Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast - Highlights) [Cast Recording]

Renee Rosnes, Peter Cousens, Kevin Gray, Charles Azulay, Joanna Ampil, Hinton Battle, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, Miss Saigon (Related Recordings), Ruthie Henshall | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 6, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B00000ID4I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,605 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overture/Backstage Dreamland

2. The Heat Is on in Saigon

3. The Movie in My Mind

4. Why God Why?

5. Sun and Moon

6. The Last Night of the World

7. I Still Believe

8. Thuy's Death/You Will Not Touch Him

9. I'd Give My Life for You

10. Bui Doi

11. Kim's Nightmare

12. Now That I've Seen Her

13. The American Dream

14. Finale

Editorial Reviews

1995 EMI Angel CD. Disc, jewel case, and inserts are all in excellent condition. Original US issue. 14 tracks. 101% guaranteed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best (but not the best), April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast - Highlights) (Audio CD)

Well, there's a lot to be said about this recording. Seeing that I get to write the first review, I will attempt to address all possible aspects of this recording.

1. Is the music itself good? Yes. The music is great and is composed by the award-winning composer Claude Michel Schonberg, author of Les Mis and Martin Guerre. Even if you've never seen or even heard of Miss Saigon, you'll enjoy this CD. The music is good enough to stand on its own.

2. Are the vocals good? Yes. Pretty much. Of all Miss Saigon recordings, this one has the best vocals. The songs are performed with more strength and feeling than in the London recording where the actors seem to be singing just to get the recording over with. My only complaint about this recording (and a big one) is Peter Cousens. He's got a great voice, but he just isn't right for the role of Chris. In my opinion, the best man for the role is Will Chase (who performs the role on Broadway so perfectly, I cannot even begin to describe his performance in words. Such a shame he was never recorded!) But, of the two Chrises recorded, Peter Cousins is the better one. Other than that the casting is great. Especially good is the engineer. While Jonathan Pryce is a great singer and actor, he just can't portray the engineer's unending greed with the passion and humor that Kevin Gray shows in this recording. His performance of "The American Dream" will keep you laughing for a while after the song is over.

3. Is the highlights CD enough to capture the essence of the musical? I think no audio recording can capture the whole essence of the musical. It's the combination of all aspects (acting, staging, visuals, costume, correography, etc.) that make this musical great. So the more valid question would be whether or not it captures AS MUCH of the musical as the complete recording. The answer to that would be "it depends on how much you liked the musical". If you liked Miss Saigon but didn't adore it down to the last syllable, or if you've never seen this show but want a good CD with enjoyable music, go ahead and get this one. It's much cheaper than the complete recording and includes most of the good songs. If you thoroughly enjoyed Miss Saigon, you really should get the complete recording (Just make sure you don't get the London one. It leaves a lot to be desired). Big-time fans who buy this recording will be likely to miss "The Telephone Song" and "The Morning of the Dragon".

But the bottom line is - The music of Miss Saigon is one of the greatest musical masterpieces of all time. Whichever version you get, you will know you're taking home a recording which you will enjoy again and again. If you miss out on it, know that you're missing out on one of music's greatest treasures.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a superb cast, July 9, 2003

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast - Highlights) (Audio CD)

This 1995 studio cast-album of highlights from MISS SAIGON is a fantastic CD.

It features a superb cast, drawn from MISS SAIGON productions worldwide, as well as a fantastic orchestra.

Heading this recording as the beautiful young Kim is Joanna Ampil. Ampil originated the role of Kim in the Sydney production and then went on to take over the role in London. Her voice is oddly-similar to Lea Salonga's, though her style is quite different. Joanna Ampil is fetching in all her numbers, though her "I'd Give My Life for You" is her crowning glory.

Peter Cousens originated the role of Chris in the Sydney production before being lured to London to take the title role in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Cousens has a rich, soulful voice, most evident in "Why God Why?". His duets with Ampil in "Sun and Moon" and "The Last Night of the World" are magical.

Ruthie Henshall is superb as Ellen. Henshall appeared as one of the bar-girls in the London production before being chosen to take over the role of Ellen, which catapulted her to fame in the West End. Henshall's heart-rending "Now That I've Seen Her" gives me chills every time, and her duet with Ampil in "I Still Believe" positively trembles with dramatic tension.

Kevin Gray appeared on Broadway as the Engineer, and he repeats his acclaimed performance for this recording. His snarly, oily delivery is just what the character needs, and his "American Dream" walks the tightrope between comedy and tragedy.

On the whole, MISS SAIGON fans are going to find a lot to love about this recording, featuring a stellar international cast.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the first "Miss Saigon" album you would want to own, November 13, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast - Highlights) (Audio CD)

Well, this is certainly a mixed bag. The point was to create an official complete recording of "Miss Saigon," which would take up three discs, in which case coming up with a single disc of highlights would seem to defeat the original purpose. So why pick up this single disc when you can have the complete musical on the three or even the two discs of the original British production. This brings up the second line of inquiry, which would be that the only advantage the three discs had over the original two discs was that it was a complete (not to mention official) recording. Because on the distaff side there would be the fact that the original two discs offers up Lea Salonga and Jonathan Pryce is the lead roles and it is just really hard for anybody who followed in their footsteps to compete, especially once you throw away the advantage of offering the aforementioned "complete" recording.

Of course, I have an additional grievance, which is that this complete/highlight version of "Miss Saigon" provides the version of the musical that made it to this side of the Atlantic instead of what we heard on the original two discs. I really disagreed with changing the ending, because I have always thought that Kim killing herself to force Chris to take their son was immensely more powerful than killing herself because he had already decided to do so and leave the boy's mother behind. When I first show the show live and was confronted with this massive change, which also, for all intents and purposes, wrecks Ellen's big number "Now That I've Seen Her" (previously known as "It's Her or Me"), it effectively ruined the climax of the show. Of course, I was all ready to weep copious tears at the end and instead I was sitting there trying to figure out why Alain Boubill and Claude-Michel Schonberg would make such a monumental mistake in effecting this change.

I always find it interesting to listen to different interpretations of a role, which can be one of the strengths of Broadway musicals even as they are now packaged more than ever for touring companies in the hinterlands. Kevin Gray as the Engineer certainly tries to go off in more of a different direction than Joanna Ampil as Kim, but that is hardly surprising. So there are enough differences this time around for fans of "Miss Saigon" to at least listen to this one once. But even then I would go for the complete version rather than just the highlights.