Customer Reviews

Oliver!: The 1994 London Palladium Cast Recording

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What is there left unsaid to say about this great recording? I just found out that my high school will be performing Oliver next year, so I thought I would have to purchase a cast recording of the show. I was not sure whether or not I should get the Original Broadway Cast or the 1994 London Cast. Well, after reading the reviews for this CD I decided to purchase this one. Let me start off the review by saying that this is one of the most well casted shows I have come across in a long while. Jonathan Pryce's Fagin is excellent. He is dark yet playful and Sally Dexter's Nancy is magnificent. I especially like her songs "It's a Fine Life" and "I'll Do Anything". All of the orphans do a great job. Artful Dodger is great, forgive me I forget his name, he is one of the best I have heard. The rest of the supporting cast is beyond comparison. They blow everyone else away.

Another thing I really like about this recording as opposed to the Original Broadway Cast is that the tempo is peppier and in my opinion this makes listening to this CD much more enjoyable. The tempo keeps the songs and storyline going. Please invest in this CD, it is magical.

This recording has a lot of pep and energy and feeling -- the characters all seem to come to life and you can sense that the cast put their hearts into their perfomance. Bill Sikes certainly sounds scary and mean; Fagin is delightfully sneaky; and the Artful Dodger is boyish, wild, and clever. Sally Dexter is wonderfully cast as Nancy and she can go from brash to mellow, depending on the mood of the song (her "As Long As He Needs Me" is quite moving and full of emotion). And for me (an American) the saucy Cockney accents are delighftul!

The only problem I have with this recording is the boy who plays Oliver. He has a good Broadway voice, but he sounds like a little adult -- vibrato everywhere -- and he just does not sound like the innocent, wide-eyed child Oliver was supposed to be. I also think he goes a little flat sometimes (because of the excessive vibrato). Nevertheless, he has a nice, strong voice, and after you get used to it you may even start to like it.

Overall, this is a first-class recording of an exciting musical full of good music -- and an excellent cast.

This is a great recording of "Oliver!" Everyone sings incredibly! Gregory Bradley is an excellent Oliver, and Adam Searles is awesome as Dodger. But then, he was awesome as Gavroche, too. Jenny Galloway is perfect for the part of Widow Corney (and for Mme Thénardier in Les Mis). I'd say those three are the best in the cast, but the others are great too. Jenny Galloway and James Saxon are hilarious in "I Shall Scream." Sally Dexter's rendering of "As Long as He Needs Me" and the following scene on the London Bridge left me in tears--and that was just from listening to the CD!

In short, this is an excellent recording of an excellent, though heartbreaking, musical. Get it!

I recently took my three oldest grandchildren to see the show "Oliver". Usually, when I take them to a show, I buy the CD from the soundtrack so I can familiarize them with the music. The show we went to was a revival with a semi-professional cast with no CD available. I went onto Amazon to find one to purchase. After listening to samplings that were available through Amazon I decided on the 1994 revival in London's Palladium. It is wonderful!!! ...except that my grandchildren are driving me crazy everytime they come. They each have their favorite songs from the show and they play them over and over again! I love having the ability of listening to different CD's.

Thanks Amazon!!

If you are seeking a copy of the Oliver! Soundtrack, this is the one you want to go for. The 1994 London Palladium production took the original 1960 production and gave it a energetic and colorful makeover, from the ambitious, impressive sets and costumes to the vastly expanded and skillfully re-orchestrated score, complete with a few alterations by original composer Lionel Bart himself before his death in 1999. It has been described as a "Les Mizzed" version of Oliver!, one that takes a classic standard musical that has been performed in every school gymnasium and community playhouse, and gives it a fresh update that excels professionally in all areas. The performances are among the best out of all the various cast recordings, and combined with the dynamic and rich new orchestrations, it makes the album the best choice for anyone either getting involved in their own production, or simply any fan of classic musicals.

My high school is just putting on Oliver this year,and I got the part of Mr. Sowerberry and Mr. Brownlow..and this was the only cd that had my song, "That's Your Funeral", so it's the best! LOL, but also this one is very peppy and upbeat! "Consider Yourself" is one of the best versions along with "Who Will Buy"! Fagin, Nancy, and Sykes are all the best ones I've heard at all! This one is definite a great update to the old one! Must buy!

MY OPINION I THINK SALLY DEXTER DID A AWESOME JOB AS NANCY. I ENJOYED HER SINGING TREMEDOUSLY OVER THE BROADWAY NANCY. (SORRY I DON'T KNOW HER NAME. JUST LISTENING TO THE CD I JUST FEEL THAT THE SHOW WAS TERRIFIC.

"please, sir, i want some more" that's what i said after hearing this amazing cd. the fantastic music, sound, and lyrics made this cd to be one of the best one i have. songs like: "consider yourself", "you've got to pick apocket or two", "oom-pah-pah" and more are extraordinary beautiful,but what makes this cd a musical delightful is the quality of the preformance. the wonderful singing and "acting" of the songs, and the order of the song takes us into the story what makes this cd more than just a songs cd, but an entire show. all the thing mentioned abouve and more make this cd the master-piece it is. what more can i say but- enjoy!

I love this Cd! Its super! But the best part about it is that Adam Searles is Dodger! He has a great vocie and he is perfect for this part! He was also great in Les Mis as Gavroche! I love him! You should buy this Cd not only because it is a great musical,but because Adam searles is Dodger!

...that adam searles is alone reason enough to buy this c.d.