Search - Original Australian Cast Recording, Debbie Byrne, Andrew Lloyd Webber :: Cats - Original Australian Cast Recording - 1985

Third Time's the Charm

Karah | Louisville, KY, US of A | 08/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Australian Cast Recording of CATS was the third English recoding of the show to be made, and it is by far my favourite.



I own the Original Broadway Cast Recording, and I've head the majority of the Original London Cast Recording, but the Australian one has such a fresh, new sound and twist to the excellent songs. It is the only 'complete' recording. That is to say, it has both Growtiger's Last Stand AND The Aweful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles. Also, Mungojerrie (Mungo Jerrie) and Rumpleteazer (Rumpel Teazer) sing their own number, as opposed to Mistoffelees singing it.



Not only do the orchestrations pop, but the vocalists are amazing. Jellylorum has a posatively chipper and bright, young sound; Rumpleteazer (Rumpel Teazer) is absolutely adorable; Sillabub's voice is light and airy; Demeter is so clear and passionate; Grizabella is so strong and full of emotion; and Gus' blantant Aussie accent can't be beat.



Some might find the slight changes in character unsatisfactory. Old Deutueronomy has a very different sort of voice (though I quite liked it), and Bombalurina seems to have a bit of a different personallity than one would know from the UK, US, or video productions (but again, I liked her a lot).



The only character I didn't like was Mungojerrie (Mungo Jerrie). He seemed to sound a bit whiney. It wasn't horrid, though, honestly. He was very "vaudville." Quite interesting, but it didn't match Rumpleteazer (Rumpel Teazer) as it should have.



All in all, I posatively adore this recording. I concider myself to be a 'CATS fanatic,' and I can honestly say that it is the best English recording I've heard thus far, and it's worth every cent to purchase it."

Letting CATS out of this [mixed] bag

Yi-Peng | Singapore | 03/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CATS cast recording features the original Australian cast. As a recording, it seems to present a mixed bag with both merits and demerits in the mostly-excellent cast. Throughout this performance, it's good to know that the cast and orchestra are in pretty good form under Peter Casey's guiding hand, even if some of the cast members may not have ideal voices to portray their respective cat characters effectively. But what is particularly pleasing about this CD, apart from the inclusion of The Pekes and the Pollicles (an inexplicibly absent track from both the London and Broadway recordings) is the clarity of the recording quality, because of all the three major English recordings of CATS (exclusing the video), this one has the clearest, crispest and least muffled sound.Debbie Byrne makes a pretty good Grizabella, displaying just the right amount of melancholic qualities, strong will and determination to really win back the affections of the Jellicles. Though her voice may not be able to get into the role as effectively as Elaine Paige or Betty Buckley due to the excessive vibrato and slight tinge of whininess, she manages to get into the spirit of the role by giving a generally good performance of Memory, despite the extra climax at an "awkward" point in the song. As Old Deuteronomy, John Wood's voice may lack a certain sense of openness and sonority apparent in Ken Page's voice on the original Broadway cast. His voice sounds a little constrained, and lacking in richness. But his portrayal proves the potential experience he is about to gain through giving the role a sense of wisdom. The lower-level principals, Jeff Philips as Rum Tum Tugger and David Atkins as Mr. Mistoffelees tend to lack a certain liveliness and slickness in their portrayals, but at least they can cope with the demands of the score well enough. This is more apparent in Jeff Philips's Rum Tum Tugger because his Elton John-ish voice is not really that able to get into the role of the character as effectively as John Partridge or Terrence Mann. But, the superb minor cast features Anita Combe in a beautiful performance of Sillabub, and the up-and-coming Australian star Marina Prior as a sweet and innocent Jellylorum, alongside Gary Ginvan and Laura Bishop in their slightly stiff Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, and a slightly weak-voiced Munkastrap in Anthony O'Neefe.The star of the recording is Grant Smith in his triple-role of Bustopher Jones, Gus: the Theatre Cat and Growltiger. Of all the cast members, Grant seems to really get to the heart of each role and play it with feeling and character. His Bustopher Jones is particularly English in flavour, and his Gus is particularly melancholy, even if his Growltiger is a little tame. But he really proves that he can make a name for himself in these roles.On the whole, I would rate this CATS recording as a fairly good performance of the show. I know that this version may tend to sound pretty weak (it is after all a spongy-sounding recording), but I would say that this is as enjoyable as, if not more enjoyable than, the Broadway cast recording that really comes out on top. But this definitely shan't stop any CATS fan from grabbing this recording for his own listening.I would like to end off by saying that the atmosphere of this recording is like hearing the revised version of the score done in the spirit of the London recording."

One of the best Cats CD's out there

Karah | 09/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cast I rate better than the Broadway one. The voices are far better (with the exception of the U.S having Ken Page ^_~) Mungojerrie And Rumpleteazer was at a very high standard, the best version of it I have heard out of all the Cats CD's. Memory is sung beautifully, with a great Grizabella and an even BETTER Jemima. The U.S Jemima AKA Sillabub sounded weak, the Aussie Jemima sounds haunting...like she should do. This CD also includes "The Pekes And The Pollicles" The ONLY Engish OST to do so. Buy it, you WILL NOT be dissapointed!"