Customer Reviews

Miss Saigon (Original 1989 London Cast)

5 star:		(107)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

To follow up on their first musical, 'Les Miserables', Alain Boublil
and Claude-Michel Schonberg created another absolute masterpiece in
'Miss Saigon'. Like 'Les Mis', 'Miss Saigon' presents listeners with
an array of inspiring music and lyrics which appeal to their senses
and emotions. Every song in the score is worth listening to for its
meaning, symbolism and beauty. Set in the Vietnam War, 'Miss Saigon'
follows the love-story between a young girl, Kim (played by Lea
Salonga), and an American GI, Chris (played by Simon Bowman), yet ends
tragically due to the events which occur around the two
protagonists.

After viewing Lea Salonga's performance in 'Hey! Mr
Producer', I bought this version of 'Miss Saigon', later buying the
1995 Studio Cast. Salonga's performance on this album; with her
beautifully precise voice and way of creating emotional energy,
captures the spirit of the innocent, yet strong-willed, Kim perfectly,
especially in the duet "The Movie in My Mind". Her solo
performances in the songs; "I'd Give My Life For You" and
"The Sacred Bird" reveal the passion that Kim feels for her
son, Tam, and Chris. Yet, it is Salonga who brings this character to
life with her fantastic voice. Joanna Ampil's performance in the 1995
Studio Cast is equally brilliant, but Salonga just cannot be
beaten.

The character of Chris is admired at the beginning of the
musical, but toward the end a negative view is held of him, as he
chooses his new wife, Ellen (played by Claire Moore), over Kim. Simon
Bowman does an incredible job in portraying Chris, with his nicely
ranged and emotional voice. His performance of "Why God
Why?" is awe-inspiring. Not counting David Campbell's portrayal
of Chris in "Hey! Mr Producer", Bowman is the best Chris I
have heard to date, Peter Cousins (1995 Studio Cast) simply cannot
compete with him. I find that Cousins pronounces his words to well,
and therefore cannot create the realism which surrounds the American
GI. Bowman's American accent is very realistic, Cousins' is not. The
duets performed by Salonga and Bowman as Kim and Chris are beautiful
and are performed with great passion, especially in "Sun and
Moon", and "The Last Night of the World"; two truly
lovely songs. But Bowman's best performance in the musical, in my
opinion, is in the song "Confrontation" with Ellen and
Chris, where Chris sings: "Saigon was crazed, but she was real
And for one moment I could feel." This performance by Bowman is
deeply inspiring.

Kim's pimp, known as the Engineer, is played
outstandingly by Johnathon Pryce. Pryce portrays the seedy, comical
character with great enthusiasm. Although, the listeners should hate
him, I found that I felt sorry for him in parts due to the sad life he
has lived. That is what Boublil and Schonberg do, to create greater
realism and appeal to the emotions of the listeners. Every character
has faults, there are moments when you hate them and moments where you
pity them, a brilliant technique used by Boublil & Schonberg to
create realism. Kevin Gray's portrayal of the Engineer in the 1995
Studio Cast is also a brilliant performance, yet Pryce has a
wonderfully compelling voice, especially in the songs "If You
Want To Die In Bed", "What A Waste" and the fantastic
"The American Dream", and therefore I believe that his
performance is better.

The character of Ellen is one which can be
hated or admired. She is the character which destroys the dreams of
Kim. Claire Moore portrays Ellen quite well, although I believe that
Ruthie Henshall performs the character better in the 1995 Studio
Cast. Yet Claire's performance of the song "Now That I've Seen
Her" is powerfully beautiful. The duets between Kim and Ellen are
also performed beautifully by Salonga and Moore; "I Still
Believe", and "Room 317", two extremely powerful
songs.

Peter Polycarpou's portrayal of John, Chris' GI friend, is
the best I've heard. Although the 1995 Studio Cast's John, Hinton
Battle, performs well enough, his voice is just not fitting,
especially for the power and emotion required for the song
"Bui-Doi". The beautiful duet, "Please", between
John and Kim is also performed amazingly by Polycarpou and Salonga on
this album.

The antagonist of "Miss Saigon" is found in
Kim's cousin, Thuy, played by Keith Burns. Burns has quite a powerful
voice, and the viciousness he displays in the songs "What's This
I Find" and "This is the Hour" are really rather
effective in terrifying listeners. I think that he portrays Thuy
better than Charles Azulay (1995 Studio Cast), because he puts more
emotion into his performance.

The company numbers of "The
Heat Is On In Saigon" and "The Fall of Saigon", as well
as "This is the Hour" are performed brilliantly. These songs
are extremely good-listening.

'Les Miserables' cannot be beaten
musically or lyrically, but Boublil and Schonberg have come close with
'Miss Saigon'. If this album was complete like the 1995 Studio Cast,
then this album would be perfect. Even so, I would buy this album just
to hear the beautiful score as well as the brilliant talents of Lea
Salonga and Simon Bowman.

