Best Les Mis Soundtrack

jlfuller22 · Best Les Mis Soundtrack

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and also pretty new to musicals as a whole. I've recently become really interested in Wicked and I've been a phan for years. Now a couple of friends suggested I check out Les Mis and since I loved the book, I thought I would give it a try. Now when I went to Amazon, I saw a London, Broadway, complete symphonic, and 10 year anniversary versions. Which version is best? And why?

Thank you so much. Very Happy

mezzogeek

Hi and welcome! Smile

All are good, but my personal favourite is the Complete Symphonic Recording, as it includes all of the music, rather than just highlights, and normally you can find it at around the same price as the others (At least, you can on iTunes, I'm not sure how much it is on Amazon) x

Disney-Bway27

My favorite is the 10th Anniversary Concert recording. Wonderful cast.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Les Mis SUCKS. Save your money with that one.

The Very Angry Woman

2 replies so far and no one has said anything about "soundtrack."

Shame.

Sphynx

I've been listening to the Complete Symphonic Recording, and I actually like it better than the 10th anniversay. I would recommend that, because as it was said before, it's all of the music, and not just the highlights, or favorites Smile

GungaDin

NONE. it hasn't been made into a movie yet, so there is NO 'soundtrack' to Les Miz. There are cast recordings.

Orestes Fasting

The Complete Symphonic Recording does have all the music, but the cast is... patchy. As in there are a couple excellent performers and quite a few really awful ones on it. Buy at your own risk.

For an all-around Les Mis recording, I'd go for the 10th anniversary concert. Nobody in the cast is substandard, some of them are amazing, and it includes more of the show than the London and Broadway recordings.

If you become interested in the history of the show, the London recording has several differences from all subsequent productions, including a couple of songs that were axed back in 1985 and haven't been seen since. It was my first Les Mis recording so I'm biased towards it, but even so I'd recommend the concert CD to start out.

curlyhairedsoprano91

Eponine23

I think my favorite is the London Recording. I like the CSR for having the most of the show, but apart from Michael Ball, I don't like the cast. Broadway isn't worth it, even though it has my favorite Javert--Terrence Mann. I liked the TAC, apart from Phillip Quast, who I don't really care for.

Monsieur D'Arque

TAC's a soundtrack. It's the soundtrack to, or the companion recording, of the video. So there. Still, not one I'd recommend.

ActingDude17

Go easy on the OP, guys. They said they're pretty new to musical theatre so they probably have never even heard the term "cast recording" before in their life.

Yes, the misuse of "soundtrack" irks me just as much as it irks you, but there are nicer ways of putting it than "NONE."

High-baritonne

How come everyone dislikes the Broadway Cast Recording? It was the last Les Mis Recording I bought, and it's more played on my iTunes than the TAC, and the OLC, and the Live Paris Recording.

If I were you I would buy the Complete Symphonic Recording of Les Mis. It is really an experience, but be sure to buy the 3-disc version, and not the highlights. A friend of mine did, and she was in for a surprise!

I do advice you to buy the CSR, but my personal favorite is the Concept Album. It is in French though, and a lot have been changes since this beauty was recorded. I wouldn't advice you to get this, because it isn't actually true to the story of todays Les Mis�rables musical.

Vanessa20

I'm a TAC person, with the CSR a close second.

Here's a little guide I once wrote to the four major English recordings. Not that I think it's needed, but I just like expressing my opinions. (I once wrote a similar guide for the "Joseph" forum too)

1985 Original London Cast (Colm Wilkinson, Roger Allam, Patti LuPone, Alun Armstrong, Susan Jane Tanner, Michael Ball, David Burt, Frances Ruffelle, Rebecca Caine)
This was the first English-language recording of Les Mis and is a must for any fan�s collection. But unless you want your albums in chronological order, I don�t recommend it as an introduction to the show. First of all, both the music and the lyrics are very different in places from the current show, because the album was made so early in the run. Secondly, the orchestrations are slow and the whole performance is a little bit lacking in excitement and epic feel compared to the later versions. But this is still a worthwhile version to listen to. Except for a few weak points here and there, the cast is great. Their characterizations are considered to be some of the closest to Hugo: their voices aren�t always as polished or pretty as the singers� on other recordings, but this makes them sound more like the mis�rables they�re supposed to be. Not a first choice, if you can help it, but highly recommended.

1987 Original Broadway Cast (Colm Wilkinson, Terrence Mann, Randy Graff, Leo Burmester, Jennifer Butt, David Bryant, Michael Maguire, Frances Ruffelle, Judy Kuhn)
This album has a �love it or hate it� reputation. Some Les Mis fans consider it the worst version ever, while others consider it the best. The reason for this is probably its grittiness. Both the ensemble and the principle cast include quite a few rough, nasal and raw-sounding voices. But those voices couldn�t be more appropriate for the poor, miserable people the singers are playing; and they give them character. Personally, I�m a fan of this version. The orchestrations are more fine-tuned and energetic than on the London Cast Recording, nearly all the performers are strong-voiced and committed, and even though the recording was made in a studio, it still has all the excitement of a live performance. As long as you can accept that it isn�t the �prettiest� Les Mis recording ever made, I think it�s a perfectly good choice to start with, and it�s essential for a fan�s collection.

