Gold [Import]

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Composer), Anthony Bowles (Conductor), Harry Rabinowitz (Conductor), Lorin Maazel (Conductor), David Caddick (Conductor), Michael Reed (Conductor), John Mauceri (Conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Yvonne Elliman (Performer), Julie Covington (Performer), David Essex (Performer), Marti Webb (Performer), Elaine Paige (Performer), Paul Miles-Kingston (Performer), Sarah Brightman (Performer), Steve Harley (Performer), Cliff Richard (Performer), Michael Crawford (Performer), Michael Ball (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Yvonne Elliman, Julie Covington, David Essex, Marti Webb, Elaine Paige, et al.
• Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Anthony Bowles, Harry Rabinowitz, Lorin Maazel, David Caddick, Michael Reed, et al.
• Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Audio CD (January 1, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal Import
• ASIN: B00005YNAL
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #379,606 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Superstar - Murray Head, Trinidad Singers

2. I Don't Know How to Love Him - Yvonne Elliman

3. Don't Cry for Me Argentina - Julie Covington

4. Oh What a Circus - David Essex

5. Take That Look Off Your Face - Marti Webb

6. Memory - Elaine Paige

7. Pie Jesu - Sarah Brightman, Paul Miles-Kingston

8. Phantom of the Opera - Sarah Brightman, Steve Harley

9. All I Asky of You - Sarah Brightman, Cliff Richard

10. Music of the Night - Michael Crawford

11. Love Changes Everything - Michael Ball

12. Any Dream Will Do - Jason Donovan

13. Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life) - Sarah Brightman, José Carreras

14. Perfect Year - Dina Carroll

15. As If We Never Said Goodbye - Barbra Streisand

16. You Must Love Me - Madonna

17. Whistle Down the Wind - Tina Arena

18. No Matter What - Boyzone

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LLOYD WEBBER'S BEST OF IN A SINGLE DISC, January 6, 2005

By	Marijan Bosnar "(the historian)" (Croatia) - See all my reviews

There are numerous compilations out on the market full of Lloyd Webber's music. As most people know, Lloyd Webber is the most successful musical composer of all time and many of his songs became standards not only in the theatre history, but also as tops on the charts. This is the compilation Lloyd Webber personally supervised and it is the best thing to have if you can't afford his five-CD compilation called "Now and forever", which was selected and supervised by him as well. You should bear in mind, however, that there are two compilations called Gold out there: This one is for the British and the European market. There is another one, issued later and digitally remastered, aimed at the American buyers and although some songs are repeated on both of them, they contain different songs or the same songs sung by different artists. Therefore you should check your favourites and buy accordingly, or, if you can, buy them both.

So here are my thoughts about the tracks in this one:

1. "Superstar" and "I don't know how to love him" are both from the concept album of "Jesus Christ Superstar". They sound wonderful as ever.

2. "Don't cry for me Argentina" is beautifully performed by Julie Covington, who was Evita at the 1976 concept album. She sounds like Madonna, only much better and the London philharmonics are the best orchestra ever used in this song. David Essex sings "Oh what a circus" with a strong voice, in my view, much better than Mandy Patinkin.

3. From "Tell me on a Sunday" we have "Take that look of your face" sung by Marti Webb. This studio version blends perfectly Marti's voice and the strong back vocals.

4."Memory" from "Cats" is probably the most famous of all Webber's songs, recorded by numerous artists. The one here is from the London cast recording, sung by Elaine Paige. I love Elaine's version very much, but this one is not the definite one. Her best rendition of this song, with the much matured voice, can be heard in "Cats" DVD or in her latest two-disc compilation, "Centre stage: The very best of Elaine Paige", issued in May 2004.

5. "Pie Jesu" is the best known song from Webber's "Requiem". Sarah Brightman is joined by a young boy soprano Paul Miles-Kingston in this solemn deliverance. Very pretty.

6. "The Phantom of the Opera" is represented by three songs in their single versions. In the song of the same title, we have Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley sounding very appropriate, although my favourite will always be the one with Sarah and Michael Crawford, which can be found on the American version of this compilation. Cliff Richard and Sarah sing the lovely ballad "All I ask of you" with passion, and Cliff has a wonderful warmth in his voice. Finally, Michael Crawford gives his unique and mesmerising interpretation in "The music of the night".

7. "Aspects of love" boast here with its top song, "Love changes everything", performed wonderfully by Michael Ball. It was his #1 hit and is probably one of the most beautiful love anthems ever written.

8. "The Joseph and his amazing Technicolor dreamcoat" was Webber's first musical and the signature song "Any dream will do" is performed here by Jason Donovan with a youthful warmness. Wonderful pop piece.

9. For the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Webber wrote, together with his long-time lyricist Don Black, this next song, "Amigos para siempre or Friends for life". It's a nice duet between Sarah Brightman and Jose Carreras, their voices are a perfect fit. The melody itself is neat, especially when the orchestra takes the lead.

10. "Sunset Boulevard" is marked here with two songs. Barbra Streisand's powerful voice shines all the way through in "As if we never said goodbye"; it's a shame she never played Norma Desmond on Broadway, since Patti LuPone wasn't allowed to take her Norma to New York, and Glenn Close butchered the role. "The perfect year" is here in its single version, sung splendidly by Dina Carroll, and it sounds much better with this orchestration than in the show on stage.

11. As we approach the end, we have an Academy Award winner, that is, "You must love me" with Madonna, from the 1996 movie version of "Evita". This is another wonderful ballad with the haunting cello and piano solo. It just proves that Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were the best collaborators. They really should do another musical together.

12. The last two songs are from "Whistle down the wind". The first song has the same title and it's a pop single performed by Tina Arena. She has a really strong voice and the drums and guitars here are a well made combination. Boyzone's "No matter what" was a huge pop hit in the charts. Again, we have a song with the suitable orchestrations and vocals.

All in all, this CD is a must have for all the Webber fans. It works well as the background music or on the headphones. The booklet contains some pictures and an introductory text. The sound quality is excellent. Every song here really is a pure gold.

5.0 out of 5 stars love this cd, February 1, 2010

By	Tim "music lover" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I am new to this style of music I found this cd at the library not even knowing who Andrew Lloyd Webber is or ever seeing any of the musicals that these songs are from, but I love music and absolutely love this CD I listen to it all the time and never get tired of it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Webber's best, July 4, 2002

By	"jackiesdog" (Sonora, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This CD is subtitled "The Definitive Hit Singles Collection." And that it is. Eighteen tracks include the best known Webber hits. Julie Covington does "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina." If you haven't heard the other side of the Evita story, you need to hear David Essex's "Oh What a Circus," an answer to "Don't Cry . . ." Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley do "The Phantom of the Opera," and Michael Crawford does "The Music of the Night." Barbra Streisand does "As if We Never Said Goodbye," Michael Ball does "Love Changes Everything," Marti Webb does "Take That Look Off Your Face," and Madonna does "You Must Love Me." The rest of the album is not filler; is top notch Webber, truly a collection of hit singles.