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The Lion King (1997 Original Broadway Cast)
: :An Oscar win might suggest a score that would need a miracle to be bettered--but this colorful stage adaptation of Disney's The Lion King does so with flair. Composers Mark Mancina and Lebo M worked closely together to fuse the movie's many disparate elements. Where there was a veritable army exercising creative influences for the animated tale, this brings it all under the wings of a like-minded few. This is genuinely apparent as one track flows into the next. The African rhythms--both vocal and in instrumentation--come across as authentic and original ...
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Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
: :Way back in 1991, many of us saw the single-handed salvation and revival of the old-fashioned American-style Broadway musical comedy. True, it was in the form of a feature-length Disney cartoon, but Beauty and the Beast had it all: a wonderful, tuneful score (including a huge hit title-song), off-the-wall choreography, a great opposites-attract love story with an ultimately happy ending, comic subplots, colorful period costumes, a romantic location in small-town France, and an irresistible cast, including Angela Lansbury as the voice of a teapot. Alan Menken's songs, with lyrics by Howard ...
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Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1992 Canadian Cast)
: :Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat completed the transition from cantata for schoolkids to big-budget glitzfest with Steven Pimlott's 1991 London revival. Here's the 1992 Canadian version of that show, and even if it's not an ideal recording--Janet Metz as the narrator is no match for Laurie Beechman in the original Broadway cast and there's a little too much synthesizer in the orchestrations--this CD is valuable for the performance of former teen pop idol Donny Osmond as the title character. He's in excellent voice, and ...
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Jesus Christ Superstar (Original London Concept Recording)
: essential recording:It may not have been the first rock opera (the Who's Tommy was released in 1969), but Jesus Christ Superstar was a legendary album long before it hit the stage, thanks to Tim Rice's compelling book and lyrics combined with Andrew Lloyd Webber's irresistible music. Telling the story of the last days of Christ from the point of view of Judas (Murray Head), the still-unmatched original cast also stars Deep Purple's Ian Gillan as Jesus and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene, the role she made into a career (with ...
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Aida (2000 Original Broadway Cast)
: :For his second Broadway musical (and first time out writing a full show directly for the stage), Elton John certainly set his sights high by turning to one of the grandest of all operas as a source. His continued collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice has produced a work far closer to the agreeable pop style and formula of the team's Disney musical, The Lion King, than to the majesty and tragic passion of Verdi's opera. But the compelling tale of conflicting loyalties and star-crossed lovers--retooled in part by acclaimed playwright David ...
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The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
:Album Description:2004 reissue includes a newly remastered version of the 1994 soundtrack with one new song written & recorded by Elton John & Tim Rice ('The Morning Report') as well as a remixed version of the Elton John hit 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight'. The bonus disc ('Rhythm Of The Pridelands') features songs written by Lebo M that were inspired by the original 'Lion King', many of which have gone on to become part of the stage show. Bonus tracks, 'Circle Of Life', 'He Lives In You', 'Hakuna Matata', 'The ...
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Jesus Christ Superstar: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album
: :This 1974 Norman Jewison film may have been a critical misstep, but some fans actually preferred it to Broadway's rock spectacle. The thing is, Jesus Christ Superstar was first introduced as a two-disc rock opera, not unlike the Who's Tommy, as it even scored several Top 40 hits. While no set matches the original, it's still hard to go wrong with the music, no matter what the source. This also includes the pretty 'Could We Start Again, Please,' composed for the stage version, and sung here by the original LP's Mary ...
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Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack
: :Evita was finally filmed in 1996, 20 years after its initial incarnation as a studio-bound rock opera. In between, of course, it was one of the most successful and long-running musicals on either side of the Atlantic. Given such a long history, the film might easily have been a stale anticlimax, fatally holed by our overfamiliarity with songs such as the ubiquitous 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.' On the contrary, it was an impressive and immensely satisfying production. The numbers, augmented by a new song for Eva ('You Must Love Me'), sound ...
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Evita (1978 Original Broadway Cast)
: essential recording:Evita was Andrew Lloyd Webber's last show with Tim Rice before he went on to projects with less interesting collaborators, so it's no surprise that it remains his most consistently involving and rewarding work. Loosely based on the life of Eva Peron, the charismatic wife of post-World War II Argentine president Juan Peron, Rice's compelling story of one woman's rise from poverty to power is complemented by Lloyd Webber's colorful music as propelled by vigorous Latin rhythms. The showstopper, of course, is 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina,' but the ...
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Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1982 Original Broadway Cast)
: :It's well known that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice cut their teeth on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat before shifting to the New Testament and hitting the big time with Jesus Christ Superstar. And thanks to the box-office clout of Lloyd Webber, as well as the rather sparse supply of new tuneful musicals, this charming little show has reached audiences far beyond the schoolchildren it was intended for. The score shows off Rice's clever lyrics and Lloyd Webber's wide eclectic tastes, with his takes on country, calypso, French café ...
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