Les Miserables Original London Cast [Cast Recording]

Michael Ball, Frances Ruffelle, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, Les Miserables (Related Recordings), Patti LuPone, Colm Wilkinson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Red Ink
• ASIN: B0002E5L5S
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,451 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #60 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This recording captures the 1985 London cast that transformed an obscure French musical based on Victor Hugo's gargantuan novel of pre-Revolutionary France into a worldwide phenomenon throughout the late-'80s and '90s and became one of the best examples of the era's trend of blockbuster musical spectacles. Yes, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg's score tends to recycle its themes, but the beautiful melodies and stirring anthems rarely fail to captivate and touch its audience. Colm Wilkinson is the heroic Valjean, Patti LuPone is the tragic Fantine, Michael Ball is the love-struck Marius, and Frances Ruffelle is the despondent Eponine, with Roger Allam (Javert), Alun Armstrong and Sue Jane Tanner (the Thénardiers), Rebecca Caine (older Cosette), and David Burt (Enjolras) filling out the excellent cast. Fans will want to take note that this recording includes some material that was revised when the show crossed the pond to Broadway--"Little People" was lost altogether, while the "Love Montage" was significantly rewritten. Les Misérables sounds especially vivid in its 1998 remastering, and a synopsis and full lyrics are included. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Original London Cast recording. Disc 1 1. Prologue: A Work 3:23 2. Prologue: Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven 1:44 3. Prologue: What Have I Done 3:17 4. At the End of the Day 4:51 5. I Dreamed a Dream 4:28 6. Lovely Ladies 4:07 7. Who Am I? 2:48 8. Fantine s Death: Come to Me 3:44 9. Fantine s Death: Confrontation 2:50 10. Castle on a Cloud 1:35 11. Master of the House 4:59 12. Thinardier Waltz 2:58 13. Stars 3:24 14. Look Down 2:33 15. Little People 2:23 16. Red and Black 4:29 17. Do You Hear the People Sing? 2:16 Disc 2 1. Love Montage: I Saw Him Once / In My Life / A Heart Full of Love 5:18 2. Plumet Attack 1:57 3. One Day More 3:36 4. On My Own 3:59 5. The Attack 0:53 6. A Little Fall Of Rain 3:20 7. Drink With Me 2:21 8. Bring Him Home 2:53 9. Dog Eats Dog 1:54 10. Javert s Suicide: Soliliquy 3:39 11. Turning 2:05 12. Empty Chairs at Empty Tables 2:48 13. Wedding Chorale / Beggars at The Feast 2:16 14. Finale 4:45 Publisher: AMZ-Omaha, Red Ink 2004 Format: Audio CD, 2 discs ISBN: 766927336225

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

216 of 221 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My thoughts, June 27, 2000

By 

William C. Clark (Watertown, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Les Miserables (1985 Original London Cast) (Audio CD)

The Original London Cast and Original Broadway Cast recordings were the first English recordings of Les Misérables. Each has it's strengths and weaknesses. For instance:

The Conducting) LONDON is best. The conducting is slower in the London version. Some listeners think that this sacrifices dramatic tension, but the slower speed brings out a hundred details that you never hear on other recordings.

Sound Quality) BROADWAY is best. The London recording has very good sound, but Broadway's sound is more sharp and focused.

Jean Valjean) TIE. Colm Wilkinson sings the role of Valjean on both recordings. His voice is a bit unsteady, but his acting is perfect. And he is IMMEASURABLY better on these two recordings than he was at the Tenth Anniversary Concert.

Javert) LONDON. Roger Allam has a strong, clear voice, and uses it well in Javert's solos. Terrance Mann has more trouble with his solos, but manages to pull through in the rest of the Broadway recording. Both of them are decent actors, but neither of them can touch Philip Quast, who will always be THE Javert.

