Cats (1981 Original London Cast)

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Original Soundtracks » Cats (1981 Original London Cast)
Cats (1981 Original London Cast)
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  1. Audio CD: Release Date 1998-10-12
  2. Publisher: Polydor
  3. Artist: T. S. Eliot, Trevor Nunn, Richard Stilgoe
  4. Format: Cast Recording, Import
  5. Sales Rank in Music: #144190

Product Review

The Original London Cast Performs the Entire Andrew Lloyd Webber Masterpiece (Based on a Story by T.s. Eliot), from the Opening "Overture" to the Last Bar of "Ad-Dressing of the Cats". Originally Released in 1981, this Piece Has Since Been Digitally Remastered. Features the Classic "Memory" as Sung by the "Grizabella" Character (Elaine Paige).

Amazon.com

Since its debut in 1981, London's and the world's longest-running musical still fills seats in a dozen theaters worldwide. Uncountable recastings and reorchestrations later, Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats strives to please the ears of ever-new generations. This is the original cast recording, and it retains a freshness from the still-recent opening, its novelty untarnished by decades of success. Also, the abundance of "names"--both singers and musicians--makes this one of the high-class musical recordings of all time. Elaine Paige rose to stardom as Grizabella with the hit "Memory"; at the time, though, bigger names were Wayne Sleep, Paul Nicholas, and Brian Blessed. Sarah Brightman and Bonnie Langford are also on the cast list. Lloyd Webber himself plays keyboards and the impressive roster of session musicians includes Barbara Thompson and David Locke. Lloyd Webber, well versed in the practice of "auto-quotation," can always look back to this work for cat-chy material: the Overture, "Old Gumbie Cat," "Rum Tum Tugger," and "Mr. Mistoffelees"--the list of good tunes and themes goes on and on. This remains a fun listening experience, even for those few who still haven't caught the show. It's also available in a highlights version. --Yngvil V.G.
Title Tracks for Cats (1981 Original London Cast)

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (56 customer reviews)

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars London vs. Broadway, February 21, 2001
"the_grasshopper" (Sunny Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cats (1981 Original London Cast) (Audio CD)
Are you unsure about which recording to buy? Please, let my track-by-track analysis assist you in making the right decision for you.1. Overture: TIE. There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two overtures, at least none that I can tell. They're both fine recordings.2. Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats: LONDON. Unquestionably, the London recording is the better of the two. The Broadway recording is weak and not as precise as the London recording.3. The Naming of Cats: TIE. This track is completely spoken. If, other than accents, there is any noticeable difference between the two recordings, it has eluded me.4. The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball: LONDON. Both casts are fine during the chorus efforts. However, the London Munkstrap sounds much more keen in his solos, as opposed to the Broadway Munkstrap who just sounds indifferent.5. The Old Gumbie Cat: LONDON. This is no contest. The London version contains lines that were deleted from the...Read more


18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars CATS - NOW AND FOREVER, November 19, 2004
Marijan Bosnar "(the historian)" (Croatia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cats (1981 Original London Cast) (Audio CD)
In many ways Cats was a turning point for Andrew Lloyd Webber. At the beginning of the 80-is he was already a hugely successful musical theatre composer, thanks to his work with the lyricist Tim Rice on "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita". In the early 1980-is he decided to part ways with Rice and many people predicted him a quick downfall, even more so when he decided to use T. S. Eliot's book of children's poetry called "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" as a basis for his next musical. He used then a relatively unknown musical director Trevor Nunn and Gillian Lynne as a choreographer. Cats was imagined as a mixture of pop songs and ballet; by that time an unseen combination for a musical, so it is no wonder that Webber and his producer Cameron Mackintosh had trouble finding financial backup. The show opened in London and became a phenomenon in its own right. It closed in London after exactly 21 years of running in May 2001. The same thing happened when the show came to...Read more


18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A weak yet acceptable official English CATS recording, August 12, 2000
Yi-Peng (Singapore) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cats (1981 Original London Cast) (Audio CD)
This recording of CATS features the original London cast, headed by Elaine Paige and Brian Blessed. Because it is the first official full-length recording of CATS, this does not always mean that the world-premiere rendition is always the best. The London cast gives a fairly adequate performance of the score, and perform it with a softer-grained approach as compared to their Broadway counterparts. And the lean-textured recording has sounded even better than before with this recent digital remastering.Elaine Paige may be acknowledged as a foremost interpreter of Grizabella, but here her performance shows that she neds some time to get into the spirit of the role. She does give a fine rentition of Memory that, despite competition from Betty Buckley, allows her to hold her own. Brian Blessed gives a firm, commanding and sonorous portrayal of Old Deuteronomy. He has a convicting voice that he demonstrates to great effect in his solos, even in his powerful Ad-Dressing of Cats. The...Read more

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