Greatest Cast Recording(s) Ever?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 12:34pm

There's an ongoing thread about cast recordings we wish happened, but now I'm curious. Of those that were made, which SINGULAR album do you consider to be "greatest," however you interpret that to be? Please narrow down to 1-2, so we don't have lists on lists on lists. 

 

For me, the original cast album of Company remains perfect and extraordinary. 

[Anshel2]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 12:53pm

I believe Hamilton will be my favorite, in my opinion.  I can't get the music out of my head.  For those that are already available, A Chorus Line, Sunday In The Park With George (I always cry during "Sunday" and Sweeney Todd.

The recording must convey the emotion felt while watching it in the theatre.  If it doesn't, I feel that the recording fails.  

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 1:04pm

On the Town (2014 cast recording)

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 1:31pm

NINE Original Broadway Cast

[maxkko]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 1:32pm

Sunday in the Park with George (OBCR)

Basically any Gypsy recording :)

[leefowler]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 1:32pm

For me, a choice between these:

Candide (the original one)

West Side Story

Sweeney Todd

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 1:38pm

Wowza.  It's a hard decision to choose just one.  I've always loved the Caroline, or Change OBC.  I'm always in the mood to listen to it.  I also adore my Sunday In the Park with George OBC and Sweeney Todd OBC.  

1. Caroline, or Change

2. Sunday in the park with George

3. Sweeney Todd

4. Fun Home 

5. The Wild Party (Lachuisa) 

6. The Visit 

7. Nine (2003)

8. Ragtime

9. Into the Woods (OBC & OLC)

10. Follies 2011

Honorable Mentions: Company (2007 revival), Grey Gardens, Pippin 2013, Passion (OBC), The Great Comet of 1812, Giant, Spelling Bee, Cabaret (199, The Scottsboro Boys (OBC), The Fortress of Solitude,  The Last Five Years (OCR), The Bridges of Madison County (OBC), and Matilda (OLC).

Of course there are the important classic cast recordings that everyone should know such as Fiddler On The Roof, My Fair Lady, The Music Man (although I prefer the 2000 cast recording), Gypsy (my favorite being the 2003), The King and I (favorite being the Donna Murphy), Man of La Mancha, South Pacific (Lincoln Center cast), etc.

Updated On: 8/14/15 at 01:38 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 2:14pm

While there are tons of amazing cast recordings out there, the first one that came to mind for me was In the Heights. I don't know if I could call it the "greatest cast recording ever," but it's one of my personal favorites. I think it really captures the magic and brilliance of the show in a way that many cast albums don't.

[Fantod]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 2:22pm

My Fair Lady OLC

The Visit OBC

[Braniff Forever]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 2:49pm

Since I only started following Broadway this year, my favorite cast recordings are THE VISIT, FUN HOME, and I just downloaded FOLLIES. I want to get the FOLLIES in concert from 1985. I also want to get all the Sondheim cast recordings but I have to pace myself, lol! I also feel compelled to buy the cast recordings for all musicals I see, so I've also bought the cast recording for WICKED and CHICAGO, which I also like. 

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 3:01pm

The Tanz der Vampire Original Vienna Cast Recording is my personal favorite. The score as was in the original show was completely intact, as far as I can tell, meaning that there weren't any of the ridiculous cuts made to major songs such as Totale Finsternis, nor were there any nonsensical switchings of songs like in the Vienna revival. Steve Barton's performance is the best of the Krolocks that have been professionally recorded (that baritone, sigh), and Cornelia Zenz and Aris Sas really channeled their characters well on the album. The only thing that keeps this recording from being perfect, in my opinion, was that the score didn't include Stärker als wir sind at the time, so the song is absent from the album.

Updated On: 8/14/15 at 03:01 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 3:06pm

^ Not every Tanz fan will agree with me, but I actually personally like many of the cuts made to the score in subsequent productions. The original show, while a rich auditory and visual experience to be sure (if a little over-produced, in my opinion), runs far too long for my taste, a feature that is typical of most of Jim Steinman's work.