Fantine) LONDON. Patti LuPone is one of the few Fantine's who sings the role instead of wailing it. And she does more than just sing it. If LuPone's "I Dreamed a Dream" doesn't bring you close to tears, you have a stone heart. Randy Graff on the Broadway recording leaves a lot to be desired, but isn't nearly as bad as Ruthie Henshall in the Tenth Anniversary Concert.

Marius) LONDON! Michael Ball was the first and the definitive Marius. His singing and acting are great, and he makes a potentially sentimental character believable and even likeable. Nowhere does David Bryant on the Broadway recording come close to matching him. Bryant isn't as bad as some people say, but he does little more than sing the notes.

Enjolras) BROADWAY! David Burt on the London recording does a very good job. His voice is light but pleasant, and he is able to sound sufficiently heroic. But Michael Maguire on the Broadway recording is in a different league all together. His entrance in "One Day More" is spine-tingling, as is his opening in "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Neither of these singers come even close to matching Anthony Warlow's Enjolras on the Complete Symphonic Recording, though.

Thenardier) LONDON. There is nothing wrong with Leo Burmester on the Broadway recording. Alun Armstrong, however, does better at conveying the sinister aspect of the rogue innkeeper. And his excellent Cockney accent doesn't hurt either.

Eponine) BROADWAY. Frances Ruffelle sings Eponine on both recordings. Her voice is more refined on the London recording, but she sounds more urgent and exciting on the Broadway. She is excellent on both of them, though.

Cosette) LONDON. There isn't much difference between the way London's Rebecca Caine and Broadway's Judy Kuhn sing Cosette. In fact, Judy Kuhn might be a hair better. What set's the London version in front of the Broadway version is that Cosette gets her own song on the London. Her solo, "I saw him once", makes Cosette's character just a little less shallow.

Well, there you have it. Both recordings are very good, and IMHO the Original London Cast is a shade better. Ultimately, you'll have to chose for yourself.

129 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Version of a Spectacular Musical, July 1, 2005

By 

Mark O'Connor (Madison, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Les Miserables Original London Cast (Audio CD)

I've been a huge fan of Les Misérables for many years now, and while I do not own every version, I do have both the Original London and Broadway Recordings, and I have heard selections from the Complete Symphonic Recording (CSR) and the Tenth Anniversary Recording (TAR). Before I break it down by character, let me just say that any recording of Les Misérables is worth your money, even the highlight recordings are enjoyable.

Orchestrations - London. The Broadway recording is fuller and clearer, however, it is also a lot more rushed. Now, for certain songs like "One Day More", that works, but at other times it can be a problem. The orchestrations on London seem more refined, they're slower and you have to opportunity to catch more and experience it better.

Jean Valjean - London. Colm Wilkinson is the definitive Valjean, and plays him on all of the recordings with the exception of the Complete Symphonic Recording. On Broadway he is rushed too much, he speaks quickly, and tends to say every word like it is its own sentence; it ruined "What Have I Done?" for me. What makes Wilkinson the best Valjean, while he is good in the TAR, is exemplified in the London recording. He is a wonderful actor, and appropriately conveys every emotion needed for such a complicated character. His voice is full and powerful, and he hits some truly high and difficult notes with such perfection that he makes it seem easy.

Javert - Tenth Anniversary Recording. Philip Quast is by far the best Javert, without any questions. He performs Javert in both the CSR and the TAR tremendously. While the Javert from London, Roger Allam, is quite good, he leaves a lot to be desired, and I have a strong dislike for Terrance Mann's performance on Broadway, it felt weak. What Quast did that was truly impressive, at least to me, was that he took a character I never really liked, and made me love him. I was blown away by his rendition of "Stars" in the TAR, truly amazing. He fills the characters shoes perfectly, he sounds tough and intimidating, a truly complex and interesting character performed beautifully.

Fantine - This is a matter of taste. I prefer Patti LuPone's Fantine on the London recording, though all of the other Fantines are excellent as well. No matter which recording you end up with, you'll get a good Fantine.

