Andrew Lloyd Webber - Gold: The Definitive Hits Collection
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Artist: Andrew Lloyd WebberEdition: Music CD
Format: Cast Recording, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-05-07
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
- Superstar - Murray Head
- As If We Never Said Goodbye - Barbra Streisand (Sunset Boulevard)
- The Phantom Of The Opera - Sarah Brightman
- You Must Love Me - Madonna
- Any Dream Will Do - Donny Osmond
- Memory - Betty Buckley
- Pie Jesu - Charlotte Church
- The Music Of The Night - Michael Crawford
- I Don't Know How To Love Him - Yvonne Elliman
- Don't Cry For Me Argentina - Patti LuPone
- Love Changes Everything - Michael Ball
- All I Ask Of You - Sarah Brightman
- The Perfect Year - Glenn Close
- The Vaults Of Heaven - Tom Jones
- No Matter What - Boyzone
- Oh What A Circus - Mandy Patinkin
- Whistle Down The Wind - Sarah Brightman
- Amigos Para Siempre (Friends For Life) - Jose Carreras
Music reviews of Gold: The Definitive Hits Collection
Music Review: THE BEST OF LLOYD WEBBER MADE FOR THE AMERICAN AUDIENCES
Rating: 4 Stars
There are numerous compilations out on the market full of Andrew 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. Even though he's British, his influence on the shape of the modern musical theatre expanded over the West End boundaries long ago and has thus made an enormous impact on Broadway. Two of his shows ("Cats" and "The phantom of the opera") hold the record as two the longest running shows in the history of Broadway. He has also been the only composer to have three of his shows running at Broadway concurrently. This compilation captures some of the best songs he has ever written, he personally supervised it 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: The one made for the European and the British market, and this one, made for the American buyers. Some of the songs on both of them are the same, the others are performed by different artists and some can be found only in one of the two. This one here was issued later and it is digitally remastered. Therefore you should check your favourites and buy accordingly, or, if you can, buy them both, since both of them contain interesting songs and performers.
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, although the orchestrations may seem a bit dated by now.
2. "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. Her limited vocal abilities were hardly suited for the material, as it is shown by the second Sunset song, "The perfect year", performed by Close and Alan Campbell. They both lack a decent singing voice, so this is the one song I skip regularly. The song itself sounds much better in its single version with pops orchestration, as can be heard on the European version of this compilation, where it is performed by Dina Carroll. This version here can hardly be considered a gold one.
3. "The Phantom of the Opera" is represented by three songs. Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman performance in the song of the same title is amazing. They were both born to play their roles in this show and their voices fit together perfectly. Sarah can hit the high notes in the end like no other Christine. 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".
4. The 1996 movie version of "Evita" is Madonna's best role to date and it brought an Academy Award for Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who wrote "You must love me" especially for the big screen. 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.
5. "The Joseph and his amazing Technicolor dreamcoat" was Webber's first musical and the signature song "Any dream will do" is performed here by Donny Osmond, who also appeared in the video version. I find his rendition even better than London's Jason Donovan, since Donny isn't strictly bound by the notes and so sings it more casually. A wonderful pop piece.
6."Memory" from "Cats" is probably the most famous of all Webber's songs, recorded by numerous artists. This version is sung by Betty Buckley, who was Broadway's Grizabella. Although Betty's performance can't be considered bad, I prefer Elaine Paige, who sung the song first, in the London production. Elaine has a note of sorrow in her at times husky voice, which I found very intriguing. Her performance can be considered definite, as heard on "Cats" DVD or in her latest two-disc compilation, "Centre stage: The very best of Elaine Paige", issued in May 2004. Still, those who prefer Ms. Buckley or who saw her on stage in this role won't be disappointed.
7. "Pie Jesu" is the best known song from Webber's "Requiem", written in 1985 to commemorate the death of his father. I'm not too keen on the version included here, performed by Charlotte Church, because her voice isn't as pretty as Sarah Brightman's on the original recording and the tempo is somewhat faster here.
8. "Don't cry for me Argentina" is among my all-time Lloyd Webber's favourites. I like all the ladies who performed "Evita" on the stage and on the screen (Julie Covington, Elaine Paige, Patti LuPone and Madonna), but on this disc is the version I am most satisfied with, since it is sung by Patti LuPone. Ms. LuPone has a very powerful voice with an amazing range and she deserved her Tony Award for this role. She was able to sound both vulnerable and decisive while singing this, whereas the other leading ladies emphasized one or the other in their interpretation. Mandy Patinkin's "Oh what a circus" is not the best, the orchestration is a little bit weak and his voice sounds thin to me. David Essex on the London cast recording is more suitable.
9. "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.
10. Three songs come from "Whistle down the wind". The studio release of the same title is one of the reasons I bought this compilation, although I already have the European one. It is performed by Sarah Brightman with Lloyd Webber playing the piano and a symphonic orchestra who nicely takes the lead of the main melody. Sarah voice is angelic; she sings it like a little bird. Very charming. Boyzone's "No matter what" was a huge pop hit in the charts. Again, we have a song with the suitable orchestrations and vocals. And lastly, Tom Jones' deep voice in combination with the back vocals of "The Sounds of Blackness" gives a rocking rendition of the church hymn "The vaults of heaven". It can't be found on the European version and Tom's voice shows it hasn't aged. Way to go.
11. For the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Webber wrote, together with his long-time lyricist Don Black, this last song, "Amigos para siempre or Friends for life". It's a nice duet between Sarah Brightman and Jose Carreras, their voices sore when bound together. The melody itself is neat, especially when the orchestra takes the lead.
Besides the fact that some of the performers here were not the best for my taste, there is also the fact that some of Lloyd Webber's shows are omitted in this version, most notably, "Tell me on a Sunday". Also, unlike its European counterpart, this compilation isn't aligned chronologically, so we have 1970 Superstar being the first song, 1993 Sunset Blvd comes the second, followed by The Phantom from 1986 and so on. None the less, this CD is excellent as an introduction to Lloyd Webber's music and one can continue with his cast recordings from there. It's also very handy as a single disc compilation for the American fans.
More Gold: The Definitive Hits Collection free music reviews:
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Description of Gold: The Definitive Hits Collection
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.The critical debate over Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical legacy will no doubt rage for decades. Is he the shrewd populist composer who almost single-handedly revived the moribund stage musical--or a crass, Barnum-esque showman (who almost single-handedly revived the moribund stage musical)? This 18-track anthology chronicles the high points of Sir Andrew's enduring songcraft and the irrefutable impact it's made across a remarkably disparate swath of tastes and genres, from Broadway to Top 40 radio and even the classical repertoire.
If some have accused Lloyd Webber's songs--like "The Music of the Night" (from Phantom of the Opera) and the title tune from Whistle Down the Wind, included here--of having all the melodic and lyrical sophistication of a children's lullaby, that's likely the very element that's made them so appealing to a mass audience. If nothing else, it's a compelling argument for that old notion about it being "the singer, not the song." Indeed, there are few contemporary composers whose music could entice divas from Streisand ("As If We'd Never Said Goodbye" from Sunset Blvd.) to Madonna (Evita's "You Must Love Me") and Charlotte Church ("Pie Jesu" from Requiem) to cover it, let alone forge the very careers of artists like Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. And if there's any substance to that other criticism of Lloyd Webber lifting the melodic ideas of composers from Verdi to John Williams (we swear that's the theme to Jurassic Park bubbling up in Tom Jones's camped-up take on Whistle's "The Vaults of Heaven"), at least, like virtually every major composer, he's stolen--er, borrowed--from the best. --Jerry McCulley
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