1988 Complete Symphonic Recording (Gary Morris, Philip Quast, Debbie Byrne, Barry James, Gay Soper, Michael Ball, Anthony Warlow, Kaho Shimada, Tracy Shayne)
This recording means a lot to me for two reasons. First of all, it was my own first Les Mis recording, and secondly, it�s the only complete recording of the musical. With every note of the score intact, and a cast of performers from London, Broadway, Sydney, Los Angeles and even Tokyo, this is the grandest and most ambitious of the major recordings. This makes it less ideal for easy listening than other versions, but it�s a must-hear for diehard fans of the show. The powerful symphonic orchestrations are virtually flawless, and even though some of the cast members are controversial (particularly country singer Gary Morris as Jean Valjean), most of them are fantastic. I can say from my own experience that this is a good first choice, but I recommend that you start with the one-disc highlights album, like I did, before you move on to the full three-disc version.

1995 10th Anniversary Gala Concert (Colm Wilkinson, Philip Quast, Ruthie Henshall, Alun Armstrong, Jenny Galloway, Michael Ball, Michael Maguire, Lea Salonga, Judy Kuhn)
This is the version I recommend above all others. It�s a live recording of the concert held on October 8, 1995 at the Royal Albert Hall, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Les Mis�s London premier. The cast has been nicknamed �The Dream Cast� and rightfully so. All the voices are excellent, and- possibly because this is a live recording- both the leads and the ensemble give some of the most emotionally intense performances I�ve ever heard on CD. The orchestrations are also some of the best. This album only has one real flaw for first-timers: that applause and other live sounds (e.g. a stage light pop during �Castle on a Cloud�) constantly intersperse the music. But all the same, if you want an introduction to Les Mis or you only want to buy one recording, there�s no better version available than this one.

Ulkis

jlfuller22

Wow! I didn't expect to get so many responses so fast. Anyways, thanks for clarifying the difference between soundtrack and cast recording; I'll be sure to keep that in mind in the future.

So after reading some suggestions, I decided to check out the TAC. I watched it all on youtube and I was in love! So I ordered that off Amazon for pretty cheap and I am now awaiting its arrival.

However, I think I would like to fill in the gaps of the performance with those from the CSR. I was really disappointed they didn't add Gavroche's death as this was one of the saddest parts of the book. So I was just wondering what songs are missing from TAC that I can buy as individual songs on itunes of the CSR.

Thanks!

Orestes Fasting

It doesn't really work that way--there are parts of the TAC that have cuts within a song or scene to save time, so you'll still be missing some of the music. It would probably be cheaper to buy a copy of the CSR off ebay or something.

GungaDin

NONE. The musical has NOT BEEN made into a film THUS there is [size=18][b]NOOOOOOOOOOOO SOUNDTRACK[/b][/size]. Duh!!

Sphynx

Ulkis

:raises hand guiltily: I know the difference between soundtrack and cast recording, but I don't really care if someone uses them interchangeably. :shrug: Even Sherie Rene Scott's husband (whose name I forget at the moment - Kurt something?) said it was a losing battle.

lesmisloony

...I don't know why it's a problem unless it's causing confusion. In this case it's not.

jackrussell

To call a cast recording a soundtrack is inaccurate, but there's no ambiguity about what the poster means, so it really doesn't matter. It's as if I were to say "Colm Wilkinson was a good Valjean" and somebody else replied "Actually, Colm Wilkinson has only ever been himself. You mean he did a good job playing the part of Valjean".

Anyway, back on topic. I'd recommend with the Original London Cast recording. If you get hooked, the Complete Symphonic Recording has (nearly) the whole score, but some of the singers (mainly Valjean) are not as good. Actually, get both, the show is good enough to justify having two recordings (or more...).

(They have since added a very short passage to the show that isn't on the Complete Symphonic Recording, so its name is a slight misnomer. However, the show in performance has also cut numerous passages that are on the CSR. So on balance it's all good.)

mustardmusketeer

I understand that you have already ordered the TAC and thus this comment is rather superflous, but I just wanted to add my thoughts Smile

I love the OLC - purely personal preference, but it is my favourite recording. I really like Roger Allam in this one.
And I did start with the OLC as my 'introduction' and had no problems, but I suppose I actually saw the show first before I bought it so following the story wasn't really an issue.

In any case I think the TAC is as good a place to start as any and I hope you enjoy it!

mezzogeek

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Best Les Mis Soundtrack