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| The Pirate King |
Which Valjeans have had the best Bring Him Home?Lately this song has had a special meaning for me, and I was wondering if there were any actors or vocalists besides Colm Wilkinson and John Owen Jones who have a great rendition? Thanks a lot. |
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| Megziid |
Warlow... mmmmAlthough he's never played Jean ValJean, Anthony Warlow's rendition on his Centre Stage album is sublime. |
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| may |
I've seen about 4 or 5 Valjeans now and the finest is the first and best for me ~ Jeff Leyton. JOJ has developed the song into something interesting but his failure on the last note always disappoints me... I read somewhere he's leaving in September? Can anyone confirm? And any news on who might take over? | ||
| Fantine |
JOJ's failure on the last note? Care to explain? | ||
| Electricity24601 |
I'd like to know too. The last time I saw him (which was about a year ago) and on his album, he hits it really well and holds it out for about 15 seconds. Sounds alright to me! |
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| Glissando |
My favorite version is the Forbidden Broadway version. 
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| may |
Three times I've seen JOJ as Valjean. He has a lovely voice but sometimes it lacks strong passion and sounds almost sleepy like he's singing lullabies. The first two times I heard him sing Valjean's prayer it sounded so weak and listless, the third and most recent time he'd obviously worked on it and it sounded quite moving... aside from the last note where he fails miserably. A whimper to end one of the most sublime pieces of musical magic. Otherwise he is a good, sincere Valjean but not the greatest... I just don't believe his pain. It's far too subtle. | ||
| Quique |
My sister invited a friend of her's to see the show with us back in 2004 when the 3rd NT stopped in L.A.
After the show, her friend commented on how 'weak' Randal Keith's voice sounded during BHH. After asking her why she thought so, she said it just did, to her. I told her she couldn't have been more wrong, and she said he sung it like a "little girl." I told her that "little girl" voice is called falsetto and it's more a technique than a voice characterization. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "well, it sounded whimpy." 
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| may |
she has every right to think a voice sounds weak... you can have a weak falsetto voice and a strong one... you can have a bad night and a good one... not all voices sound the same in one style. Jeff Leyton and Colm Wilkinson have very strong falsetto voices. JOJ does not, especially on that last note. | ||
| Quique |
I'm pretty sure she thought it was 'weak' because it was sung in falsetto. She's not very much into musical theatre and knows squat about singing. Our perception was that she thought the falsetto was a limitation of some kind. It's not. It's a style of singing. That's what we told her, but she kept on insisting he sounded "really different in that song than in the rest of the show." It's like, duh, he MEANT to sound like that. It's a prayer done in the still of the night. What did she expect? For him to scream it at the top of his lungs? We kept on telling her it wasn't a vocal flaw or weakness, but she would hear none of it. | ||
| The Pirate King |
Now, I'm not going to argue with you, as you've seen him live and I've only seen him in clips and heard some recordings, but I'm not surue I'd agree with you about the way he plays the part. To me, the ending of the song was excellent, and has been in all the versions I've heard him sing--why shouldn't "Bring Him Home" end in a whimper? |
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| may |
mostly because I've heard it sung where the last note was perfection and not like the singer could not reach the note and was out of breath. If others have heard otherwise, that's great, but this is my experience and of the 4 or 5 Vajeans I've seen live he is second best... I don't mean to JOJ-bash because I've also seen him as the Phantom where he was perfection. | ||
| Mademoiselle Lanoire |
My first inclination is to say Anthony Warlow, but since he doesn't count ... maybe Tommy Korberg? I don't know. There aren't very many recordings that I like. | ||
| Eponine93 |
Not a Valjean, but on Youtube there's a great version of BHH with Jason Danieley in concert with the Boston Pops. His acting is minimal and it's difficult to make out his face, but his voice is just so beautiful. IMO, he has one of the best male voices in modern musical theatre, it's gorgeous... | ||
| windbelle |
I love JOJ's rendition in his album. What a gorgeous voice!
I was kind of confused by the title. I thought you were going to start a discussion. Anyway, in response to your post I second (third?) the Warlow suggestion. Actually there aren't many versions that I can recall but I remember once seeing a video clip of Steve Balsamo singing the song, which I found quite interesting, though I'm not considering his rendition to be really faithful to the character. |
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| Aimee |
Jeff Letyton is the very, VERY best I have ever heard and seen [and I've ben going to see the London show regularly for 15 years now]. Its is totaly magical. The song is amazing and I love it and have seen any people sing it but none of the reach the pure perfection that Jeff does.
It truly is orgasmic. Thats not something you'll often hear me say on this board, but its true.
Get his recording of it on Lynn records, listen to it in a quiet room with the sound up, it will totally blow you away. At the same time. imagine what its like watching him sing it live in the show... oh... my... God!! Don't get me wrong I love the others too and I have absolutely no reason to adore him over them, but for me, Jeff is God. |
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| Window |
Randal Keith!!! His BHH is heart breaking because it is filled with so much love and hope. His voice has so many colors. | ||
| LittleGavroche |
As the only Jean Valjean I'm seen live is Randal Keith, I can't comment on the others, but I loved his rendition. It brought my dad to tears.
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| Quique |
Randal Keith
Gary Morris |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
I love Jason Danieley, and that clip especially. He'd make a wonderful Valjean, although most people would consider him too small and slight for the role. |
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| EponineBarker |
I personally love Alexander Gemignani's (the Revival Valjean) rendition. You could really hear the tears coming out in his voice. I saw him live back in April, and he was magnificent! | ||
| esmies |
Love Craig Schulmans version. He doesn't just sing it, he owns it. | ||
| Quique |
Omg...how could I forget Craig Schulman!
Dude has pipes of steel, and he acts the hell out of that song. |
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| flying_pigs |
In response to earlier questions, JOJ is leaving on October 6th 
His BHH is definately my favourite! |
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| Pannic |
I haven't heard very many, but I still think that the original, Colm Wilkinson's, is the most powerful. | ||
| elphclaudia |
Colm Wilkinson's is AMAZING cause it's Colm Wiklinson.
But my personal favorite right now is Drew Sarich's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJSxmzUd3uc |
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| Orestes Fasting |
I just got back from the show and Drew's BHH is awesome. I actually wasn't that blown away by him, vocally speaking (acting is another matter), but I love how effortless his BHH is. | ||
| LittleGavroche |
I saw Drew Sarich Thursday night. His BHH, was, as you said, effortless.
I liked his Valjean. The one thing that bothered was he kept doing the "awkward hug" whenever Cosette would come for him, if you know what I mean. Cosette would wrap her arms around her "father" and Drew would awkwardly pat her on the back. You think Valjean would become fatherly enough by the time he's that old. This must've happened four times.  But I liked how he looked for the part. He's thin, but in a worn, yet strong looking way.
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| Buff Daddy |
Re: Warlow... mmmm
I agree wholeheartedly with that. Buff 
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| AndrewShatterhand |
Robert Marien definitely deserves a mention. | ||
| Aimee |
I can't help it, I have just listened to a couple of versions of Bring him Home, the Drew Sarich link and JOJ then and Jeff Leyton and though they are all brilliant, the one that effects me most is Jeff, every time. It makes me melt and there is, for me, something about his voice that's pure perfection. I realise its personal taste but if you've not heard him, there's a tiny clip on here. Enjoy.
http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-the-music-of-the-night-hdcd.aspx |
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| jcstar |
My favourites:
Michael Burgess Randal Kieth Colm Wilkinson Drew Sarich Gary Morris People I want to hear sing the song: Danny Zolli Andy. |