Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack CD

Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack Broadway musical JERSEY BOYS brings to the stage the story of 1960s singing sensations Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, recounting their rise from working-class kids to pop-music superstars. The soundtrack, naturally, is filled with Four Seasons hits, including timeless classics like "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," and "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)." Interspersed between the songs are snippets of dialogue from the play, and the actors playing the Four Seasons nail the group's famous vocal harmonies impressively. JERSEY BOYS is a fun listen for those looking to take a walk down memory lane for historical curiosity or even just nostalgia's sake. Composers: Denny Randell; Dorothy Fields; Doug Flett; Peggy Farina; Robert Feldman; Raymond Bloodworth; Gaynel Hodge; Gerald Goldstein; Guy Fletcher ; Thomas Austin; L. Russell Brown; Billy Dalton; Abel Baer; Jimmy McHugh; Judy Parker; Kenny Nolan; L. Wolfe Gilbert; Maurice Williams; Otis Blackwell; Sandy Linzer; Stan Rhodes; Barbara Belle; Bob Crewe. Lyricist: Bob Crewe. Jersey Boys: The Four Seasons (vocals); Steve Snyder (synthesizer); Ken Dow (bass guitar); Kevin Dow (drums); Christian Hoff, Bill Hayes , Daniel Reichard, John Lloyd Young, Ron Melrose, Randy Andos, Larry Saltzman, Ben Kono, J. Robert Spencer. Personnel: Christian Hoff, Donnie Kehr, Daniel Reichard, Tituss Burgess, John Lloyd Young, Sarah Schmidt, J. Robert Spencer (vocals); Larry Saltzman (guitar); Joe Payne (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Louise Owen, Shinwon Kim, Robin Zeh, Cenovia Cummins , Belinda Whitney (violin); Debra Shufelt, Maxine Roach (viola); Anik Oulianine, Stephanie Cummins (cello); Matt Hong, Ben Kono (reeds); Dave Spier (trumpet, flugelhorn); Bob Milikan (trumpet); Randy Andos (trombone); Ron Melrose (piano, synthesizer); Steve Orich (keyboards); Ken Dow (electric bass); Bill Hayes (percussion). Audio Mixers: Pete Karam; Jason Stasium. Recording information: Right Track Recording Studios, New York, NY. Actors: John Lloyd Young; J. Robert Spencer; Mark Lotito. Photographer: Joan Marcus.

Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack Only his fourth studio album, NOEL finds Josh Groban already tackling that canonical mainstay of the adult contemporary singer, the Christmas album. As always, NOEL is a masterfully performed set, balanced neatly between pop standards and the more operatic material that showcases Groban's roots. Interestingly, he sounds best on the most familiar holiday standards, like "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song," both of which he invests with casual, jazzy phrasing, providing a welcome disinclination for the usual Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby homages that many other young singers in the style fall into. Even this early into his career, Groban clearly has a deeply held sense of who he is as a singer and interpreter, and this lovely collection is proof that he's one of the most exciting adult contemporary stars to appear in ages. Bringing Josh Groban's majestic yet intimate voice to Christmas music is truly a gift this holiday season. The young Adult Contemporary star's fourth studio album brings together the traditional such as 'Silent Night' with the contemporary such as 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' and the new, 'Thankful'. Featuring duets with Country's Faith Hill and R&B's Brian McKnight, and inspirational music's master choir, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and produced by the illustrious David Foster the album's wide appeal promises that a timeless Christmas music classic will be beneath the tree this year. Recording information: Chartmaker Studios; EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England; Rak Studios; Westlake Audio. Directors: Bill Ives ; Kirk Franklin; Craig Jessop. Photographer: Frank Ockenfels. Unknown Contributor Role: London Symphony Orchestra. Arrangers: E. Taylor; Josh Groban; Kirk Franklin; William Ross ; Brad Dechter. Personnel: Josh Groban (piano); Dean Parks, Andy McKee (guitar); Lucia Micarelli (violin); Jochem van der Saag (programming); Richard Page (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Humberto Gatica.

Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack Music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Charles Hart. It's a testament to Andrew Lloyd Webber's crowd-pleasing compositional skills that the original cast recording of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA went on to become the biggest-selling cast album ever. So when the time came to adapt his music for the film version of the monumentally successful theatrical work, Webber enlisted the aid of longtime collaborators Nigel Wright and Simon Lee. They produced an expanded orchestral version of the score, grander and more sumptuous than the original, and assembled a 100-member ensemble to do it justice. However, the tragic story of the disfigured Phantom and Christine, the beautiful object of his desire, cannot be told without powerful performances of those roles. Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum quickly dispel any concerns regarding the adequacy of their portrayals. Butler's full-blooded renditions of "The Music of the Night" and the title song are tinged with a dark eroticism, while Rossum's account of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" skillfully conveys her character's vulnerability and conflicted feelings. The soundtrack also features a newly penned song by Webber, the poignant "Learn to Be Lonely," sung by Minnie Driver, who appears in the role of Carlotta in the film. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Emmy Rossum,Patrick Wilson, Minnie Driver. Recorded at EMI Studios & Audio International, London, England. Includes liner notes by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Principal cast: Michael Crawford (The Phantom Of The Opera); Sarah Brightman (Christine Daae); Steve Barton (Raoul); John Savident (Monsieur Firmin); David Firth (Monsieur Andre); Rosemary Ashe (Carlotta Giudicelli); Mary Millar (Madame Giry); John Aron (Ubaldo Piangi); Paul Arden Griffith (Monsieur Reyer); Barry Clark (auctioneer); David De Van (Porter/Marksman/Fop); Janet Devenish (Meg Giry); David Jackson (Monsieur Lefervre); Janos Kurucz (Joseph Buquet); James Patterson (Don Attilio/Passarino); Peter Bishop (Slave Master); Justin Church (Flunky/Stagehand); Mostyn Evans (Policeman); Sue Flannery, Janet Howd (Page); Andrew Golder (Porter/Fireman); Peggy Ann Jones (Wardrobe Mistress/Confidante); Maria Kesselman (Princess); Patricia Richards (Madame Firmin); Jill Washington (Inkeeper's Wife). Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1911 gothic mystery novel The Phantom of the Opera proved to be at least the composer's second-most successful project, behind only Cats, and with the potential to outdo even that blockbuster. The musical opened in London in October 1986 and in New York in January 1988, and both productions were still running (along with many others around the world) when the film version finally premiered in December 2004. Because the same starring performers, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, moved from the West End to Broadway, there was no original Broadway cast recording, the original London cast album serving to represent both stagings. In line with the success of the show, that album, a double-disc set, was also a hit, selling four-million copies in the U.S. alone by 1996, with another four-million copies of a single-disc highlights version as well. Although there was also an original Canadian cast album (not to mention foreign language versions from such countries as Japan and Austria), the movie soundtrack represents the first major re-recording of the score since 1986. Again, Lloyd Webber has opted to issue it in two versions, but this time, the 63-minute single CD is considered the standard release, with the double-disc set (housed, for a limited time, in a cardboard booklet with numerous photographs) billed as the "special edition" version. Even fans of the show and the film may want to stick with the shorter one, however. The two-hour special edition is that rarity, a soundtrack album which actually contains the complete, unedited film soundtrack, including dialogue, incidental background music, and sound effects. This, of course, makes it something of an odd listening experience, especially because there doesn't seem to be any reason why some dialogue is spoken and some is rendered in sing-song recitative. Lloyd Webber has written some extra background music here and there, as well as one new song, and that's an oddity, too. Minnie Driver, who plays the prima donna Carlotta, had her singing dubbed by Margaret Preece, but she turns up at the end and, over the closing credits, sings "Learn to Be Lonely," an irrelevant and musically out-of-place song clearly composed just to have a new tune that would be Academy Award-eligible. The film's other singers are adequate but no competition to Crawford, Brightman, and their colleagues, and the initial recording remains the one to buy. ~ William Ruhlmann 2cds-Hardcover Book (Jewel- Case Size) Personnel: Judith Paris, Chris Overton, Alison Skilbeck, Laura Hounsom, Jose Tirado, Kevin R. McNally, Ramin Karimloo, James Fleet, Oliver Chopping, Emmy Rossum, Jesika Cannon, Halcro Johnston, Lee Sellers, Ciaran Hinds, Miranda Richardson, Lucy Casson, Simon Callow, Victor McGuire, Murray Melvin, Margaret Preece, Gerard Butler, Lorraine Stewart, Miles Western, Imogen Bain, Paul Brooke, Jennifer Ellison, Patrick Wilson , Mike Batt, Minnie Driver (vocals). Recording information: EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England; Skratch at The Palace; Skratch Studios; Skratch Studios, Surrey, England; the Hit Factory, NY; Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA; Whitfield Street Studios, London, England.

Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack Celtic Woman, a Riverdance-inspired PBS phenomena that boasts the talents of several female leads and a whole lot of orchestra and genre instruments like pipes, bodhrans, and fiddles, gives contemporary Celtic the Il Divo treatment on New Journey, a lovely and occasionally over the top collection of familiar melodies and grandiose sentiments that should please both the Celtic new age and the adult alternative crowds. [New Journey is also available in a "Deluxe Edition" that boasts four bonus cuts.] ~ James Christopher Monger Additional Tracks; Deluxe Edition Audio Mixer: Andrew Boland. Recording information: RTE Studio 1, Dublin, Ireland; Slane Castle; Windmill Lane Recording Studios. Director: Tara Leigh Chiari. Unknown Contributor Role: Dave Kavanagh. Arranger: David Downes. Celtic Woman: Chloë Agnew, Orla Fallon, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, Hayley Westenra, Lisa Kelly (vocals); Máiréad Nesbitt (fiddle). Personnel: David Downes (vocals, whistling, piano, grand piano, harpsichord, keyboards, percussion); Des Moore (guitar, bouzouki); Andreja Malir (harp); Eoghan O'Neill (bass guitar); Ray Fean (drums, bodhran); Robbie Harris (bodhran).

Les Miserables: 10th Anniversary Concert Soundtrack In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the popular musical based on Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables," this gala concert featuring a cast of over 250 was given at the Royal Albert Hall. Performers include Tony Award-winners Colm Wilkinson, Lea Salonga and Michael Maguire, and highlights include the finale, which features an international gathering of 17 "Jean Valjeans," each singing in his native tongue. NTSC/Region 0. The 1995 mammoth concert presentation that took place at London's Royal Albert Hall celebrating the first ten years of this monumental theatre classic. Performers include Colm Wilinson, Philip Quast, Ruthie Henshall, Alun Armstrong, Jenny Galloway, Lea Salonga, Michael Ball, Michael Maguire, Judy Kuhn, Anthony Crivello, Adam Searles and Hannah Chick.