Customer Reviews

Les Miserables (Highlights from the Complete Symphonic International Cast Recording)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Les Miserables" is an excellent story. I read the book, saw the movie, and received this CD as a gift.
If you do not know the story of "Les Miz", I suggest you buy the full soundtrack; the storyline is very intricate, and the highlights soundtrack leaves out a lot of the story. For instance, Cosette's life with the Thenardiers goes unmentioned, so "Master of the House" may leave the listener thinking "What did that have to do with anything?"
Some of the cast members were not well chosen. Marius doesn't have a very strong voice, and Cosette got on my nerves after a while. Eponine takes getting used to, but she's pretty good. Javert , however, outshines the entire cast, including the star, Valjean.
One thing that dissapointed me is that a few great songs are not included on this disc. "A Little Fall of Rain" and "Castle on a Cloud" made there absence mourned, as they are two of the most beautiful songs I have heard. I recently sang "Castle" at a voice recital, so I was sad to find it missing from the song list. "Red and Black" and "A Heart Full of Love" were a dissapointment, and "Bring Him Home" didn't seem to have much of a tune. "Javert's Suicide" has the strangest tune I've ever heard, but the lyrics were so beautiful, I cried.
"Les Miserables" is a beautiful musical, nonetheless, and very powerful. The majority of the songs are wonderful, transporting you back into France in the mid-1800s, and dragging you into the complicated life of Jean Valjean, the twisted mind of Javert, and the sad, sad past of Fantine. "Les Miserables" moved me to tears, and I hope you will feel the same way.

I own this recording, plus the full cast 10th anniversary CD, and this one is my favorite by far. Gary Morris as Valjean does a superb job and puts more emotion into his singing than Wilkinson. His range is amazing, and his passion for this role is obvious. I also enjoyed Debbie Byrne as Fantine, and thought she did a great job. Aside from the fact that this is a "highlights" cd, this is my favorite recording of Les Miserables.

If you look you'll be able to find what will seem like millions of versions of Les Miserables. "The Original London Cast", "The Original Broadway Cast", "The French Concept Album", and on and on and on. But if you're only planning on buying one, I'd recommend this one.
The cast is near flawless. Gary Morris is the ideal Jean Valjean, Debbie Byrne conveys sorrow and misery perfectly as hopeless Fantine, Anthony Warlow's powerful and commanding voice is superlative for Enjorlas and there are no words to describe exactly how amazing Philip Quast is as the ridged police officer Javert.
Slight problems include Kaho Shimada's (Eponine) Japanese accent and the exclusion of songs like "Castle on a Cloud" and "A Little Fall of Rain" as well as Cosette's solo "I saw him Once"
All in all the CD is to die for. Any true Les Mis fan couldn't ask for anything more.

I much prefer the full soundtrack over the highlights, but this one does a very good job of giving the listener an idea of the plot/emotion. This CD doesn't cover much background to the story, and presents a "wham, bam, thank you maym" presentation. overall not too bad though. If you can i reccomend you watch the musical too, either in person or on tape, but don't get an edited version.

If you're looking for a Les Miz album with only the best tracks, along with some of the best PERFORMERS of those tracks, this is the best out there. About the only songs not on here that I'd like to see are Castle on a Cloud and A Little Fall of Rain, but I can live without them.

Now, when you're looking for a Les Miz recording, aside from the included tracks, you have to look at who the performers are. Gary Morris is truly one of the best to play the role of Valjean, and he shines on this recording. Philip Quast is also a phenomenally strong Javert, particularly on "Javert's Suicide." Such power.

The shining star though, that rises above all others I have heard in the part, however, is Kaho Shimada as Eponine. Her performance as Eponine is heart-shattering, and utterly stunning. Particularly the slight differences and flavors she adds to "On My Own."

I heartily recommend this version of Les Miz.

I bought this CD because it was cheaper and was a musical highlight, not the whole score (which I tend to pick out the good stuff from Broadway musicals - alot is just getting the story across.) I was very disappointed in the quality of the voices and the score presentation. Apparently London has different sounds, or requirements for excellence. I quickly ordered the original broadway cast score and felt better. In my opinion the two are not compariable. I have read other reviews and and others loved this highlight cd. Compare for yourself and and see if you want to save money. It cost me twice the amount-paying for both.

