Ray Charles Music:

		List Price: $28.94		Label: Angel Records Salesrank: 12327 Released: November 14, 1995
		Our Price: $16.97
		Used Price: $7.75
		Media: Audio CD

Miss Saigon (1995 Studio Cast) Reviews:
Quality over Quality is what matters!
2009-11-26 - As a classically operatic trained soprano I am a frequent collector of double deluxe CDs and I own most well known deluxe CD audio music of operas and musicals such as Les Mis and Phantom of the opera Carmen and Sunset Boulevard.

I own the 1989 london cast version of Miss Saigon and I have to say it is a million times better than this one...
sure this has more songs than this but it's the quality of the vocals that count in my opinion to make the experience real for the CD listener to take someone as close to the stage production as possible...

I've listened to the samples of this version the acting, singing and rushed pace of this recording making it clearly inferior toward those great emotional voices of Salonga, Bowman, Burns, Moore, and Polycarpou.
I applaud the cast for clearly making an attempt to create the more modern version of this musical but when I listen to this recording I feel like each track is just a song rather than a connecting story as it should make you feel. THat is what I get out of the London Cast.
Overall, go with the usual saying 'Quality over Quantity' if you are looking for a good recording of this fantastic musical the London cast is the one to invest in.
You won't regret it!




Miss Saigon
2009-09-11 - This is an excellent album, especially for anyone who is seriously interested in the show. It contains ALL of the music from the libretto, not just the major songs. It is the most complete albun you can buy. I highly recommend it.

Good, but not the best
2009-02-18 - I purchased this CD as well as the Original Cast recording to familiarise myself with the music as I will be auditioning for Miss Saigon later this year.

I must say although the music is fine, the original cast recording is much better. The voices are generally weaker in this version compared to the original cast recording especially the Engineer's role. Not as much character comes through the voices, and there are slight changes in tempo compared to the original cast recording which can irritate. For example, the first scene with the Engineer and the bar girls backstage seems rushed, unclear and indistinct compared to the original. Also there seems to be a couple of numbers missing from the start of Act II?

This CD is ok if you want to familiarise yourself with the music of this great musical. You can tell that the music is written by the same composer as Les Mis - you get the same sorts of chords, key changes, rececitive and arias as Les Mis - but if you want to hear a "best performance" version, get the original cast instead.

Great recording, but in the shadow of the OLC cast
2009-01-13 - This is a really great recording, the orchestra is powerful and as the name suggests it's a complete recording. But when you compare it with the power of the performances of the OLC cast, it really pales. I own both but I actaully rarely listen to this recording, because the OLC one is so very much better.

Overall, nothing beats the OLC
2008-05-23 - I do like this recording because it does include all of the numbers including the amazing MORNING OF THE DRAGON, which is sung much better on here than on the OLC. Lea Salonga's KIM will always be the definitive Kim and Claire Moore's ELLEN is the best out of all of the casts. Henshall is WAY too bright and edgy with her voice. The role needs warmth as is evidenced by Claire Moore's voice. I saw both casts and I much prefer the OLC overall. Simon Bowman's vibrato is way too big and he goes out of tune. I don't like ANY of the Johns..yuck. If I had to pick one I would pick Peter P. from London and for sure NOT Hinton B. Jonathan Pryce was the best engineer. Gigi is much better in London than on this CD. Keith Burns, for all his faults, is a great Thuy and his "rock" voice is excellent for this. All of the other Thuys were so weak and wussy. I could never take them seriously.
The chorus is much better on this recording than on the OLC. I always felt that OLC Chorus forced too much and it was sometimes out of tune.
All in all nothing beats (and nothing will beat) the OLC. I know people who worked on the show in London from the beginning and have agreed that the OLC is, by far, the best overall.