Customer Reviews

Highlights From Jekyll And Hyde

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Having heard this recording on tape many years ago I looked forward to hearing Jekyll and Hyde when it was completed. I lost my copy of the tape and forgot about the show untill this year when I bought the Broadway recording. I was disappointed in it after hearing the potental of the show on this recording! The completed show lacks pace, although some of the induvidual songs are really nice, they are too similar to be in the same show. This concept recording has some of the songs contained in the completed show and indeed other fantastic songs which were scrapped! Till You Came In To my Life, for example, is an excellent song and Colm Wilkinson is fantastic performing it. This recording shows the great potential the show had, but unfortunatly the final product is lacking and some of the great moments on this cd have been lost in the completed musicall! Frank Wildhorn has composed excellent melodys for this show infact I think he could have written two shows with the amount of material he has! This cd lets you hear how good Jekyll and Hyde could have been, and is well worth ordering. There is not a bad song on this cd, and the performances of Colm Wilkinson and Linda Eder are brilliant. The three duets, all which have been lost in the finished product are really special and should not be forgotten in time! Have a listen and see for yourself how things could have been.

THIS ORIGINAL CONCEPT VERSION OF JEKYLL AND HYDE SPAWNED A BIG FOLLOWING OF THE MUSICAL. IT WAS FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER CD WITH ANTHONY WARLOW AND THEN THE BROADWAY CAST ALBUM. HOWEVER, THE PARING OF COLM WILKINSON AND LINDA EDER IS A DREAM COME TRUE. COLM'S VOICE IS NEVER BETTER. THERE ARE TWO OR THREE SONGS SUCH AS "LOVE HAS COME OF AGE" THAT WERE CUT FROM THE BROADWAY SHOW, AND YOU HAVE TO WONDER, WHY? THE ALBUM IS WONDERFUL AND READING OTHERS DOWNGRADE IT IS VERY SURPRISING. ANYONE WITH A TASTE FOR FABULOUS AND ORIGINAL MUSIC WILL LOVE THIS ALBUM. WATCH FOR FRANK WILDHORN'S NEXT MUSICAL, "VIENNA".

There are three versions of this show on CD to date. This is the original concept recording and only two people sing on it: the astounding Colm Wilkenson (known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in the original recording from London of LES MISERABLES) and Linda Edler (who also went on to be in all the recordings of this show and the concept album of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, which music was also writen by the same person - Frank Wildhorn). On this album, her voice is amazing, in my opinion, her best performance in this role. She sounds like Barbara Striesand on her best days... I mean that as a compliment. The two artists have a remarkable vocal chemistry she never finds with her other Henry Jekylls... or maybe that's just Colm. Each of them sing two roles (Lucy, Lisa, Jeckyll and Hyde). I'll let you guess who sings which.

Also, don't think that this is the difinitive recording of this show because half of the songs on this original concept album are either severly altered or completely writen out of the show in the other two recordings. In my opinion, this is a must simply because of the performances, though you also need the expensive pre-Broadway recording to get a true feel for the show (the way it is now). This CD contains some great love songs like "LOVE HAS COME OF AGE" and "TILL YOU CAME INTO MY LIFE" that are not on any other version of this show. They were completely cut from the show, and they are wonderful songs. But if you just want a CD to know the show better the way it is now, my opinion is to get the two CD pre-Broadway recording. It's close to thirty bucks, but at least you get a few extra songs on it that they cut out for the Broadway version to shorten the show's length.

If you like this show, you are also going to enjoy THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, but only the concept album, NOT the Broadway cast! Chuck Waggoner, Linda Edler, Pueblo Bison & Dave Clemens make a wonderful cast. The Broadway cast doesn't even hold a candle to Chuck's ma! stery of "INTO THE FIRE" and the lead role in general. The only really good song on the Broadway cast is "FALCON IN THE DIVE" which isn't on the pre-recording.

