Customer Reviews

Evita: Music From The Motion Picture

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4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

When I first popped this double CD into my player, I was engrossed. I found myself listening to it over and over again. The movie based on Webber's Broadway Play far surpasses the original broadway score. The melodies and instrumentation are hauntingly beautiful and make the listener feel the haughty emotion and dirty sleaze of the rags-to-riches life of Eva Duarte de Peron. What can I say about Madonna? She is one of the all time divas of popular music and this cross-over has proven a good move. She breathes new life into the character which benefits from Madonna's power of presence. Madonna's powerful vocals are only enhanced by Antonio Banderas' Latin style. Who knew that this hulking "Desperado" could sing! Banderas has definately made a name for himself with his appearance in this movie, and immaculate singing and interpretation of the humerous chorusman, Che. The arrangement of the music just shows what a genius Andrew Lloyd Webber truly is. The CD features everything from classical Spanish guitar to a lamenting Ave Maria-esque dirge featuring a 100-strong choir. I recommend this set to anyone, whether you're a fan of musical theatre, film score, Madonna (actress or pop star), classical music or if you just like a CD who's music will live a long time.

The songs from Evita have been recorded several times. First, there was the studio cast recoding in 1976, which yielded a UK number one hit for Julie Covington with her original version of Don't cry for me Argentina. Then there were the original stage recordings - the London cast featuring Elaine Paige and the Broadway cast featuring Patti LuPone. Eventually, the movie starring Madonna was made and this collection features music from the soundtrack. You can buy a double-CD to get the complete soundtrack, but the single CD contains all the essentials.

While I can understand the opinions of those who criticise this collection, I cannot agree. Certainly, Madonna is not Elaine Paige or Patti LuPone. I am not familiar with Patti, but I am a huge fan of both Madonna and Elaine, who are very different types of singer. Elaine has a clear, powerful, soprano voice with a wide vocal range - a British version of Barbra Streisand. Despite the hit versions by Julie Covington in the seventies and Madonna in the nineties, Don't cry for me Argentina is generally regarded (at least in Britain) as Elaine's song. Madonna, by contrast, has a deeper voice and a more limited vocal range. Nevertheless, her version of Don't cry for me Argentina is brilliant in its own way - and she is also in great form elsewhere on this soundtrack. Indeed, many will prefer Madonna's voice to those of Elaine or Patti.

So, taken on its own, this is a wonderful soundtrack. It demonstrates an extra dimension to Madonna's music that was previously absent, while it will reach places that Elaine Paige and Patti LuPone had no hope of ever reaching. If even a small proportion of Madonna's fans end up discovering Elaine's music because of the Evita connection, even better.

Enjoy this for what it is - a mainstream pop soundtrack - but if you are a serious fan of theatrical music, buy one of those original stage recordings (London or Broadway) or buy some of Elaine Paige's own music.

Over the years Andrew Lloyd Webber has made many musicals, some more successful and appealing to the public than the others. Most people will, however, agree that "Evita" remains one of his most satisfying works to this date. Numerous reasons confirm this statement. Just like in its predecessor "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita" is almost entirely sung-through; the lyrics are witty and appropriate; the subject matter is again a personality larger-than-life who rises from obscurity and dies at the peak of its fame, thus becoming a legend; the score is captivating and appealing to the listener, at home or in the theatre.

And yet the road to the movie version of Evita was a rocky one: It took 20 years of negotiations with different studious, directors (Francis Ford Coppola was in the game at one point), and actresses (both Meryl Streep and Michelle Pfeiffer were considered) to make it happen. When it was finally in the bag, Alan Parker took the director's seat and Oliver Stone helped with the adaptation. Before the movie came about, we had 3 major recordings of Evita: the 1976 concept with Julie Covington, the 1978 London cast highlights album starring Elaine Paige and the 1979 Broadway cast full album with a Tony-winning Patti LuPone; all three of them excellent in their own right. This 2-disc movie soundtrack can join them as another fine recording of the material. The story of Evita is widely known, but for those who are new to this let's repeat the essentials: We follow the life story of Eva Duarte Peron, wife of post-World war two president of Argentina, Juan Peron. However, the musical is very loosely based on the actual life of the real Evita. The story follows Evita from the day of her death in July 1952, and then we have flashbacks until that moment, covering her coming to Buenos Aires, alleged love affairs, meeting Peron, being the first lady and dying of cancer at 33.

