Customer Reviews

Highlights From Phantom Of The Opera

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When people recommend complete sets of musicals and operas more than abridged versions, this Phantom London highlights album (with the highlights from the CATS Broadway recording) is one of the few cases where the abridged version can be recommended as much as the complete set. In this abridged version of the POTO London Cast album, all the major numbers and none of the filler are here, making this an extremely desirable single disc album for those who don't want the full 100-minute London Cast recording. Michael Crawford's hypnotic Phantom, Steve Barton's comforting Raoul and Sarah Brightman's angelic Christine are the high points of the album. The tension and emotion are well-maintained, with fair representatives of each characteristic, and listening to all the major songs are just like meeting old friends. "Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" sound like you are hearing these songs for the first time, and the chromatic Phantom theme heightens the suspense. I must mention I rather like this version of Music of the Night, which is a single version that ALW produced before the opening of Phantom. While it's different from the OLC 2-CD set, I think this gives a deeper insight into the Phantom's character. Overall, I would say that this is an ideal choice for those who don't want the complete London cast recording, but I think that you'll be prompted to invest in the full 2-CD London version even though this abridged version of POTO is very well done. Too bad it isn't remastered.

I first purchased the original score in 1988, shortly before seeing the show on Broadway.

At first, only a couple of songs stood out, but after seeing the amazing production (with the incredible Michael Crawford!), I fell absolutely in love with the score. Repeat listenings have only solidified my opinion!

Not everything is perfect, but the orchestrations are powerful & many songs really stick with you, especially:

Overture [sounds great cranked up]

Angel Of Music

The Phantom Of The Opera [The Phantom & Christine's great duet]

The Music Of The Night [The Phantom's big song]

All I Ask Of You [Christine & Raoul's duet - though a bit tired]

Masquerade

The Point Of Know Return

Beautiful from beginning to end & MUCH better than the film's soundtrack. Webber's masterpiece!

A must have!

I give this recording only two stars, because you flat out should not buy it. Buy the double cd Original London Cast instead- I give that recording 5 stars. If you buy this recording you will miss out on A LOT of great music, and some thrilling moments that aren't on the highlights.

Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh is not on the highlights and that's worth the price of the double cd alone. I love that song and it's where Carlotta gets it good..and Crawford is haunting as usual during this part.

Highlights for any musical are a waste. It's worth it to pay more and get as much of the music as possible.

Do yourself a favor and get the double cd, not this one.

Phantom of the Opera is what I consider to be Andrew Loyd Webber's masterpiece. I have seen many musicals, but none so grand. I was only about 14 when I first saw this, in dutch, but I remember it very well, I immediately loved it, and went out and bougth the dutch version of this cd, with the little bit of pocket money i had saved up. Not too long after I also got this cd and the complete version. It takes a little getting used to the voices, because they are so different in the different performances I have seen and heard of this musical, but this is without a doubt one of the best, if not THE best.

If you loved the musical so much you simply want to hear the whole thing over and over again, you migth want to get the long version, which has everything on it, but this CD is just as wonderful. It is a collection of all the music, beautifully edited. Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman have beautiful voices, and all i have to do is close my eyes, and the whole musical repeats itself before my eyes when I listen to this.

Even for those who have not seen the musical (yet), this is a wonderful cd, with all the famous songs from the musical on it. I have had this CD for years now, and still listen to it very regularly, it never becomes boring, over and over again it gives the same intense feeling. This CD is immensly pleasant to listen to, especially with your eyes closed, but it could just as well be used as background music for when you have guests over, people are bound to love it!!!

I have almost 400 CDs of all types of music and I can easily say this is my favorite. Michael Crawford is awesome - his voice is haunting - the perfect phantom. It's a fantastic CD because it's one of those you can easily listen to from beginning to end - a true album. With this CD you just want to sit on your couch in a dark room and feel the music and emotion.

I heard this CD and then went to the broadway show in NY and was unfortunately disappointed - after hearing Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, even though the show is still amazing, the performers in their place were a letdown.

If you even suspect that you like contemporary opera, you will love this CD.