Thenardier - London. Alun Armstrong plays Thenardier on both the London and Tenth Anniversary Recording, and he is spectacular. Yes, he does have a cockney accent, which is somewhat confusing since all of the characters are French, but he is still amazing. He performs Thenardier exactly as he should be, crooked, rude, conniving, and just a little bit skeevy. His renditions of "Master of the House" are just fun to listen to; you can see why that song is such a crowd pleaser.

Enjolras - Broadway. Even though I don't think Michael Maguire is the perfect Enjolras as so many make him out to be, he is quite good. He performs on the TAR as well, though he was vocally less than perfect there. His Enjolras is tough and determined and convincing, though Craig Pinder on the London recording is very good as well, and I've never heard the CSR Enjolras.

Cosette - Tenth Anniversary Recording. Now don't get me wrong, I adore Rebecca Caine's Cosette on the London recording, but Judy Kuhn is just a better performer. Vocally I would say the two are equally impressive, but Kuhn really makes Cosette seem so much more real. She's equally as good on both the Broadway and the TAR, but I would give it to the TAR, simply because Cosette sings many of her songs with Marius, and the Marius on the Broadway version is awful. A final note, on the London recording In My Life and A Heart Full of Love are not only lyrically different (and In My Life is much shorter) but they are all one track, entitled "Love Montage" which includes a song not present on any other recording I have seen called "I Saw Him Once". This song is absolutely beautiful, one of my favorites on any recording; it's definitely worth searching for and getting a hold of.

Marius - London! This is not even a question, there is absolutely no debate here, Michael Ball is, without a doubt, the definitive Marius, no one has ever surpassed him. I cannot say enough about his performance, it's powerful and nuanced, and you sense the conflicting emotions that Marius goes through at different parts of the show. His rendition of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is truly breathtaking and heartbreaking, one of the most powerful performance I've ever heard. He is wonderful on the London, TAR, and the CSR, however, I would choose London only because it is the one I have listened to most. The only other Marius that there has been was David Bryant on the Broadway recording, and he is awful.

Eponine - Here is the only character where I'm not sure. Truthfully, I wasn't blown away by any renditions of "On My Own", Eponine's main song and one of the most popular from the show. The three Eponines are Frances Ruffelle on the Broadway and London Recordings, Lea Salonga on the TAR, and Kaho Shimada on the CSR. It really seems like there are four different portrayals of this one character (I didn't at first believe that Frances Ruffelle did Broadway, she sounds so different). I guess this comes down to a matter of taste. Of them all, I guess I would have to go with Frances Ruffelle on the London recording, her "On My Own" has an understated elegance, and it's quite beautiful, though Kaho Shimada did an excellent job as well.

As for the other smaller characters, Young Cosette is enjoyable on all the recordings, as is Gavroche, though the boy who plays him on Broadway for some reason bothers me. I guess if I could suggest only one recording, I would have to go with the Original London Cast Recording as being the best overall. Though some of the songs have slightly different lyrics (including "Stars", "Drink with Me," and "On My Own") it is never a problem, and you have to remember that the London recording was the first, and it is truly spectacular.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Okay., February 12, 2004

By 

mura (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Les Miserables (1985 Original London Cast) (Audio CD)

This is the first major recording, so this is an excellent copy to have for reference/historical purposes. The performances are good (especialy Colm Wilkinson and Michael Ball's).

If you want the best version, however, get 10th Annversary Concert Recording. TAC's Eponine alone, the brilliant Lea Salonga, is enough reason to get it. She acts better (her interpretation is more heartfelt and definitely more in tune to her character's experiences) and her very pure, powerful, and lovely voice is a hundred times better than Frances Ruffelle's annoyingly scratchy voice. The TAC recording, as many reviewers have noted, also has a much livelier atmosphere -- and even has a special number in the end with Valjeans from different productions around the world performing. So get the TAC (and don't forget the essential Complete Symphonic Recording) instead of this or the Original Broadway Cast recording, if you can't afford to buy them all.