Customer Reviews

The Very Best Of Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Broadway Collection

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This collection is great for those who are beginning to experience the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. I have grown up with some of the music, but there is quite a bit of it that I did not know. This album gives you a taste of each musical and will hopefully lead you on to the Soundtracks as it did for me. The album even includes a musical that is not well known: "By Jeeves." The title song that is included is so catchy, one cannot help but want to hear the rest of its soundtrack. From "Memory" to "Superstar" to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," this soundtrack includes the best of the best. For those just beginning to explore Broadway, this is a must have!

For a beginner, this CD introduced me to many of the Lloyd Webber musicals that I would grow to love. From Michael Crawford's passionate portrayal of the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera to Michael Ball's star-struck love ballads of Aspects of Love, to the surprising version of Close Every Door sung by Donny Osmond, this CD is perhaps the greatest of all the Andrew Lloyd Webber's Greatest Hits. However, I felt that Memory, the signature song from the longest running musical on Broadway, Cats, lacked attention, attention that was duly needed. The CD also lacked some selections from Starlight Express and Jesus Christ's emotional cry of Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say).

For a beginning enthusiast in musical theatre to the well-experienced veteran, this CD eliminates the hassle of carrying all of the original broadway albums and the terrible background snake-like hiss of recording onto cassettes. Buy Mr. Llyod Webber's music!

(Oh I almost forgot, for all you Streisand fans out there, the album includes her fabulous rendition of As if We Never Said Goodbye)

This CD is a great buy , value for money ! The songs are intelligently chosen , giving a broad insight into Webber's works, as well as maintaining a tempo throughout the album. The songs, needless to say , are astounding , haunting and melodious like the ones from The Phantom Of The Opera... or fast paced like the Cats numbers .... The fast changes in mood and harmony in the songs lend the inimitable Webber touch to this album . If you don't have this album, you are missing something !

The songs truly are his greatest, but I would've chosen different performers.

#1. Should have been from the Movie Soundtrack, Carl's version is immortal.
#2. It's Yvonne, it's her song, she's great.
#3. Sarah is great on Don't Cry For Me Argentia, wonderful epic song and Webber's most popular.
#4. Mandy Patinkin is one of the greatest male singers ever. This is my favorite song on this compilation. He has the most beautiful voice. Patti LuPone is good too.
#5. Betty Buckley's Eight Is Enough producer once told her she didn't have that good of a voice and she would never be a singer. I wonder if he's listened to this yet. She is nothing short if incredible.
#6. Terrence Mann: most unexpected musical actor ever and he is brilliant. Fun song.
#7. Just a beautiful song, I love this.
#8. Michael Ball in his signature song from Aspects of Love.
#9. It's The Phatnom of the Opera, I don't have to say anything else. Oh yeah, it's Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman too.

#10. The Music of the Night is Phantom's best song.
#11. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again is Sarah's best song from the Phantom Original Cast Recording.
#12. Any Dream Will Do is a good song but I hate Michael Damien. I just can't forget "Blue jean baby queen..."
#13. Close Every Door is a perfect song for Donnie and this is the show's best song.
14. I have to at least give Glenn credit for trying to do this show.
15. Sunset Boulevard is a great song, Alan has a powerful voice.

16. As If We Never Said Goodbye is great, but Barbara used it to build her ego in her back to Broadway show.
17. By Jeeves is the theme song from the great and fun musical no one heard of.
18. Gus: The Theatre Cat - The immortal, thought now dead John Gielgud. Truly a treasure.

This gets my highest recommendation.

This is THE CD to buy if you want an ALW CD. I grew up listening to the tape equivalent of this CD, so I guess I'm biased, but... I've listened to other compilations and the songs aren't as well known or fun to listen to.