Other shows I recommend: LES MISERABLES (with Colm Wilkinson of course), SWEENEY TODD (Sondheim's dark masterpiece) and CHILDREN OF EDEN (Stephen Schwartz's most recent musical with music as good, if not better than, his legendary shows GODSPELL or PIPPIN).

PS: Gossip trivia: Frank Wildhorn & Linda Edler are romantically involved (maybe even married)... Talk about old fashion casting! But hey, he got an amazing performer for the job, so who cares... other than lucky Frank.

Of the three Jekyll & Hyde recordings available, this one would be my last pick. It's a collection of the more mainstream songs in the score, performed by only two people. Colm Wilkinson, an incredible Valjean, makes a less than optimal Jekyll/Hyde. The concept recording allows Linda Eder to play with some of the vocal parts, and it's beautiful. She's a powerful performer, though I think she lacks the requisite sweetness needed to portray Lisa accurately. She's a wonderful Lucy. Listen to it, buy the 1994 concept recording, and definitely see the show... it's fabulous.

To all the reviewers who trash this recording as if it were a pale comparison to the finished show - get over it. And look up the definition of what a concept album is.

At least half of the songs here were not used in the show or were drastically changed, but that is what makes this recording so invaluable. It's interesting to hear the original concept of what Jekyll & Hyde was supposed to be prior to changes being made (to the detriment of the show, in my humble opinion).

While Colm Wilkinson is not my idea of perfect casting for Jekyll (or Hyde, for that matter), one cannot deny that he sings these CONCEPT songs beautifully - which was the whole point of this concept CD - to sell the show to potention backers.

As for Linda Eder, well, what can one say about Linda Eder? She is perfection, and, being married to the composer, why shouldn't she be perfect for these songs? They were written with her in mind.

Bottom line, if you are a true Jekyll & Hyde fan, this concept album is a must own for a complete collection.

I don't see why everyone goes on about how bad Colm Wilkinson sings. I've got every Jekyll & Hyde CD that is humanly possible to get, and this one sticks out because of Colm's unique voice. May I also remind you the songs Linda Eder sings are written FOR HER? Colm had to do it the harder way.

I fell in love with `Love Has Come of Age' with Linda Eder, and that blew me away. Perhaps Colm has his faults with `Transformation' - something about him doesn't make him seem like a well played bad guy. But other than that, he sings `This Is The Moment' in a unique style I have never heard before on a Jekyll & Hyde music CD, it is marvelous.
Before you go on `dissing' Colm, you have to listen to other versions of these songs. Other versions sound so similar, but take `This is The Moment' for example, and you will hear such a different version of the song. It sounds wonderful to hear the same Jekyll & Hyde songs in a different style. Well done Colm, despite what others say!

I love the original Broadway cast version, but this one, "the concept album", still remains my favorite. Colm Wilkinson and Linda Eder are both superb in their roles, and the orchestrations and arrangement of the song sequences are much more moving and effective. A winner in every way.

This is the original concept album for Jekyll & Hyde, the earliest version of the musical that took another 8 years and many revisions to reach the stage. Following in the tradition of such epic `concept albums' as those that brought Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Chess to the stage, the objective of this album was to showcase the songs that the musical would be built around. It does so wonderfully, using two of musical theater's most glorious voices - Linda Eder and Colm Wilkinson. The musical was written to showcase Eder's achingly lovely voice. She portrays both Jekyll's fiancé Lisa and the prostitute Lucy; occasionally you need a scorecard to determine which you are listening to. She is especially effective as Lucy - soaring through "Someone Like You", tugging at your heart in "No One Know Who I Am". Wilkinson's rich, mellow tenor complements her beautifully in the duets "Love Has Come of Age", "Letting Go" and "We Still Have Time". Although Wilkinson is listed as both Jekyll and Hyde, in fact all the songs are Jekyll's. As always this fine musical actor hits EXACTLY the right emotional note. It is an absolute joy to listen to in his solos - such wide-eyed, youthful optimism in "Hospital Board", such fierce, possessive love in "Till You Came Into My Life". What a thrilling version of "This Is the Moment"! For Jekyll to do what he does, he HAS to have such total confidence, such clarity of purpose, such an absolute belief in his own abilities. Like Henry Jekyll, Wilkinson charges ahead with joyous, infectious abandon.