I think the cast on this album is great. I loved Gary Morris as Valjean. Colm Wilkinson's singing, from what I've heard, is not as smooth as Gary Morris's, and I feel like his high notes are far more forced. The choppy quality of Wilkinson's singing also really gets to me.

I had no problems with the Fantine on this album, and although everyone seems to be complaining about Kaho Shimada's Japanese accent, I couldn't hear it. She sounded really clear and a little too girlish for my taste, but hey. Eponine's a young character. As others have commented, Javert and Marius were great. I also really enjoyed the singing of Anthony Warlow as Enjolras.

Additionally, I thought the selection of songs was really great. I'm not sure why people seem to want the album to project the full story of Les Mis. People who haven't seen the musical or read the book ought not to expect the full story out of a Highlights album. That kind of expectation is really too much to ask out of a short album which has been cut down from 4 hours long.

I'd recommend this to people who liked some of the Les Mis songs but don't want to buy 4 hours' worth of music to get a couple of songs. I think this is also a great choice for people who have read the book or who otherwise know the story, and would like to get a taste of how the musical treats the story of The Miserable.

I give 3 stars for being a complete recording but not the best cast ever.. I enjoy the OLC and OBC and most of all the Tenth Anniversary Concert. TAC is best... star-studded and the best cast ever. Well, Dream Cast I suppose.. In this complete recording, I find most of the talents here are irritating and somewhat funny.. voices are too squeaky and grrrrrrrr.. who is that girl performing as Eponine? Can't they find much better? She's irritating me..

There are no two ways about it: this album is phenomenal. I've listened to the others, but the singers on this recording are so emotional and involved, not to mention talented.

First of all, Gary Morris as Jean Valjean. He's amazing. He has a smooth voice, hits the high notes, and I just fell in love with him. Philip Quast as Javert takes my breath away. "The Confrontation" is probably my favorite song on the album; Morris and Quast are perfect together. Debbie Byrne is wonderful as Fantine, Kaho Shimada is great as Eponine; sure she has a little bit of an accent, but she has a great voice. Anthony Warlow, as Enjolras, stole the show in my opinion. His voice is unbelievable. Tracy Shayne, as Cosette, is good, but her voice is a little too sugary for me. Michael Ball is said to be the best Marius of them all, and he's good, but sometimes he's a little whiney. Great voice, though.

One thing that shocks me about a lot of the other reviews here is that Barry James and Gay Soper, as M. and Mme Thenardier, are said to be bad. In my opinion, everyone else falls far short. James and Soper actually do the accents, instead of sounding like upper-crust British actors. They're amazing.

Obviously "One Day More" is the greatest song on the album. It's amazing. I recommend this to anyone. If you're new to Les Miserables, this is the place to start. If you're a Les Mis veteran, you HAVE to hear this one.

This C.D. is what started it for me with my Les Miserable passion and it will for you too if you choose to buy this Les Miserable C.D!

I love this musical with all my heart and I know most of the words to every song. Les Miserables isn't a common musical it really has whole differant life- the lyrics are all what we can relate to and the themes of love, loss, and trying to better ourselves are all things we have expierenced as human beings. This musical does more than live up to Hugo's book on many ways it outshines in the lyrical sense. If given the chance I would see it everyday and I hope that someday Les Mis will visit my city so I do get the chance too.

Gary Morris isn't as good as Colm Wilkinson- but, Gary's great anyway and the rest of the cast is star pick of the litter- including one of my favorite singers of all-time Michael Ball- who is just as attractive as Ellijah Wood with a singing voice that matches Josh Groban.

All in all with a wonderfully written composed music and good direction it's understandable why this musical has been translated into ten differant languages and has swept the world literally-even in countries that don't usually support or like musical theater.

I only have one suggestion if you haven't read or seen a movie about Les Miserables you should probably buy the complete version it will be easier to understand than this Les Miz greatest hits C.D. All in all no matter what kind of music fan you are you have to have some kind of copy of Les Miz in your collection!