Search - Alain Boublil :: Martin Guerre (1999 UK Tour Cast)

Amazing!

11/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Martin Guerre since hearing the 1996 recording last year. That was the recording I fell in love with, and so I was a little sceptical to hear this new version. I knew that the show had gone through a ton of changes and wasn't sure that I would like that. And on first listen of the '99 CD, I didn't. But after a while it started to grow on me. The performers are all much better than the majority of performers on the OLC. Sure, Jérôme Pradon's Guillaume on the OLC was amazing, but Maurice Clarke is almost as great! And Matt Cammelle is 10,000 times better than Iain Glen! I miss some of the old songs like "Welcome Home" with all its exuberance and "Me", which although it is essentially "Who?", is a much better song. But the new show has numbers like "Live With Somebody You Love" that just blow you away. After I got used to the new recording and started, I believe, to like it even more than the old, I still missed the energy of the OLC. It seemed to be missing that vitality that had really made me fall in love with the show. But after having seen Martin Guerre in Minneapolis this past weekend, I've found that the new version really is as full of life as the old - it just wasn't translated quite as well to the recording. The one complaint that I really have about both recordings is that they don't include enough music! There are some great pieces in the show that are not on either recording, and I wish that there was a more complete one. Two bits in particular are "Dear Louison" and "Benoit's Lament", both of which are wonderful songs not included on the '99 CD. Benoit is very much a crowd favorite - it seems strange that they would only include one of his songs("Who?") on the latest recording. Overall, the '99 recording is absolutely amazing - wonderful singers and beautiful music. But the show is 100 times more astounding in person!"

Better as a CD than as a live show

Kevin B | Charlotte, NC | 02/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Martin Guerre on tour in December, 1999. It was acted well, but I could barely stay awake in the first act. I found the second act much more compelling, but the story was choppily laid out, the musical similarities to Miss Saigon and Les Miserables were too distracting and the "bigness" of too many of the musical pieces was overwhelming. One song, however, made me want to listen to the music again. The reprise of "Live With Somebody You Love" was worth the ticket price. It was very powerful, compelling and wrought with emotion (the performer seemed to have saved himself for that one number). When I ordered the CD of the London Cast, I was disappointed to find that the reprise doesn't seem to be the same version as performed in the show I saw. If it is, then I can't explain why it doesn't have a strong impact on me. Happily, the first version of the song on the CD is very pleasing, moving and sung well. I listen to it over and over. You'll do the same if you like to sing the "big" male lead songs in shows. Even better, all of the music seems better listening to it on the CD than seeing it performed in the show. I can just imagine an orchestra, soloists and choir performing this to enthusiastic audiences. Where the music was too often "big" on stage, the same affect isn't felt when just listening to it without dialogue. Plus, the story is not lost by cutting the dialogue. Some of the more poignant songs also come across better on the CD; I love the duet of "Don't". It's a shame that the show wasn't developed well enough for Broadway success (the overwrought version I saw doesn't deserve to go to Broadway, anyway), but I am glad to have the CD in my Broadway collection."

Not Bad.

Ben Fink | 12/30/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The music was well done, but after hearing the American cast at the Kennedy Center with Erin Dilly, Hugh Panaro and Stephen R. Buntrock, I am not sure I can listen to the CD again with as much enjoyment. If you're simply a fan of the musical itself, then go for it. In the grand scheme, it isn't bad. Otherwise, wait to see if another version with the American cast emerges."