Search - Various Artists :: Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording

Awesome Tribute to the Greatest Musical of All Time

Muscial Man | PA | 12/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this recording of my all-time favorite musical. The orchestra really makes this recording soar, as I saw the show on tour with a smaller one. The entire recording, for the most part, sounds terrific. Gary Morris is not my favorite Valjean, but he makes "Bring Him Home" his own in a wonderful way. Philip Quast is unbeatable as Javert, as are Michael Ball and Anthony Warlow in their roles as Marius and Enjorlas (Michael Ball is so my hero!!!). My only complaint with this recording is the version of "A Little Fall of Rain". Eponine's voice, which is awesome throughout the whole recording, is AWFUL during this song, and it really ruins the song. Other than that, a wonderful recording!"

A mixed bag

M. Rebus | NJ, USA | 02/20/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The most obvious reason to get the Symphonic Recording is to have the entire show on CD. This album is really for the most devoted Les Mis junkies. I particularly like Javert's Intervention, which acts as an introduction to my favorite song, Stars. Aside from the completeness of the album, there are two other highlights for me. One is Anthony Warlow, who is the best singer to play Enjolras. Maguire's Enjolras is also stirring, but Warlow is more talented. The second highlight is the Orchestra. It probably has the best orchestra out of all four recordings, although the tenth anniversary concert comes close.



Now onto the rest of the cast. This is Philip Quast's first recording, and he is superior to Terrence Mann and Roger Allam. He would only get better on the Tenth Anniversary Concert. Michael Ball gives another respectable performance as Marius. Then why am I only giving this three stars? Aside from the cast members just mentioned, the rest of the cast is inferior to their counterparts on the other three albums. Gary Morris isn't a very good Jean Valjean, and Kaho Shimada is the worst Eponine. As others have pointed out, she is not singing in her native language so her performance is nothing special. She memorized her lines phonetically. I would like to hear her sing in Japanese. But Gay Soper as Madam Thenardier is truly terrible. I can't stand her. Her one line in Javert's intervention makes me cringe. Thenardier over does it sometimes but he's more tolerable than his wife. I don't particularly care for Debbie Byrne on this album, she sounds like she has a frog in her throat at times. Tracy Shayne's Cosette is OK, but nothing compared to Judy Khun or Rebecca Caine.



Overall I consider this album to be a good supplement to the Tenth Anniversary Concert, to fill in the gaps so to speak. This is not the quintessential Les Miserables album by any means though.

"

Best musical ever

mountainmom | Tooele, UT | 03/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first fell in love with Les Miserables when I was high school, after I heard the song "On My Own." I have gone through probably 5 cassettes and CD's by now in one version or another. I enjoy this musical so much I think I don't have a strong preference for which version I am listening to, other than this recording doesn't leave out anything, so it is the one I prefer. For those who really love this musical, this recording is worth getting!"