Let's take it song by song:

1. Superstar - Murray Head - Love this song, but not as good as other versions.
2. I Don't Know How to Love Him - Yvonne Elliman - Great song, very fun to sing to. Yvonne is classic; she's got an amazingly weird but cool voice.
3. Don't Cry for Me Argentina - Sarah Brightman - What can I say? It's a great classic song.
4. High Flying, Adored - Patti Lu Pone - I love this song! It's so nice, especially with Patti LuPone, and Mandy's got quite a voice as well.
5. Memory - Betty Buckley - Amazing. Best version of this song that ever was and ever will be.
6. Mr. Mistoffelees - Fun song, can get a little repetitive and slightly annoying.
7. Pie Jesu - Sarah Brightman - Personally, I think this song is boring. Sorry. Blame my short attention span.
8. Love Changes Everything - Michael Ball - A catchy, wonderful song from a little known musical called Aspects of Love.
9. Phantom of the Opera - Sarah Brightman - Gotta have your classic Phantom of The Opera!
10. Music of the Night - Michael Crawford - Great song, Michael's got an awesome voice.
11. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again - Sarah Brightman - Not my favorite song, but very nicely sung.
12. Any Dream Will Do - Michael Damian - Okay, I'll admit that Donny Osmond's version of this is better. But hey, it's different.
13. Close Every Door - Donny Osmond - Well, what can I say? It's the only version of the song worth listening to, I think.
14. With One Look - Glenn Close - This is a beautiful song from the best musical EVER. Fun to sing along with.
15. Sunset Boulevard - Alan Campbell - This is the most amazing song ever. This guy has such a powerful, emotional voice.
16. As If We Never Said Goodbye - Barbra Streisand - The best version of this song out there, in my opinion.
17. By Jeeves - A fun and annoyingly catchy song.
18. Gus: The Theater Cat- Sarah Brightman - Ugh, this is the only song on the CD that truly bores me. I guess that's why they made it the last track, huh?

All in all, this CD is amazing and you'll fall in love with some of these songs, even if you've never seen the musicals that they come from!

This CD is great for classic Broadway music! Pie Jesu is beautiful...I Don't Know How to Love Him is great...Love Vhanges Everything is really good, too. Plus it has classics like "Memory" and "Phantom of the Opera"

This Broadway Collection of Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes is the best I've found. It contains a wide selection of songs from many of Webber's most popular and beloved theatre productions. As an added bonus (compared with other collections I've come across), the songs are performed by the artists we associate with them. For example, "Memory" from "Cats" is sung by the incomparable Betty Buckley. Another fine example is "Phantom of the Opera" dueted by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. Barbra Streisand even makes an appearance with "As If We Never Said Goodbye." This is a fantastic collection with something for everyone!

Andrew Lloyd Webber is quite possibly one of the greatest composers of our time, with over 30 musicals to his credit. In 1982, he became the only composer in history to have 3 musicals running simultaniously on Broadway and London's West End (the shows were Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Starlight Express). Even though I have never seen one of Webber's shows, I have been blessed by his beautiful music. Even though much of his great work is left off of this CD (the only reason it lost a star), much great work is included. If you enjoy musicals, this CD is a must-have!

This is the best mid-priced Andrew Lloyd Webber collection I could find. Just one disc, it covers nearly thirty years of Webber's musicals. All the shows you'd expect are represented. The most memorable songs are included, usually taken from original cast recordings. The selections are organized chronologically and with their shows. It's not very complete, if you're a hardcore Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. There are more expensive sets for the collector. This is just an overview. I'm not a Broadway expert, so this CD suited me just fine. It wasn't too expensive and it had all the hits I was looking for. Other small collections (one or two discs) had different versions of the songs (from revival casts, I guess), which I didn't like as much. I just wanted an inexpensive overview of Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest hits (instead of buying the entire Cats recording just for "Memory" and "Mr. Mistoffelees", or the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat recording for "Any Dream Will Do"). This album was right for me and if you just want a song or two from each show, it could be right for you.

[Note: I bought this with Ultimate Broadway, which is a pretty good 2-disc overview of Broadway in general. That CD features a few Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, including versions of "Memory" and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" that differ from the ones on this CD. Together the two CDs make for a good general survey of Broadway musicals for the novice or casual fan.]

This is a fabulous CD. I got it for Christmas from my friend, and it is probably the best Andrew Lloyd Webber album out there. Get it if you can! END