Customer Reviews

Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast - Highlights)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This CD has some excellent examples of good vocalizations and beautiful music. I was suprized to find the detailed synopsis included in the liner notes. (Not typical of most highlight albums.)
As far as singing goes, the producers assembled a great group of performers for the recording IE Ruthie Henshall!! I bought this CD in lue of the more expensive London Cast version, and as I listened to the music, I couldn't help but say to myself "Wow! What a great group of singers!" Not that this recording doesn't have its shortcomings. I think that trying to assemble a "studio cast" do sing music intended for Broadway actors can in some cases defeat the purpose of listening to theatrical music, but "Saigon Highlights" combines a great deal of theatrics in the recording such as helecopter sound effects. I would have liked to have seen Lea Salonga in the role of Kim and perhaps another actor in the role of Chris. Not that Peter Cousens doesn't do a stellar job, but compared to the others he is outsinged. RUTHIE HENSHALL FANS, GET THIS ALBUM. After hearing Ms. Henshall sing "Now That I've Seen Her" and the duet "I Still Believe" I couldn't get her voice out of my head. I loved her as Fantine in Les Mis, and I love her as Ellen here. Musical fans: This is an excellent investment!!

It's just too bad that the actors here -- who are excellent --are inevitably compared with the ones in the Original London Cast (who are WAY better). This album is good, but if you could get only one, get the Original London Cast Recording. If you can get two, get the Original London and the 1995 (Complete) Studio Cast Recording. Bottom line: this should be your fourth choice among all four official English-language recordings.

But get the Original London Cast Recording - that's THE best recording of this excellent musical!

OK - Miss Saigon is probably my favourite musical of all time, but this recording really does not do it justice. If you want to experience the real magic of this show, you should purchase the ORIGINAL London Cast Recording which features the amazing vocal talents of Lea Salonga, as well as Jonathan Pryce and Peter Polycarpou. The only good vocalist on this recording is Ruthie Henshall. Joanna Ampil is also good, but no-one can sing the role of Kim like Lea can.

I saw this show last summer at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta! After seeing the show, listening to the beautiful music, and really getting into the story, I was hooked. The ending is so tragic and beautiful that not one woman leaves without mascara dripping down her face or even men with tears in their eyes. Some people don't consider this nearly as good as Les Miserables, but I enjoyed it just as much. This cd has a truly talented cast, and the music is beautifully writen and sung! I reccomend it to anyone!

Just cover your ears when you hear Joanna Ampil's speech-101-class articulation (so annoying)! Otherwise, her strong voice and the wonderful score are great to listen to.

I am a huge fan of Miss Saigon, and I finally got around to buying this album only recently.

I think that it is a shame that this is the only complete version, because on a whole I really like the cast of the London recording so much better. The instrumentals are gorgeous, and I agree that Thuy's character is so much better, with more development. It also fills in missing gaps, and makes the story much more poignant (such as Kim's Sun and Moon reprise) I enjoyed the change of the finale, because I found that the kickline-esque music didn't quite fit in with the depressing ending. Plus, Kim's last solo sounds much more determined than The Sacred Bird.

The female cast... Joanna Ampil is really good, although no one can compete with Lea Salonga. I do agree that her accent did get distracting, but I also found it cute and even a little realistic. And who doesn't smile whenever she says "Tam!"? Ruthie Henshall has more emotion, yes, but Claire Moore had the better voice. Also, Gigi here does have a prettier voice than Isay Alverez.

The male cast, honestly, is the only thing that I dislike. Peter Coussens is a terrible Chris. His pronounciation is very distracting, and there isn't much emotion. I wasn't convinced that he really was in love with Kim, or Ellen... or really anybody. Thuy was usually good, but at other times he just lacked the passion that the role requires.

Hinton Battle deserves his own paragraph. The worst thing said about him so far is that he sounds drunk. Oh, it extends far beyond that. Hinton seemed to have forgotten that John is a Marine when he decided to perform the role like he just stepped out of performing RENT. Seriously, I could imagine him dancing around the stage with Angel. I couldn't even listen to him sing Bui Doi more than about three times.

Kevin Gray as the Engineer is about the same as Pryce; both of whose performances I wasn't terribly fond. Both have the greasiness downpat... but they don't really give much sympathy for the character. I didn't really love the Engineer until I saw him portrayed by Jon Jon Briones. However, if I had to choose between the two... Pryce's voice is more compelling, to steal someone's way of phrasing it.

All in all this album is good, but as someone else said, it could be better. I'll still listen to it because I love the songs that aren't on the original recording, but I still wish that they had used the original cast.