Customer Reviews

Evita (Original London Cast)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The thing about ''Evita'' is that it is such a remarkable musical that the different interpretations are each worthy of owning and enjoying, much like listening to different interpretations of Bach or Mozart. The largest negative about this recording is that it's incomplete (which is hardly a negative: ''The worst thing about the London Cast recording is that there isn't more...''). Elaine Paige is stunning, and her performance alone is worth the money. Her vocal range, power, emotion, and expression are awe-inspiring, and the recording seems tailored to complement her performance. The orchestration is light and subtle, most likely to show off the powerful vocals. David Essex as ''Che'' continues to grow on me (my first impression were not all that favorable) and Joss Ackland is superb. The more I listen to this recording, the more it becomes my overall favorite by far.

The Broadway Cast double album is essential if you want the complete musical and to understand the story, and the production is marked by full orchestration and very large cast. The concept album has its pluses and unique characteristics, but in terms of overall performance I feel the London cast does a better job vocally (especially Elaine) and the Broadway cast is a fuller production. I would probably recommend the Broadway album as a first choice, simply to get the full musical and to listen to a very large production of this incredible work. However, for subtlety, grace, and outstanding performances, the London Cast highlight album stands ahead of all the rest.

I was fortunate enough to have seen the original Evita at the Prince Edward Theatre in London with 2/3 of the cast recorded on this album (Gary Bond had replaced David Essex) in 1979 and was so impressed that immediately after I went searching for the nearest music store to purchase the record. My only regret is that Webber and Rice did not record the entire performance for posterity, as Elaine Paige is THE definitive Evita (what a shame she was not allowed to recreate her wonderfully passionate and totally involving performance on Broadway-she was not considered a major star by Equity at the time-and had to wait until Sunset Boulevard to show American audiences how she can interpret a diva role!) Even without the benefit of the visual, Elaine emerges on this album as a brilliant interpreter of this difficult and demanding role, with her unique and powerful voice capturing every nuance and every emotion with clarity, fire, and authenticity. She soars as the rural girl with stardust dreams in "Buenos Aires;" evinces a knowing tongue-in-cheek attitude on "Goodbye and Thank You" and "I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You;" mesmerizes not only the Argentines with her rendition of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina;" spews fiery, determined ambition and scathing viterbation on "A New Argentina" and "Rainbow High;" yet she can be convincingly vulnerable and tragic in the quieter moments ("Oh, what I'd give for a hundred years)-and her "Final Broadcast" on stage was incredible! Joss Ackland as slickly ambitious but lazy and indecisive Peron (primarily a non-musical actor) and David Essex as the sarcastic, antagonistic Che also turn in fine performances (although some may prefer the Mandy Patinkin interpretation of Che) reprising their stage roles, as does Barbara Dickson as Peron's Mistress (listen to the London recording of Chess for an exceptional duet between Paige and Dickson on "I Know Him So Well"). If you've only heard Paige perform "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" on the Encore album (which was well done but was more concert-driven than performance-oriented) or if you've only heard the "White/Black" concept album or the "Red/Black/White" American cast album, do yourself a favor and get this CD-- the "Silver/Black/White" London Cast highlight album is pure gold!

"Evita," the pop opera with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has been released on CD in a number of versions. This CD is the London stage cast, with Elaine Paige in the title role and David Essex as Che. The cast does a superb job with this powerful material.

"Evita" tells the story of Eva Peron, who was First Lady of Argentina during the presidency of her husband, Juan Peron. This is a classic story of ambition, resentment, and political upheaval, and Evita is one of musical theater's most fascinating characters.

Paige is an excellent Evita. Her performance is sweet at times, and on some songs her voice has a real bite. I was particularly impressed by her rendition of "Buenos Aires": her Evita sounds both seductive and dangerous. Essex is an excellent foil for Paige; the character's anger and satiric perspective are nicely complemented by Essex's slightly rough voice. The supporting performers also shine. I especially liked Joss Ackland's tender version of "She Is a Diamond."

Unfortunately, this disc contains only excerpts from this production, and appears to be missing material that is found on other versions. Nevertheless, the power of this cast makes this "Evita" an essential disc.

I'm currently doing Evita right now and being a part of the produciton has encouraged me to listen to numerous other recordings of this show (New Zealand, Brazilian, Mexican, 20th Anniversary Tour, German Tour in English, Broadway World Tour, Movie, Concept, Broadway, and London).

I have to say that, without a doubt, this is the best recording out there. No hard feelings toward Ms. Lupone but the more I listen to that the more I see how much she basically yelled her way through the score. Yes, she had fire and great presence on stage but too often she is shouting.

Both Elaine Paige and David Essex are wonderful in their roles. Joss Ackland is fine as well, although some of his lines are fairly creepy ("sipping cocktails" in 'A New Argentina' is a good example).

If you want to know why people seem to favor Elaine Paige over La Lupone, listen to 'Buenos Aires' and 'Rainbow High'. I think that Lupone tends to run her words together and some of the larger moments get lost. In both numbers Paige is shockingly clear and powerful. Her final buildup in 'Rainbow High' ("I'm their savior") is thrilling down to the bone. I listen to just that phrase often.

