Customer Reviews

King Of Hearts (1978 Original Broadway Cast)

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

 

 

Don't waste any minute of your life and enjoy this music! It's one of those albums you fall in love with. It's pure beauty. It's a shame it's been so underrated since it deserves much more attention. Most of the songs are wonderful, specially "Nothing Only Love" "Close Upon the Hour" and "Somewhere is Here". Based in the unforgetable french classic movie about a young soldier during the I world War who gets used to sharing his life with insanes in a french clinic, finding love and confort in the place. Believe me, don't hesitate and get it asap. Much better than many overrated recent musicals which say nothing and sound awful.

What a gem! This score is rarely heard because the musical failed and has not been widely-performed. (I believe this play originally opened in the middle of a NYC newspaper strike and therefore couldn't get reviewed or advertised properly.) For my money it's one of the sweetest little chamber musicals I've heard. Unlike the reviewer above, I think the small orchestra complements rather than detracts. There is a gentle, bittersweet quality to the music that transcends the bombast we have today in extravaganzas like "Phantom of the Opera." It's true, there are one or two clunkers in here ("Mrs. Draba" is pretty dreadful) but you can skip them and continue with the good stuff. And there's a lot of good stuff.

The only time I saw the movie, I was a little disappointed - it had been a cult anti-war hit in the '60's, but I thought some of the asylum inmates were coy stock characters, and the war invading their town was mostly comic, not very threatening.

That said, I did pick up the cast album shortly after the show came out and found so much pleasure there. It's a very gentle ensemble show with some enchanting music. Not having seen the original or the revival (at the Goodspeed), I can only guess why it didn't succeed, but that hasn't stopped me from listening again and again to this work. When it came out on CD, I couldn't stop myself from buying it.

This little play was reprised at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut in 2002. The music was incredibly well arranged and presented.

Unfortunately, the only recorded version is this original cast Broadway album, which lacks the orchestration of the Goodspeed revival. However the music is still irrestible, and highly recommended.

Too bad the play wasn't more of a success in New York, which would have allowed a more rich original cast album.

This isn't exactly a C.D everyone would jump at, when faced with the opportunity to buy it. But this is a must for the more experienced musical theatre buff. The score is at times haunting and full of melody. But there are a couple of occasions where you cringe at the twangy sound of one or two songs. DE JA VU is delightful and the main theme is lovely. Once you know the plot and hear the songs, it is guaranteed that you'll be deeply moved. Go ahead and buy it.

I've been a long time collector of Broadway cast albums and see many shows, so it was a pleasant surprise to find this one. I saw a recent concert version of this show in New York and was so taken with the generally excellent songs that I bought this CD a few days later. The overall quality of the recording and the performances is excellent and there are several outstanding songs. A good find.