This recording contains almost entire movie, minus the few irrelevant sequences. It boasts with several advantages. First, the whole score sounds extremely fresh and polished, probably because it uses a much larger orchestra than the recordings mentioned above and since re-orchestrations were done in a best possible way, not threatening the integrity of the score. The epic sound of this recording remains thusly unmatched, both in the musical and the chorus parts.

Then, it shows how wisely the changes were made in order to adapt the stage version for the big screen. So we have some parts included from the concept recording that were later omitted in the stage version, mainly, "The lady's got potential", a very powerful number, explaining Juan Peron's climb to power, here used with new lyrics written by Tim Rice, instead "The art of the possible", which worked much better visually on the stage. Some additional omissions were made, for example, "Eva's sonnet" was left out completely, and a song called "Another suitcase in another hall", originally sung by Peron's mistress, is here sung by Eva, but it works perfectly, since the lyrics blend with her character as well. Some lyrics, too critical towards the Perons, were also dropped. A brand new song was written by Lloyd Webber and Rice for the character of Eva, called "You must love me", a beautiful ballad that rightfully won the 1997 Best Song Academy Award. It proves that ALW and Tim Rice were the best of collaborators.

One of the reasons that makes this movie and the recording so successful is its perfect cast. There were numerous doubts when it was announced that Madonna will play the lead in the movie version. I've never been much of her fan, but one has to hand it to her here: she handled the role in the best way. Her voice may not have the strength of Patti LuPone, but she can certainly hold a tune. What's more, she does it really good, especially as the movie evolves and her melodies become more demanding. She actually managed to find the appropriate dose of insecurity ("Another suitcase in another hall", "Waltz for Eva and Che"), determination ("A new Argentina") and sadness ("Eva's final broadcast", "Lament"). Besides, if you see the movie, you'll find her acting quite plausible as well. Her male counterparts were also prudently chosen. Who would have guessed that Antonio Banderas can actually sing in a good manner? His Che rocks and he is as good and strong in his vocals and performances as were David Essex and Colm Wilkinson. Jonathan Pryce, the famous Engineer from Miss Saigon, is a dignified Peron, but his potential is mostly unused, because Peron is only a supporting character. And let us not forget Jimmy Nail as the sleazy tango singer Augustin Magaldi. Each of the principal singers managed to find its vocal uniqueness in a best possible way.

The CD comes with a couple of black and white movie photos and an excellent sound quality, but unfortunately, the lyrics are not included.

For those of you who are getting acquainted with the story of Eva Peron for the first time I must point out: Bear in mind that this musical is only loosely based on the life of the real Evita. As much as Tim Rice's lyrics are craftily made, they lack a lot of historical accuracy. As a historian I became very interested in Eva Peron's life story so I did some research after seeing the movie. It turned out that the authors based their entire work on a single book called EVITA: THE WOMAN WITH A WHIP by Mary Main. It was based on rumors, lies and myths, written with the single purpose of slandering Eva Peron as much as possible. It contains no footnotes and no bibliography. The authors used it mainly because it was one of the few books available on the subject in the English language during the 70-is. So one should be very careful in making any conclusions based on the musical or the movie alone.

So, conclusively, this Evita soundtrack and the whole movie show just how musicals are supposed to be transferred from the stage to the screen, with the changes done in a most satisfying way. Also, it emphasizes just how important the right casting is. Some of the reasons why many fans of Lloyd Webber's "The phantom of the opera" (myself included) felt that the movie version of it wasn't satisfying were the fact that Gerard Butler just didn't have the right vocal equipment for the score, nor the looks (he looked more like Elvis Presley than like the Phantom), combined with some poorly made changes to the material. It's amazing how much a badly chosen cast can ruin the best musical materials. We can only hope that Lloyd Webber won't make the same mistakes with his upcoming movie version of "Sunset Boulevard". This brings us back to Evita movie soundtrack. All the pieces of the puzzle were assembled rightly and it really shows. Because of that, the musical theatre fans should find an empty spot on their CD shelves with no trouble.

There are two types of reviewers for this album: those that have seen the stage show and those that have only seen the movie. I belong to the latter, thus I can only judge it from that standpoint.