I am 14 years old and most people my age do not appreciate this style of music, neither did I till I watched the "Phantom of the Opera" and bought the cd. It is a remarkable piece of work the way Andrew Lloyd Webber weaves the intricate melodies together is just amazing. And the extrodinary singing talents of Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton compliment the music beautifully. It is a cd for people of all ages to enjoy and treasure

Didn't anyone notice that the version of "Music of the Night" presented on the "Highlights" disc is way weaker than the one on the full 2-CD cast recording?? It presents the Phantom in a more wimpy and negative light (or dark), disrupting his seduction with garbled, sobering stuff about hiding the "truth" in the darkness. Now I'm wary of adding the remastered version to my library, because I don't know which version of "Music of the Night" it presents - and the Amazon reviews are the same ones used for the older version, so I'm not sure that the listening samples have been updated. Until I can get better information about this, my purchases of "Phantom" will stick to the first, original, double-CD set, as long as they're available. The "Highlights" edition is a little helpful, because it's divided more distinctly into individual songs, but not very well. "Think of Me" is actually started too early, leaving the last bit of the previous music as a "dunk" sound, just before the song starts. There's no way to make a good compilation from any number of different "Phantom" CD's without using an analog link to another CD player, so fade-ins, silent spaces, and controlled starts and stops are possible. By the time I had assembled a compilation worthy of presenting to my own Angel of Music, I had only used one track from the "Highlights" version - "The Point of No Return" - and I had to do some analog tweaking on that one too. Am I too finicky? What's the point of all this fancy technology if we're not supposed to care? By the way, when will all this digital gear begin to give us a way to control recording volume, fade-ins/outs, and other standard requirements of good compilations? Is there some software for this that I don't know about?

First off: I'll cut to the point - the Original London "Highlights" CD is great.

Second off: I have never been to a musical or an opera before this summer and have no claim to understanding the music beyond any Joe on the street. Nor am I an audiophile - I don't have any awesome home or car stereo, no surround-sound anything.

That said: Some friends, my wife and I saw Phantom for the first time recently (2004 US Tour, Gary Mauer as the Phantom). We all loved it. I wanted the music on CD - so I came shopping at Amazon after first trying to find it with this 2004 US Tour cast (nonexistent). So I read into the reviews of all the Phantom CDs here (there are quite a few CDs).

After reading what seemed like hundreds of reviews and listening to the samples:

1 - I ruled out the 2-disc London CD (I don't need the screeching, etc. I want music.)

2 - I couldn't decide between the Original London Cast "Highlights" CD and the Original Canadian Cast CD. People seemed to love both for all kinds of reasons.

Well, I ended up buying both (London Highlights + Canadian).

Hands down, the London cut is better. It all comes down to the quality of the recording. The London CD sounds like a CD, the Canadian sounds like a cassette tape or LP. It just isn't clear, crisp, etc. The various performers of the Canadian cast might have been better in real life, but the recording does not allow an even comparison. It sounds a little better than your home recording of your kid's elementary school play in the auditorium compared to the London cut.

Buy one CD - the Original London "Highlights" CD instead of the Canadian one. We never even listen to it.

As a sidenote: I think Gary Mauer was WAY better than either Phantom on these CDs. I know nothing of technique, but his voice was FAR more convincing as the Phantom. If that's blasphemy, so be it. I would be happy to buy one with him on it.

Even though this CD has been around for a long time, it still retains the same punch every time you listen to it. I have seen Phantom two times, and am waiting for the video to come out, which will be after the CATS Video. I am in love with Mr. Weber's music, and it's practically all I listen to. The sweet soprano voice of Sarah Brightman as innocent Christine, and the deep alto of Michael Crawford as the deceiving Phantom make magic in Andrew Lloyd Weber's best musical. If you have not heard Phantom (or CATS, for that matter) yet, then you haven't heard Andrew Lloyd Weber!

To those who don't know or don't like The Phantom of the Opera, it's time to start. I simply love this CD. I practically grew up listening to it. This is the original, and that nearly puts it in a class of its own. I have read the book, and this is a beautiful musical interpretation. I don;t know much about technique or orchestrations, so I'll stick to the cast.

Michael crawford is godly. He can do both sides of the phantom- tragic musical genius, and murderous ghost. His voice is so sweet and hypnotic, no wonder Christine thought he was an angel! He can also be scary too. His performance was divine!

A lot of people don't like Ms. Brightman. I couldn't find anything wrong with her. She is very emotional, and can sound the part of a budding opera singer. "wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" can make me cry. This Christine, like the book says, can "make the angels weep."

Raoul was perfect too. He sounds exactly the part of the rash boyfriend: a haert of gold, ready to do anything no matter how stupid to save Christine. He even sounds blonde. Don't get me wrong- he doesn't sound stupid. His voice is the voice of comforting love in "All I Ask of You".

The other leads were excellant. Meg sounds like the concerned, sweet friend. Carlotta was delightfully irritating and full of herself. The managers sounded like a true unit. I can't remember hearing much of anyone else to comment on them.

I highly reccommend this CD. This is a magnificent play with a wonderful cast. My only complaint is that there isn't more! (But this is a HIGHLIGHTS CD.) If this is your first Phantom, it is totally worth your money, especially if you don't need all the extra songs on the 2CD set. I hope this review has been helpful. I've tried to not hold back on something I love. If I had any qualms, I'd say them. I apologize if I rambled or made any errors. Be sure to read my other reviews!