What I like so much about Elaine Paige is her ability to find the depth to her notes. I've never heard her sing 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina' the exacty same way twice. She really acts her way through it and brings such emotion to it. Pity that this entire cast wasn't able to record the show fully.

(An interesting note, Siobhan (The Mistress) went on to play Eva in the London Production after a few years.)

Buy this recording not just because you are a die-hard Evita fan, but because it really is quite strong and has held up well over the years.

I saw "Evita" twice in London in the early '80's but sadly the original London cast had long gone. I bought the vinyl version after seeing "Evita" for the first time and now, more than twenty years later I still love to listen to it. There's something special about the simplicity of this recording. It's kind of like "La Femme Nikita" or "Cyrano de Bergerac" before Hollywood got hold of them. Elaine Page and David Essex are outstanding and I wish I could have seen them on stage. I've tried to listen to other versions but for me they don't even come close. As an aside, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" was the "big hit" but I've always felt that it's by no means the best song in the musical. Rainbow High is my favorite. For readers in the UK, I apologize for my American spelling but 13 years of living in the US has had an effect.

This the "Evita" to own. This is THE cast. No other recording or cast matches the perfection this one does. It is exciting, precise and wonderful. Do yourself a favour and add this to your collection.

My mother would always play the cassette tape of this Evita recording on car journeys. We'd sing along...it was one of the very first shows I heard. When the Madonna version was released on CD, I bought it and that became my Evita of choice...

I bought this the other day, and haven't stopped listening since. Elaine Paige brings more to the central character than any other actress has since. I fear that people will be subjected to Madonna's insipid and anaemic interpretation of the role in buying the movie version. This version is far superior. The only downside to this recording is that it is a CD of show 'highlights', so you'd be lacking some parts of the show. In that case you may choose the Patti LuPone recording, for it represents the show in its entirety. Although LuPone is an improvement on Madonna's performance, her overwrought shouting does detract from the melodic pathos of some of the songs. Simply put, Elaine Paige is the perfect Eva Peron. She manages to portray Eva's anger, passion and ruthlessness perfectly.The Original Concept Album (with Julie Covington and Colm Wilkinson - who defined Jean Valjean in Les Miserables) is accompanied by a much larger orchestra, something you may wish to consider when deciding a purchase. Also, the movie version does seem to pack more of a punch production-wise.

David Essex has the perfect tone for the character of Che, although I feel his rendition of 'Oh What A Circus' lacks a little kick. Joss Ackland is neccessarily louche as 'Peron', sounding positively creepy at times.

Basically, if you're looking for the definitive recording of the definitive Evita, this is it. If you're after a little more of a polished production (at the expense of performance), choose the movie version or the LuPone version.

For me however, there is only one Evita. Elaine Paige.

The previous reviewer is the one who is mistaken: Elaine Paige and David Essex *are* the stars of the OLC. Julie Covington was on the concept album (dated 1976, if memory serves.) And yes, Elaine Paige and David Essex rock. While Madonna did a better than expected job in the movie, to hear Evita in it's original glory, this is the CD to get. Paige plays Evita with youthful zeal and talent, and Essex is a wonderfully cynical Che with bite and sarcasm of a much higher quality than that mustered up by Antonio Banderas in the movie. Get this CD...it's worth it.

Having listened to the four major recordings of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's last work together, I was somewhat disappointed with this recording. First of all, however, Elaine Paige's performance is unbeatable. That was the reason I bought this album. It is a draw between Patti LuPone and Elaine Paige as to who my favorite is. But, the orchestrations are very week (as were a lot of early Andrew Lloyd Webber's shows). The remaining players were good enough, but not my favorites. Compared to the other recordings, the songs seem to drag a little. Also, this album is just a highlight album.
I would love to hear Paige performance with the movie orchestrations, since I think they are the best. However, they'd have to raise the songs back up to their original key since Madonna doesn't have the range of LuPone and Paige.
In short, if you want to buy this because you're curious how Paige is as Eva Peron. then buy it. However, if you are a first time listener of Evita, then buy the Original Broadway Cast with Patti LuPone or the Soundtrack.

This CD of Elaine Paige is absolutely superb. I recommend this to anyone who is an Elaine Paige fan, like myself, and want to discover her versatile range of song style and emotion. It has also come to my attention that a fellow reviewer is apparently terribly mistaken about his genealogy. He, and I'm not going to name names here, but he has claimed that he is indeed Elaine Paige's son to me. How silly, she isn't married nor a mother. He then told me that he was very great friends with her and have been friends since he was little. After talking about this with other EP friends and actually contacting her management and so forth, the Yahoo! club of Elaine Paige advised me to write about this. We'd also like to open the club of Elaine Paige at Yahoo.com to any other EP fans that may be out there. In closing, if you are considering this remarkable CD of Elaine Paige and David Essex, I tell you, it's worth every dollar of it:)