Search - Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II :: The Sound Of Music: Original London Cast

Six tracks omitted - not recommended

08/24/1998

(2 out of 5 stars)

"At 38 min. long, this is an emasculated release of the original LP. Six tracks are omitted - The Preludium; The Lonely Goatherd; No Way To Stop It; The Sound of Music (Reprise); How Can Love Survive; Sixteen Going On Seventeen (Reprise). Not recommeded - buy the cassette instead."

Skip this version; get the Capitol Records version instead

Pope | Wisconsin, United States | 10/08/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The Sound of Music is one of the most famous scores ever written for the stage. It had a dynamite Broadway cast that featured Mary Martin, Theodore Bikel, and Patricia Neway, and ran for 1,443 performances. Its popularity on the London stage, where it opened at the Palace Theatre on May 18, 1961 (2,385 performances), far outdid the success it had seen on Broadway. That was partly accomplished by its wonderful cast, which included Jean Bayless as Maria, Roger Dann as the Captain, and Constance Shacklock as the Reverend Mother. Although the cast is pretty unfamiliar to audiences outside Britain, they are just as good (if not better in some cases) than those on Broadway. Of course Jean Bayless is not Julie Andrews or Mary Martin, but she's just as good. The London cast recording of The Sound of Music is a necessary addition to the Sound of Music canon....well, just not this particular release of it. This Laserlight release is very truncated compared with the original LP. Only 11 cuts out of the original 17 are included on this release, with several important songs, such as Lonely Goatherd, How Can Love Survive, and the reprise of The Sound of Music, missing. This release of the recording is not worth the time or money spent on it. My advice would be to try to track this cast recording down on its 1997 CD release from Capitol Records/Angel on Angel's "Broadway Classics" series. That version has the entire 17 tracks from the original LP. The sound quality (in stereo) is fantastic and the album overall is just as good as the Original B'way Cast album or the movie soundtrack. Unfortunately, the Capitol release is very very difficult to find. I was able to locate a used copy on Ebay recently. It is not currently in print, but keep an eye peeled. You never know where one may show up. Or, try to find an LP of the cast album if you can (there was one up for bid at Ebay at the same time as this). Just avoid this Laserlight version. The Capitol version is highly recommended, if you're fortunate enough to find one.5 (well, I'd give it 10 if I could) stars for the London cast recording (Capitol version)
2 for the Laserlight release"

Find the Capitol release

Pope | 12/28/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was in my local music store and came across this Laserlight version of the London Cast recording and the Capitol Records release on their Broadway Angel series - I highly recommend the latter because it is a full representation of the original LP. Don't waste your time with this one. If you want the complete London Cast Recording, you will have to look high and low - it's a very hard disc to find. Missing on this truncated CD is the Preludium, The Lonely Goatherd, How Can Love Survive?, The Sound of Music reprise towards the end of Act One, No Way to Stop It, and the reprise of Sixteen Going on Seventeen with Maria and Liesl."