The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast)

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA   November 24, 2008
Seems a bit silly reviewing something so well known but, having the original with Sarah Brightman on vinyl and not playing it I really did want it on CD, beautifully done and a delight to play again. However i do have one big grouch. Each time I put it in my basket I got a message that it could not be sent to my address (In OZ). I wonder why, I even tried a site that said posted from Australia, no go. I only got it from the UK and was charged an exhorbitant price in the end. Certainly nothing like when I buy from USA, so Aussie buyers beware where you purchase from.

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A complete musical (1 of 1 Found this Helpful)   November 7, 2008

With 356 four- and five-star reviews already posted, there is not much more to be said about this show or this recording. This is almost the complete musical--good solo lines, strong choral parts and orchestrations that become part of the package, not just background.
I cannot give this a five-star rating, because the lyrics and dialogue are very difficult to understand at times. This is partly because of the accents, and partly because of unprecise enunciation. If you want this as background music, or listen-to-on-the-headset-while-walking, it is fine. But to immerse yourself in the story, you must stay glued to the libretto.

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Sentimental value, but not timeless. (1 of 2 Found this Helpful)   October 4, 2008
"The Phantom of the Opera" is a show I like, but for the wrong reasons.

For many it's their first musical often because as a global hit there are productions around every corner. The result is a lot of people, including myself, being attached sentimentally to the show rather than for its artistic merit.

That's not to say it doesn't have its moments - despite very self-indulgent and over extended "Music of the Night" has become a standard. The reprise of "All I ask of you" with Michael Crawford's haunting falsetto can be moving and "The Point of no Return" can be a showstopper. "Poor Fool, he Makes me Laugh" is funny and "The Mirror" is a haunting revelation of the Phantom, but this revelation can become tiresome with the over repetition of the melody - unskillfully transposed to add some interest by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The title song also needs to be re-arranged into the 21st century as the synthesized drums have not aged well (there was some improvement in the 2004 film cast). In this particular recording Sarah Brightman can also be unintelligible at points.

Still, there is no denying the music is catchy and hard to dislike (except when it's repeated throughout the show many times). It's no "Fair Lady", but because of its few redeeming tracks, its very high quality recording, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman's definitive performance of their roles and its place in musical theatre history, the 1986 cast recording of "The Phantom Of the Opera" is a must buy for anyone who listens to music.

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Almost perfect   September 1, 2008

As a PHANATIC, this double box set is a must-have. I must say that the box is cute, it has the complete libretto (with ALL dialogues)... all inside a little cute box.

I used to have a 80' double K7 set, given by my aunt when she saw the Phantom for the first time back in 90'. The main difference is that those K7 had the COMPLETE DIALOGUES, with NO cuts. And these CDs do not have little dialogues... but it still worths buying.

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Original cast is better (1 of 1 Found this Helpful)   August 13, 2008
Had just finished watching the film version and realized how much better the original cast sounded.

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