Customer Reviews

Saturday Night Fever (1998 Original London Cast)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As the title implies, there is nothing like the original Bee Gees version of their own songs. The cast does a fair version of each number (actually better on the stage than on this CD), but dang it, if those high notes just don't ring true. The new songs "Immortaliy", "What Kind Of Fool" and "It's My Neighborhood" are well-fitted and make up for any flaws, but it just seems to lack something. The true stage produciton also has several more songs than the CD allows (?). If you love stage production numbers, you'll enjoy this, but don't go seeking true Bee Gees - it's not all in the words!

Yes that's right! How can you possibly better the 2nd biggest group since the Beatles? The answer - you can't. There are no interesting arrangements here, just a load of pointless revamps, which change hardly anything except the voices. Which makes you wonder why the even bothered recording this CD in the first place!

Unfortunately, because the critics trashed the Broadway run of Saturday Night Fever, a Broadway recording was never made. Therefore we must settle on the London cast recording. However, I do not consider this purchase settling because it's just FANTASTIC. The voices are great. The music is great, and fun. The recording is super clear and you can hear the detail of every musical instrument used. My only complaint with the CD is most songs just fade out instead of ending as they did in the show. For some reason they didn't want to put the music written for the ending in the CD. My only guess was so because they wanted to leave the integrity of the songs intact and play what people know. If you like the sound of 3 men singing like women, this CD is not for you either. Lastly, if you know the show you will notice the tracks are out of order, in which they appeared in the show. This CD is great to listen to in the car. You find yourself singing along to familiar tracks. Wait till you hear track 6; Who's Sorry Now?, It's just incredible! I love this CD and highly recommend it to any Bee Gees fan and/or fan of the show and/or movie. Catch the Fever today before they are all sold out.

Being a huge fan of the movie, was very interested to see how the musical sounded. Bought this CD after finding out Adam Garcia was Tony Manero. I was blown away! Although different from the original Bee Gees recordings, the versions are fun, funky, have a good beat and are easy to dance to. My personal favorite is "Night Fever" followed closely by the duet "How Deep Is Your Love." A must for any Adam Garcia fan and a must for any Bee Gees/disco fan. You will truly enjoy it!

If, and that's a HUGE if, you're a Bee Gees fan, or a Donna Summer fan, then perhaps you would like Saturday Night Fever: The Musical. However, if you are a theatre afficionado who religiously listens to Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim, then back away from this atrocity. Having seen the show live, I must admit the choreography was incredible, however that was the only redeeming factor I picked out in it. The London recording is also a bit different than the Broadway/Tour run. While the vocal talents they chose for it are all right, it appears that they were hoping to ride on the pretty faces and familiar tunes for a Broadway hit. The ennunciation is also incredibly off, making many words hard to understand. The "plot" was incredibly weak, especially considering the writers had a movie to refer to, and at times I was wondering what purpose certain songs served in the plot. The incidents that occur (ie: Tony's brother leaving the ministry, Annette's affection for Tony) are never strongly connected, making for 5 or 6 subplots but never one strong central premise. I wouldn't reccomend this to a huge Broadway fan, given the hype that this has received, they might be scared that it set a precedent.

I saw Saturday Night Fever on Broadway and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The singing and dancing were really energizing. The London cast version, however, falls flat in comparison. It's not as spunky. If you were going to buy the CD in the hopes that it would be like the Broadway version, I would not suggest it. If you like the songs and want to hum along, then go for it.

I have seen the show 4 times in London and I have to say that the soundtrack is just fantastic! The original cast have moved on but Adam Garcia was a great singer and dancer in the show and encapsulated all that was Tony Manero. In my mind though nobody will ever beat Richard Calkin who played Monty. The song Disco fever does not do him justice but his acting did. A good alround cast soundtrack but lacking in 3 songs from the show (especially Disco Duck!). Great for all ages!

Hardly...
If you like broadyway go see the show but skip the recording...this ones not the inspiration that SNF was.
Bad vocals and a bland re-recording of orignals.
the only hope here stems from 'Immortality' a great Gibb song but wait for a better recording of it on some best of broadway cd.

OK, while the London Cast CD is decent and I'd rather have this than no recording of the show at all, this CD lacks A LOT and leaves much to be desired.

First of all, the orchestrations lack energy and are quite different than what you hear when you're at the show. It's almost as if the songs were edited down and changed for radio so that this doesn't even sound like a cast recording at all. WHY do the songs fade out at the end? Where is the strong chorus finish in "Stayin' Alive"?

Second of all, the songs aren't in the proper order! "Disco Inferno" is the last song on the disc and when you see the show, it's in the first act. "Stayin' Alive" and "Boogie Shoes" are in the proper order but after that, it's a mess!

Third, there are TOO MANY omissions! Where are "Disco Duck," "More Than A Woman," and most importantly "Nights On Broadway"? And it also would've been cool if they included "Open Sesame" and "Salsation."

Fourth, there's no Orfeh. And while Tara Wilkinson is a decent Annette, she can't even come CLOSE to the power that Orfeh had while singing "If I Can't Have You."

Overall, the cast is better than the German Cast Recording that was released a year after this London Cast, however, the orchestrations are MUCH stronger and better on the German version.

It's a complete shame that a Broadway cast CD was never recorded. There was SO MUCH talent in that cast, namely: Orfeh, Andy Karl, Jeanine Meyers, Jim Ambler, and Richard H. Blake. So, I guess this less than adequate London Cast CD will have to do.

This CD is great! I saw the show in New York a few months ago and it was wonderful, and so much fun! The voices on the CD are wonderful, and it's almost like a great cover or tribute album. You should definately get the original, it a staple to any music collection, but I listen to this a ton too, especially because it offers a nice Broadway-esque twist on the songs. I left off a star because it was missing a few good songs, like "Disco Duck," "More than a Woman" and "Nights on Broadway." You honestly can't sit still though when you listen to this album, especially the awesome version of "Disco Inferno."