Easily the most touching and beautiful recording of Miss Saigon ever. Lea Salonga is infallible as Kim - the emotional strength and innocent hope she portrays leaves her voice etched in one's mind. Simon Bowman is amazing as Chris..."Why, God, Why?" is one of the most beautiful tracks. Peter Polycarpou's rendition of "Bui-Doi" is probably my favorite track...it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Jonathan Pryce is the epitome of sleazy business...sorta reminds me of Joel Grey's 'Emcee' from Cabaret...hah. Except sometimes, after hearing about his life, you can pity him.
Claire Moore's duet with Salonga ("I Still Believe") is heartbreaking, especially since we know that Chris has since married, but Kim still believes he'll return...
Keith Burns is a convincing Thuy. His voice brings character with it, and fits absolutely perfectely in "What's This I Find?" Also, his counterpoint with Salonga in "This Is The Hour" can easily send chills up your spine, same as Salonga and Polycarpou's duet in "Please".
Other Notable Tracks - "The Morning of the Dragon" is a very strong track, I personally think its one of the best. "The American Dream" makes a wonderful mockery of our system...its absolutely ingeneous. "Sun and Moon" is gorgeous, as is "Last Night Of The World"...and "The Sacred Bird" never fails to bring me to tears. I also love "The Telephone Song", Polycarpou also shines in this one.
I could go on and on...
In fact, this isn't a single track on this CD that isn't good.

One Warning, though...some of these tracks have some pretty foul language, especially "The Heat Is On In Saigon", however, that doesn't change the fact that its a great song :P

So to sum it up:

DON'T PASS UP THIS RECORDING!!!

This is a very powerful and touching musical. I'm not surprised that this has become the 6th longest-running production in Broadway history.

Although I would have preferred listening to a "current version" recording with the original London cast in it, this will do. No one will ever beat Lea Salonga - who's done all versions (London and the original & revised Broadway versions) -- in her portrayal of Kim!

longest-running musical in Broadway history!

Powerful music, moving story, and best of all, first-rate performances from a superb cast. This (NOT the Studio Cast Recording) is THE definitive recording of this wonderful musical.

Believe it or not I almost passed on a chance to see this fantastic musical. I am so glad I didn't. This is the first musical that actually made me cry more than once (I think I spent most of the second act in tears). After leaving I knew I had to get the soundtrack and this one is amazing. You can really feel the emotion in their voices. I highly recommend this cd to anyone who enjoys great love stories along with great music.

This musical, penned by two amazing musical geniuses, is unparalleled in feeling, emotion, and striking the right tone about a very turbulent period in my generation's history. The story is a love story, a tragedy, and a telling indictment of the 70's American dream all in one. But, above all, it contains some of the most beautiful melodies and lyrics, as well as a remarkably haunting song in "Bui Doi". The several duets sang by Simon Bowman and Lea Salonga are so beautiful and even magical. The original cast did a remarkable job bringing the words and music to life. I saw this show shortly after it opened in 1989 in London and have listened to the music regularly since then. Of the 75+ musicals I have seen in my life, this is one of the 3 best. I recommend this soundtrack to everyone who enjoys show music and "Bui Doi" as one of the most haunting and emotional songs I have ever heard.

This is a CD to treasure it's passionate, personal,sad, beautiful, and it will even give you chills. From peppy upbeat songs (The Heat is on In saigon, The American Dream), to stunning ensemble numbers (This is The Hour, The Fall of Saigon) to beautiful forein language songs (The Ceremony)and stirring Ballads (Why God?, I'd give my Life for you, Now that I've seen her)Each song brings something new and amazing! Jonathon Pryce is pitch-perfect in the portrayal of the Engineer the Sleazy pimp, the fixer. He is at times hilarious, and at sometimes Pitiful (but the American Dream is his showstopping number!)LEA SALONGA IS Kim!!! There's not another actress who could be better! Her words are so true, honest, and beautiful (her voice soars in i'd give my life for you, and you can feel her pain in Sacred Bird)even though she's only an actress, she makes you feel so much for Kim, that you wanna rush out and save her! she is brilliant! Simon Bowman (Chris) is very good (but can't match Lea) sometimes he sounds sounds like he's overacting, but his perfect amazing redition of Why God is one of the best numbers of the show, but you can feel his pain in the finale. Claire Moore(Ellen) gives a performance to be admired, she holds all the
emotion of meeting Kim, to herself, but has to give in and express her pain (in her absolutely stunning rendition of Now that I've seen her). Sometimes the role of Ellen can come off as mean, but She brings humanity, suffering and a great deal of kindness to her role. Peter Polycarpou is great as activist John. He is real! Bui doi, is a very good number for him to sing out his considerable stuff! I especailly like his quite, but painfully torn duet with Kim in Please. Keith Burns (Thuy) doesn't do much, but has a good voice, and is a believable creep, who had it comin'! The Bar Girls, and the Ensemble are very good too! Other Great Numbers Include: The Last Nite of The World, Sun and Moon, The Morning of the Dragon, I Still Believe and the Movie in My mind! This is like a movie in your Mind! I can sum this CD up in 3 words: a-Maz-Ing!

I recommend this to everyone who enjoys musicals. Avid fans of the show as well as those who are casual listeners will surely enjoy this. There are lots of great and catchy songs in here. I particularly like Sun and Moon and I Still Believe. Lea Salonga was fantastic definitely the stand out among the singers. Her voice is just sweet particularly in the beginning of Sun and Moon (You are sunlight and I moon, joined by the gods of fortune...) Uhh, her voice just fits perfectly in that song. As for Simon Bowman, I'm a little annoyed by his voice. But still its fine. Jonathan Pryce didn't do much singing but you can feel the sarcasm in his voice. Other notable songs: The Last Night of the world (of course), Movie in My Mind, Please, I'd Give My life For You, Bui-doi, The Fall of Saigon (you cant help but just want to see what's happening in the song) Buy this, you're guaranteed hours of musical pleasure. Grade= A

No one beats Lea Salonga in doing Kim. She was fantastic when she recorded this when she was only 18, but she was just downright amazing when she closed the show on Broadway more than a decade later. What a treat!

One of the best musicals ever produced, featuring one of the greatest musical theater actresses (Lea Salonga) to ever grace the stage!