Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Stephen Sondheim, Edmund Lyndeck, Ken Jennings, Merle Louise, Victor Garber, Len Cariou, Sweeney Todd (Related Recordings), Angela Lansbury | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000002W7E
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,611 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sondheims 2nd Masterpiece, July 22, 2006

By 

Tom George (Wash. DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

An American classic, one of the greats, though I feel that Follies is Sondheims greatest acheivement, this is a close second. Saw a preview performance, then saw it again shortly after the opening. Several changes had been made, all for the better. The Flagellation Song had been removed, mercifully. It's been restored in subsequent productions, and always at the audiences discomfort. ?? Anyway, the original production was huge, in sets, performances and music, and it was grand in every sense of the word. Classic performances by Lansbury (one of maybe 3 of the great broadway actresses of all time) and Cariou.
As the other reviewers have already stated, this CD makes you want the complete recording. However, I enjoy this CD when I don't have the time or concentration to listen to the entire score.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have seen the world beheld it's wonders, and this is one, April 28, 2000

By 

Donald (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

This is an absolutly amazing score. It is a once haunting, lush, lean, beautiful, moving, witty, and generally brilliant. Though some may bemoan the omissions for the highlights CD, this is still 73 minuits of great music, and the underscore music cna be tedious, as can "Green Finch and Linnett Bird" (a song I was not sad to see missing from the highlights CD.) This CD still has Landbury's and Cariu's stellar permormances and the true classics such as "Johanna," "Have a Little Priest," "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," "Pretty Women," and "Not While I'm Around." And to make things better, there is not a bad song on this CD. It may be missing some dialogue and the Judges Flagilation scene (a scene that I believe to missing from the video, though I could be wrong), but it is still amazing complete- to the point where one can easily follow the plot.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless, May 29, 2006

By 

Stephanie Hoffman "Miss Hoffman" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

Angela Lansbury is clearly the best Mrs. Lovett, her interpretation is on the dot. She is absolutely bone chilling. Len Cariou's strong baritone is thrilling and his portrayal of Todd is right on the dot. The only downer of this recording is the fact there is no Green Finch and Linnet Bird, a great modern aria sung by Johanna. This, in my oppinion, is Stephen Sondheim's best musical. The orchestration is one of Sondheim's most complex, his counterpoint is awe-inspiring. If you plan on getting this CD, don't. Get the complete original cast! You simply must hear it in its intirety.