Customer Reviews

Michael Crawford Performs Andrew Lloyd Webber

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4 star:		(4)
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I decided to get this CD even though I've already owned soundtrack of both "Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats". I first heard Crawford performing in "Phantom of the Opera" and I fell in love with "Music of the Night" instantly.

Four of my all-time favorites from Phantom are recorded in this CD: "All I Ask of You", "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", "Music of the Night", and "Phantom of the Opera". "Phantom of the Opera" is the solo version by Crawford that is not released elsewhere.

My favorite picks besides the Phantom ensemble would go to "Only You" and "Memory". After listening to the platters' original version, Michael Crawford adds spice to this timeless classics. "memory" is full of sentiments.

I highly recommend this album. My hat off for michael Crawford.

This is a fantastic recording! Michael's voice is at it's best. Any Dream and Memory are beautiful. Trust me it is SO worth your money. Michael has the strongest, most entrancing vioce you'll ever hear. He really does have the voice of an angel, and this CD proves it.

This album is by far the best that Michael Crawford has released (not counting the OCR of Phantom), as he performs every one of these timeless songs absolutely flawlessly.

His Phantom work on the CD is up to its usual high-quality, though Barbara Bonney isn't Sarah Brightman. He does a jaw-dropping rendition of "Gethsemane" that is one of the most powerful I've heard. Yes, his approach to the song's rhythm is straightforward, but I prefer this more ballad-like approach. His performance of "Tell Me on a Sunday" (one of ALW's best, least-known songs) is also fantastic. And "Love Changes Everything" is well-arranged and sung (with backup vocals from the ladies and choir) and is one of the few songs that consistently gives me goosebumps.

However, all that being said, the one REAL reason to buy this album is to hear its unique arrangement of "Only You." Having heard the song previously as it was originally performed by the original cast, I considered the song to be boring and pedestrian. Whoever re-arranged the song (with new lyrics?) deserves a medal, because it transforms "Only You" into an enormously power love duet that is one of the best songs in ALW's entire canon. Overall, this album comes highly recommended, especially for those with only a passing familiarity with Crawford's or ALW's work.

I have always thought the main reason Michael Crawford did this album of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs was because it gave him a chance to sing some of the other songs from "The Phantom of the Opera." That probably explains why "All I Ask of You" and "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" are two of my favorite tracks on this album. But my favorite is "Tell Me On A Sunday," from the little known musical "Song and Dance," a song that clearly suits Crawford's evocative voice. This album includes a wide variety of songs, from the upbeat "And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)" from "Evita" to the dramatic "Gethsemane" from "Jesus Christ Superstar," but clearly Crawford works best with songs that build to emotional climaxes such as "Memory" from "Cats" where his voice gets to soar above the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. If all you know of Crawford and Lloyd Webber is their successful collaboration on "Phantom," then this album will serve as a wider introduction to the work of both artists. You will especially want to hear his duet on "The Music of the Night" with Barbra Streisand.

This is definitely one of the best CD's I've ever owned. I've gone through a couple copies of it, since its first release. Every one of the tracks is amazing, as Michael Crawford takes some of Andrew Lloyd Webber's finest melodies and recreates them.

"Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an excellent way to start off the album. The tracks from Phantom are all excellent, as is "Memory" and "Only You". But the two finest tracks on here are his rendtions of "Gethsemane" from Jesus Christ Superstar and "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love. This version of "Gethsemane" is without a doubt the most powerful, operatic, and heartbreaking rendition ever. The soaring orchestra and choir add a depth to the song that is missing from all other versions. "Love Changes Everything" is an epic love song, with an achingly beautiful melody and dazzling lyrics. Michael Crawford's voice, as well as the orchestra and choir (once again!), bring the CD to a fantastic close with this powerful anthem about the greatest human emotion.

All in all, this is absolutely one of the best CD's you can buy. Fans of Michael Crawford, Andrew Lloyd Webber, or beautiful music should buy this as soon as possible. It is well worth it, and will be listened to countless times. Praise to Michael Crawford and Andrew Lloyd Webber in this combination of their amazing talents!

Michael Crawford is truly amazing. I grew up in England and used to watch him every week on the telly where he starred as the bumbling Frank in the comedy series "Some mothers do 'ave 'em". He was thin, scrawny, bumbling, and a real eejit. But oh so funny. (The character, of course.) Then I moved to Canada and heard nothing more about him for years, but then I went back for a visit in the 80's, the time 'Phantom of the Opera' was becoming a big hit and I heard "The music of the night" on the radio, and my mum said it was Michael Crawford singing. Well, I just laughed and said 'Yeah, sure'. But, sure enough it was, and I have never been so flabbergasted in my life. What a complete change of direction. Who could ever have believed that such a voice could ever have been hiding inside Frank Spencer! Maybe there is still hope for Mr Bean.

You cannot listen to this CD and not be swept away by Michael's range and passion for the material he is singing. This is not just Michael Crawford, this is Michael Crawford becoming each character and pouring the soul and emotion from each piece into his performance. This CD is literally like going to each show from which the selections come. You can step out of "Phantom of the Opera" and into "Cats" and Michael's voice is the vehicle that takes you there. You don't just get a mechanical recitation of songs, Michael approaches each as an individual work and strives to bring you the song in context. My personal opinion is that the version of "Music of the Night" on this CD is the absolute definitive version of that song to be found anywhere.

Michael Crawford is arguably one of the finest male voices around today. From the first time I heard him sing in Phantom when I was only 10, I've been in awe of his range, his versatility, his talent-and the way he seems to charge each and every word he sings with meaning. This CD is worth buying for Gethsemene alone, where he delivers a performance that is THE definitive interpretation of this heart wrenching song. But the other songs are a real value added plus! May his voice reign forever!

The definitive reading of MOTN, and finally someone other than Sarah Brightman on POTO. Great!

The Money Kept Rolling In? Huh? No thanks. Shoulda been Dont Cry For Me.

Any Dream Will Do? Again - I'll skip it. Shoulda been Close Every Door.

Gethsemene and Tell Me on a Sunday? Made me cry. Seriously.

I also could've done without the Starlight Express tune, but hey - when the rest of the album's this good!

Michael Crawford has long been associated with musical theatre, and with Andrew Lloyd Webber in particular since starring as the first and most famous 'Phantom' of Webber's version of 'Phantom of the Opera' in the 1980s. Crawford's voice seemed tailor-made for Webber's music there, and Crawford decided to expand upon this by recording this disc after a successful run as the 'Phantom' in Britain, North America and Australia.

This disc was produced in 1991 when both Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Crawford were at a new height of popularity. The musicals represented here are a litany of the blockbuster musicals of West End and Broadway legend - 'Aspects of Love', 'Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat', 'Tell Me on a Sunday', 'Cats', 'Evita', 'Starlight Express', 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Phantom of the Opera'.

Many of the key songs of Webber are here - some of the songs are familiar without the musicals also being familiar, and sometimes it is the other way around. Perhaps Crawford's greatest performances on this disc are not the songs he performed on stage as the Phantom ('Music of the Night' is one that he performed on stage in addition to the title song 'Phantom of the Opera'), but more gentle songs such as 'Nothing Like You've Ever Known' from 'Tell Me on a Sunday' are perhaps even better cast for his voice.

In all, this is a wonderful concert of Crawford and Webber, in a grand pairing. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provides the backing for the Crawford, who is accompanied by Barbara Bonney in the songs from 'Phantom', Frances Ruffelle on 'Only You', and his daughter Lucy Crawford on 'Other Pleasures/The First Man You Remember'.

This is a nice album, a romantic collection, and one that will please any lover of Broadway/West End shows.