Title : West Side Story (Original 1957 Broadway Cast)
Author : Leonard Bernstein
Release Date : 19980915
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $11.98
Amazon.com Price : $8.95
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Editorial Reviews : What is there left to say about this musical, deservedly one of the most famous in the canon? Created by what lyricist Stephen Sondheim described as 'a unique concatenation of people' (Leonard Bernstein, Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins), the show remains as explosively vibrant, daring, and modern as it was decades ago. Bernstein integrated Latin percussion and jazz into his electrifying score, dazzlingly translating New York's unique vitality into a musical idiom. West Side Story has been adapted for jazz and interpreted by pop and opera singers, but you owe it to yourself to check out the original version to see what the fuss was all about. This new reissue adds over 20 minutes of 'symphonic dances' as well as liner notes and production photos.
Buyer Reviews : West Side Story is a wonderful musical, and this recording helps to show why. All of the beauty, pain, hatred, anger, humor, joy, happiness, sorrow, and love that is West Side Story is felt in this beautiful recording. I generally prefer original recordings over later revivals because they are generally closer to what the authors intended for the production, and this recording is no exception. Larry Kert's wonderful performances of the solos 'Maria' and 'Something's Coming' and in the beautiful duet 'Tonight' are rich, aching, beautiful, thrilling - he captures the essence of Tony's part; you can feel Tony's love and longing for Maria, and you can sense the deep emotion of the part. The song 'Something's Coming' alone is enough to buy the CD - and when there are other masterpieces such as 'Tonight' and 'Maria,' along with the excitement 'Cool' and the humor in 'Gee, Officer Krupke' and 'America', this CD is irresistible. The orchestration is wonderful as well - it conveys so much emotion and feeling in the pieces without lyrics, such as 'The Rumble' and the prologue. Overall, this CD is a terrific example of an original broadway recording, and one that everyone who loves great music should own.
