Customer Reviews

By Jeeves (1996 London Revival Cast)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"As Tennyson once thundered/ someone here has badly blundered! " (Not.)

You have to kind of backpedal attitudinally to a more relaxed time to enjoy this musical recording. We bought it, listened to it once, then put it away for a year - it's hard to tune into at first because, of course, it's not at all like "Phantom" or "Evita." Then one day, in a what-the-heck sort of mood, I put it on and we have been listening (and singing along) ever since.

My 10 year old is listening to it right now while he makes pancakes. He and my 8 year old pore over the lyrics sheet. There are no bad words (except, perhaps, when Honoria Glossop sings to Bertie, "you're nobody's intellectual, you hot-blooded het'rosexual!"), no adult situations that children might not understand - this is a great intro to musical theater. But the music and lyrics are definitely clever enough to please any adult. My favorite song is "Travel Hopefully," a great song to pop into the player when you're motoring off to friends for the week-end. "Travel's broadened out my mind," crows Bertie, "Until, today, you'll find..." "...the widest head I know," puts in Jeeves. "Thank you, Jeeves -- you DID say WISEST, didn't you?" "Sir!"

The guy who plays Bertie is just great. The way he manages to show grimaces, grins, puffed out chest, monacle in the eye, red as a beet blushes, every comic posture with just his voice is amazing.

As charming as "By Jeeves" is, though, this is gentle comedy compared to the actual P.G. Wodehouse books. No movie, BBC recording, or musical can compare to a talented reading of the original stories.

I must admit that I am a theater queen - I love show music. Andrew Lloyd Weber has never been one of my favorites because of his overblown sense of musical drama, but he does write some lovely melodies. This show is chock full of wonderfully lovely and light melodies that quicky get you singing and snapping along. 'Travel Hopefully' appears early in the recording and is just a taste of the fun melodic tidbits to come. There are the telltale Weber exagerations in songs like 'That Was Nearly Us Back There' but the music on this recording shines crisply and cleanly like no other Weber production. The dialog snippets are hysterically funny and help place the songs in context. And, can't forget to mention, the lyrics are greatly humorous that even us dullard americans can appreciate and laugh with. Give this recording 2 listenings - 1 to take in the humor and joy and 2 to get hooked on the music. 5 stars!

I stumbled across "By Jeeves" on accident one day when I was going through soundtracks. I love P.G. Wodehouse's stories so I decided to buy it on a whim. I figured I could always take it back if I wasn't pleased. I ended up LOVING it. Although it messes up some basic P.G. Wodehouse plots (in the stories Bingo ended up marrying Rosie M. Banks and Gussie married Emerald Stoker and Madeline married Spode) it was still VERY entertaining. I loved the songs and the crazy plot twists which were Wodehouse trademarks. Anybody who has never read Wodehouse but liked the plot of this play should really get the books. This Webber show is definitely worthy of the master.

I saw this show back in 1996 with the original cast in one of London's West End theatres....It was amazing and has stayed as my favorite stage perforamce up to date...I have seen other shows since but none have topped By Jeeves...its a wonderful, funny play with AMAZING music! Buy the music!

I was extremely fortunate enough to see this show when it started life (in it's current incarnation) @ Scarborough in England - and what a show. It is extremely funny and contains some of the best ALW melodies written. Most of the "jokes" had to be seen to be understood and the cast were just outstanding - "Travel Hopefully" and "It's A Pig" were completely rib-tickling. The number "Love's Maze" has been substituted for a song entitled "Deadlier Than The Male" - which is such a pity as "D.T.T.M." was extremely funny. If you want to experience some superb ALW melodies, linked to brilliant lyrics and performed by a stellar cast - check out this CD - you won't be disappointed.

I found this soundtrack in London. OK, it was in the theatre after a performance of the show. The show was wonderful. For some reason, there were no aunts in the production. Bertie should be attended by his aunts, but everyone else was there. This is an evening devoted to the celebration of banjo music, which somehow never got played. LOVE'S MAZE was my favorite, but a number of people who have listened to the CD and not seen the play have expressed the most interest in ITS A PIG. Jeeves does save the situation for Bertie and his friends with their collective IQ of about 42. I would love to see the show again, but this CD keeps the fun alive.

A masterpiece! Even Spode himself couldn't help tapping his toes to the delightful tunes and exhuberant good humor of this fine adaptation of Wodehouse's incomparable stories. "Travel Hopefully" deserves to be in every Broadway music anthology from here on out.

If you are a fan of Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster then you will enjoy every minute of this production. The music has the usual Webber style and is a pleasure to listen to again & again & again ...

Quite possibly the most lighthearted of all the A.L. Webber musicals, this lesser known gem is worth getting, especially if you're a P.G. Wodehouse fan. But even if you're not, keeping up with the story is made easy because the sparklingly funny dialogue mixed in with the songs gives shape to the piece. Steven Pacey is perfect as the hapless, clueless Bertie, and his exuberant rendition of the upbeat "Travel Hopefully" is remarkably addictive. Other highlights for me included "That Was Nearly Us," and the chortle-inducing hysteria of "It's A Pig!" While the score is not as lush and extravagant as shows such as Phantom or Evita, its more restrained and intimate nature suits its amusing subject material perfectly. I couldn't recommend anything more refreshing!

Ya know, it's usually the little known ones that are the better ones. This is a great cast album, full of some wonderful, underrated and underrexposed talents. The story is great, I love the originality behind it and it is damn hilarious. Half A Moment is the best song, It's A Pig makes me laugh my [butt] of every time. Seals Andrew Lloyd Weber's name at the top of the list for the greatest composer of the musical stage the twentieth century has ever seen or more importantly heard. Ok, maybe it's a close race with Stephen Sondheim, but Weber is phenomenal. This gets my highest recommendation.