 

I also think that, barring serious moments of "WTF were they thinking?!" like moving "Für Sarah" to Act One in the Polish production, most of the switching of songs doesn't actually have that major an impact on the show. The story is still told in much the same way, using much the same material, but with a little fat trimmed, as opposed to the wholesale rewrites that were present in (what I am still reluctant to call) the Broadway version. Literally the only thing I don't prefer about the Vienna revival recording is the extended Act Two finale scene, which I feel had no significant reason for being extended in the first place.

 

However, I do agree with you that "Stärker als wir sind" is glaring in its absence from the Vienna original.

Updated On: 8/14/15 at 03:06 PM

[mattporter17]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 3:09pm

- Book of Mormon

- Fun Home

- The Last Five Years (Broadway or Movie)

- Spring Awakening

- Next to Normal

One of those five is always on. 

Updated On: 8/14/15 at 03:09 PM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 3:20pm

Probably the best recording ever made (in my opinion) is the original Gypsy. It really never gets old.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 3:20pm

To make an actual contribution to this thread as opposed to chiming in with my thoughts on someone else's opinion...

 

The concept recording of Jesus Christ Superstar (especially in its 2012 remaster, which sounds clear as a bell) is my go-to recording of the show these days. True, it has imperfect notes, rough moments, the orchestration's a little primitive -- it doesn't have that acrylic slickness and polish that marks Webber's later work (especially revivals of this show). There's a rawness you'll find the way you might find in certain points of the best Seventies rock albums. And not all of the later material that expanded and further deepened the piece is there. But it has passion and drama, in spades, to say nothing of some of the best rock vocals and instrumentation on any album anywhere.

 

(And, might I add, as (apparently) one of the few fans of the original film on BWW, that the concept album topples the more complete 1973 film soundtrack if only because there has never been satisfactory sound quality on any of its releases, from the original LP on down to the 25th anniversary CD remaster in 1998.)

Updated On: 8/14/15 at 03:20 PM

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 3:45pm

I've said this before, but I think the OBC of Sweeney Todd is just about the best CD I own, of any genre (and I've collected a lot of CDs over my many years). 

People would expect from my avatar that Caroline, or Change would be my #1, but the wonky placement of the separations between tracks drops it to #2. 

 

 

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 4:04pm

Bare (2007 Studio Cast)

[David2]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 4:23pm

I LOVE the recording of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 4:52pm

The OBC of Camelot is pretty fantastic. The finale track is a little weird compared to the way it's actually performed in the show but the cast is fantastic, the score is lovely and the recording holds up all these years later. It might not be my personal favorite show and score of all time but it was the first cast album that came to mind as an exemplary representation of the genre. 

[RevolutionaryCostume]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 4:59pm

• Gypsy - OBC
• Anyone Can Whistle - OBC
• The Apple Tree - OBC
• Jesus Christ Superstar - Concept
• Company - OBC
• The Wiz - OBC
• Evita - Concept
• Cats - OLC
• Rent - OBC
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Original Cast
• The Color Purple - OBC
• Grey Gardens - Original Cast

 

[Someday]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 5:16pm

No surprise here (see my avatar)... I vote for the OBCR of Sunday in the Park with George, so wonderfully produced by Thomas Z. Shepard. For me, this recording is so inspired that a thorough listen on decent equipment may actually surpass the experience of seeing the show live. Plus, with a Sondheim score for the ages, an essentially perfect cast, and subject matter that inspires the imagination to flights of ecstasy and the heart to yearn, break, and hope again... it just doesn't get any better than this.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 7:25pm

I've really been enjoying The Visit, The Secret Garden, The Secret Garden (the one with Barbara Cook), Doctor Zhivago ( gorgeous music and orchestrations), And both Wild Party's.

[RaiseYouUp]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 8:07pm

For me the two best ones are Wicked and Kinky Boots. But there are tons I love!

[hork]

Posted: 8/14/15 at 8:31pm

Chess - original concept album

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 8/15/15 at 3:02am

Elton John and Time Rice's Aida

The Book of Mormon

My Fair Lady OLC