There is some dispute among fans as to which actually should be regarded as the `definitive version' of the musical as it is (or should have been) staged - the 1984 "Gothic Thriller" concept album or the 1988 cast album. As Bricusse and Wildhorn had reportedly written more than 6 hours (60 songs) by 1994, there may never be a final version. Personally, of the two I incline towards the "Gothic" version - it has the complete story and the powerful, deeper voice of Anthony Warlow shines, especially as Hyde. (However, his Jekyll seems too somber to me, too practical to plunge foolishly into experimenting on himself.) THIS admittedly is NOT the complete version of the story; it focuses on exploring the characters and their relationships. Yet I have no difficulty in recommending it wholeheartedly. I have this and the "Gothic" version, and if for some reason I had to give one up, it wouldn't be this one. It's easily one of my favorite albums.

Judged solely on its own merits, this album is a jewel. Bookended by 2 versions of "Once Upon a Dream", it offers a highly romantic and perhaps more optimistic version of the story. Listening to "We Still Have Time", you find yourself hoping that somehow it really will work out. All of us will find a compelling story, and fantastic voices singing enchanting ballads. Fans of the musical will find Frank Wildhorn's original vision, sensitive portrayals of the main characters, and several songs that were regrettably trimmed in preparing the musical for the stage. All are lovely, and Lisa's character suffers without them. "Love Has Come Of Age" in particular helps to explain her devotion to Jekyll despite his increasingly strange behavior. My recommendation is to buy both this and the "Gothic Thriller" and construct your own version, with Wilkinson as Jekyll and Warlow as Hyde.

This CD does it for just because it contains the song 'Til you came into my life'. This was the first recording of this amzing show I ever owned, I have since owned the complete work and broadway cast recording and they are all different. This is just a concept so is not going to be at the same standard as the others but its just a shame that such a good song could fade away unheard.
As for the comment about Colm some of us do love him, hes a very gifted singer and actor, he grabs my attention every time I hear him, I recognise his voice instantly, thats talent. He was the best Val Jean and a bloody good Phantom

I'll start by telling you that I am a huge Colm Wilkinson fan and therefore may be a little biased. Anyway, I really believe that this is a great recording. Although it has been mentioned before, the material on this, such as Till You Came Into My Life et. al., is missing on the Broadway version. Bad Call. These are great songs and could be just the timeless classics as Memory, Music of the Night, Bring Him Home, On My Own, All for the Best, and Anthem are today. Also Colm Wilkinson and Linda Eder have a great chemistry-they really click. It's just one of those things. Sometimes you get a great cast together but for some reason it just doesn't work-this one does. So what if they don't sing with an English accent---does it really draw from the plot or musicality-no. Look at Les Mis and Phantom, are those two sung with French Accents-no and they're two of the most definitive musicals of the 20th and even (I dare say) the 21st centuries. Jesus Christ Superstar isn't sung in an Arabic-type accent (I'm not sure what language Jesus spoke). I think I've made my point. Why should Colm change his voice when singing the different characters- he's awesome, a true world class singer- why try to change his voice when it's already great? Besides, it's a concept cast recording- the producers are testing the music and story lines more than they are the acting. Also, essentially, Jekyll and Hyde aren't two different people. They are essentially the same person, only one is a manifestation of all the evil that is naturally a part of man. Although there is a change of appearance and disposition, the thoughts are still Dr. Jekyll's only uninhibited and purely evil- there is no change of brain. Anyway this is a great CD. I own both this Concept and the Original Broadway and while both have their strong points I think the Concept wins out because of the chemistry of Colm and Linda and the material. Thanks for taking the time to read.