Therefore, I can only say that The Material Girl does an extremely good job in bringing the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber to the screen. It is obviously that that singer worked hard; she shows a maturity that is far removed from her early "Like a Virgin" days.

A healthy release at two discs, "Evita" will have one "crying for Argentina" and wishing that Madonna could find another vehicle such as this one.

Listening to Madonna's "Evita" Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack evokes the same feeling that one gets when watching the movie: "Can this really be...MADONNA?"! Well, it is she, in all her expected self-absorbed glory, but with a twist. The girl can sing; she really can. I confess that I'm no great fan of the New Queen of Pop -- oh, I admire her spunk, her business acumen, her cultural iconoclasm, her in-your-face sexuality, and her identity-of-the-month publicity personas -- she's so easily dismissed as just another Cindy Lauper with better "people." But, dammit, when you listen to this "Evita," you come away thinking, "Wow, she really can sing." And sing she does. And she can sing good stuff, too. Andrew Lloyd Webber is as close to American classical legend as one gets, post World War II, and he doesn't write commercial jingles; he writes music. Madonna appreciates this fact, and she treats his music with a reverence and style (without pretension) that I would have never expected. I will not comment further on the quality of the Evita musical score in general (it is an accepted great work of American musical artistry), but I will say that Madonna's renditions of it are exquisite -- she gives us a passion, a caring, a personal experience, a love for the music she's performing that is nothing short of captivating.

Madonna's treatment of "Evita" is not for Madonna's traditional (or perhaps I really mean stereotypical) fans; it is for fans of good music. That those two worlds collide in this CD is testament to the talent that Her Majesty would be well served to demonstrate more often.

Good job Material Girl: I didn't think you could do it, but you did.

I expected a weak performance from an over-hyped Madonna. I wasn't a Madonna fan then or now- - - But how the academy withheld best performance from her should go down as the travesty of all time.

I have never been a fan of the Material Girl but a fan of Evita so I just had to see this. I expected to hate it. Instead, I bought the CD on the way out from returning the DVD rental(bought that too.)

Madonna and Banderas were both at their peak in this movie. If you had not seen the play, you would never notice that they had to adjust the octave for her. At that moment, she WAS Evita. Banderas was excellent as Che, but he was no Mandy Patinkin...adding softness to a role that Patinkin had made a bit more (realistically) bitter. The two Ches truly compliment each other, coming to the role with very different viewpoints. (In fact, I own both the Original American Recording as well as this one and will play them back to back.)

Jonathan Pryce as Juan Peron also adds his touch to a role, making me want to cry with him when he learns his wife will die and that he in fact truly loves her. Jimmy Nail has a limited role but takes full advantage of it.

Buy the CD, but rent the DVD at least once to get visuals on "Waltz of Eva and Che". You won't regret the image of Che and Eva dancing around, instead of with, each other when you listen to the music in the future.

"Evita" is the story of Eva Peron, wife of the dictator Juan Peron. The music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the (majority of the) lyrics are by Tim Rice. "Evita" was originally was staged back in 1978, but now has been revived into a motion picture with Madonna, Antonio Bandares, and Jonathon Pryce, whom all sing wonderfully on this beautiful soundtrack!

Many people would probably be interested in this. First of all, Madonna fans should definitely have this by now. Secondly, Antonio Bandares fans should pick up a copy too, even though I didn't particularly care for him in this project. Thirdly, Andrew Lloyd Webber fans should get it for the music and for the song written for this particular version of "Evita": "You Must Love Me," which Madonna performs beautifully.

I would recommend you rent/buy the DVD of "Evita" before you purchase the soundtrack, just to know the story of Evita. Then, if you end up not even liking the music from the movie, you have saved money from not buying the soundtrack. But, chances are, you'll buy it because the music is so good!

I admit it, I'm not a Madonna fan, however being a lover of the musical theater, I have to say I was impressed with her in Evita and fell in love with the music. If you liked the movie, get the soundtrack, it's as simple as that.

This film and soundtrack are absolutely amazing! Madonna is amazing as the rising star Eva Peron from her restless days in youth to her last words holding tightly the hand of Juan Peron. Johnathan Pryce is an amazing Peron and it's wonderful to know he has had American exposure, being a wonderful actor in the West End. The music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice are addictive and wonderful. Also a small note, the lead singer to the well known band "The Corrs" Andrea Corr has a small part in this film as one of Peron's flames.