Customer Reviews

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1973 London Studio Cast)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

A full description of the history of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" would be about as long as this record. It started out as 15-minute pop cantata for boys' choir, and grew over the next decades into the huge-spectacle, two-hour star vehicle we know today. This recording is by no means the first (I have two LP's of previous incarnations), but of all the recordings, it comes closest to catching the show in its best form. It is represented here as an hour-long pop-opera with all the core songs, but without the long dances, techno-remixes, repetitions, and extraneous material added on later. It is not associated with any particular production, but is a studio album recorded so that people could hear the full show (now twice as long as it had been the last time a recording was made).

To my mind, this is easily the most satisfying recording of the show. The songs are performed well, and much more simply - the "hamming up" of so much of the show, almost inescapable in modern recordings, is all but absent here. Examples of this may be found in songs like "One More Angel in Heaven", "Those Canaan Days", and the "Benjamin Calypso". All three were recorded here for the first time, and are performed without being so overblown as they are today.
The role of the Narrator, which was written to be sung by a tenor, is sung with great ease by Peter Reeves. (The modern convention of casting a pop-mezzo in the role requires several songs to be transposed down, and the singers still struggle for the high notes, if they try for them at all.) Gary Bond is a capable Joseph, and Gordon Waller is a fabulous Pharoah, mixing the required Elvis inpersonation with the pompous command of being absolute ruler of all that see sees.

That's not to say that there are no drawbacks. Most of the vocal harmonies for the Brothers had not been introduced yet, and the inventive orchestrations of the earliest recordings have begun to disappear. Pharoah aside, there is very little acting in the performances, and much of the livliness and energy associated with the show is subdued. In spite of this, It is my favorite of the myriad "Joseph" recodrings, and represents the best version of the show put to record.

I happen to be a huge fan of studio recordings of shows like this (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Chess) because shows like this are better suited to that kind of setting. Joseph in particular is a show that is often poorly done on stage because a lot of productions try to modernize the piece and the score when it really is a lot more simple and slightly dated. This recording makes the show sound more like the other rock operas of Webber and Rice (with even some of the exact same riffs as JCS, but that's beside the point) and for its simplicity I would recommend this piece sooner than any of the revival albums. The 1982 Original Broadway version probably is the best recording of the piece as a stage musical, but this one has a rawness and simplicity that is a lot of fun to listen to. The leads are not the most impressve performers, but given the style of the whole album, it doesn't matter. Peter Reeves as the Narrator (the narrator as a guy actually sounds cool) and Gary Bond as Joseph are not the most impressive singers, but are perfectly fine. Gordon Waller as Pharaoh does a nice job without overdoing the Elvis impersonation, which most versions of the show do. The other soloists are all solid. The children's choir is a little weak and there is not nearly as much harmony as in later versions, which I do miss, but the orchestrations come through more and seem more natural to the score than the later versions.
This recording is much more in the same vein as the concept albums of JCS, Evita, and so forth. Recordings like this are more about the score itself. They have people who sing well enough who fit with the style of the music. I've always thought Joseph had a fun score and this recording reflects that particularly well. If you're a fan of the stage show, I would recommend the 1982 Original Broadway Cast version, but if you just like the music, I recommend this one.

My uncle, Gary Bond died back in 1995 and I have finally been able to replace the orignially vinyl with a CD and for me that is priceless..... I was five years old when I first went to see him in this musical on the WestEnd stage. It was a shock to suddenly hear my uncles voice beaming out of my PC but what memories...... You cannot beat the originally soundtrack no matter what!

I bought this thinking it was the same as the original 'Joseph' LP I used to listen to endlessly back in the early 70's, as a preadolescent. It appeared in the States to capitalize on the success of Superstar -- down to using hte same typography on the cover. But even though the vintage (1973) of this version is about right -- this *isn't* the same recording. In fact, though my memory may be gilding the original a bit -- this one's very much inferior. Has the original US release ever been transferred to CD?

The first time I heard Joseph and the Dreamcoat, it was in its 1970's version. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found the songs catchy and hard to forget. Then I heard the Donny Osmond version of the musical. It was narrated by an annoyingly nasal female vocalist, the songs were corny and synthesized, and the overall charm and feel of the original musical had been lost. This seems to be a piece that is best suited for a smaller, more stripped down musical style, which is missed in the "more means better" approach to the overdone later versions. In my opinion, this recording is the one to buy.

This version of the first Webber/Rice collaboration is, musically, closer to the classic original cast recording (not yet on CD, to my knowledge) than all others, but suffers from the comparison. I risk being labeled a purist, but having grown up listening to the Scepter recording, I miss the choir backings!

I don't have the CD, but I do have this recording on Vinyl. I have liked it from the get go. It's also great if you buy the song book with the same cover. You can read along exactly as it is written. After being in the show and having all of the other cast recordings of it, it's nice to hear it in it's humble beginings. It was interesting getting used to the male narrator, but I really think it adds to the piece. Really great soundtrack. It's a must buy!

I think this and the Original Broadway versions are the best. I agree with others, the new updated techno stuff is awful. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I saw it first around 1983 on Broadway (David Cassady - I thought he did a great job), and fell in love with it. This version has a great Joseph, like I remember David Cassady being. The male narrator is different, but you get used to that. There are other things about this version I like better as well as things about the Original Broadway version I like better. I don't like the Joseph as well on the Broadway, but I do love the narrator. So, it's a give and take, but I've seen Joseph again twice in recent years and it doesn't compare to the 80's. Happy listening.

Well done those who stand up for the late great Gary Bond. He was the original Joseph and for some of us will always be the only one. I agree that we'd rather have the original cast LP as a CD but this almost the cast and for me will be the definitive. Let us not forget that Gary was a superb Che in "Evita" - better than David Essex. ITV surely still have footage of a studio version of the stage show specially done for TV. It's truncated and lasts about 30 minutes but if it were made available I'm sure it would be very popular. On a sort of related topic, when are we going to get the CD of the original London cast of "Godspell".

I bought a marked-down $2 record of Joseph and The Amazing TD in a supermarket in 1975 knowing nothing about the show or Weber and Rice. My small daughter fell in love with it and we listened to it over and over. I have heard different versions since then, but hankered for the "original" - which I can still sing by heart. Imagine my delight when I found it was available again... listened to it, and it brought back so many memories, and so many words. Three weeks later it is still reverberating in my head, odd snatches of music constantly popping up. A real treasure.