Search - London Theatre Orch & Cast :: London Theatre & Cast Perform Songs From Lion King

Really, really tragic

05/20/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"In spite of how it looks, this is NOT the London cast from the current Lion King production. This is a singing group called London Theatre Orchestra and Singers. It is NOT put out by or affiliated with Disney in any way. The songs are similar, but words have been changed (reasons unknown). Even the familiar lines from "Circle of Life" are wrong (example: the line "through despair and hope" becomes "to the cir-ra-cle"). The beautiful Zulu chants so prevalent in the Broadway recording are literally gibberish here. True, Zulu isn't easy to sing, but any fool can read the lyrics from the B'way CD booklet and do better than this! "One by One" is so wrong (and so badly mixed) that I burst out laughing halfway into it. If you are looking for a comedy recording, this may fit the bill. If you want a really, really good musical experience, buy the Broadway cast recording."

Not anywhere close to the original cast

Kevin P. Costello | Atlanta, GA | 06/04/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"To reiterate what was said below, this is NOT the original cast or anything close to sounding like one. This is evident from the opening track, when the singer of Rafiki sounds suspiciously like the singer of the child simba (!) right on through the inauthentic sounding chant tracks. The harmonies have been made harsher, and the sound generally grates on the ear throughout, even when the singers aren't horribly mangling the notes or text.It isn't quite deserving only of one star (in part because the genius of the show's music still shines through in places, in part because a few tracks aren't all that bad), you still should banish all thought of purchasing this CD from your mind."