You Two/Chitty Prayer
Chitty Flies Home

The only good song in the entire show is the title one and it came from the original movie, As did some of the others but you would never be able to tell because they are done so badly.

PLEASE SAVE YOU MONEY AND GET A GOOD MUSICAL FROM LONDON'S WEST END LIKE
MARY POPPINS OR ALMOST ANY THING FROM ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER.
OR SOME GOOD ONES FROM BROADWAY LIKE
SPAMALOT
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOULDRELS
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
AVENUE Q
WICKED
HAIRSPRAY...ANYTHING!!!