Highlights From Jekyll And Hyde

 (36 customer reviews)

Having heard this recording on tape many years ago I looked forward to hearing Jekyll and Hyde when it was completed. I lost my copy of the tape and forgot about the show untill this year when I bought the Broadway recording. I was disappointed in it after hearing the potental of the show on this recording! The completed show lacks pace, although some of the induvidual songs are really nice, they are too similar to be in the same show. This concept recording has some of the songs contained in the completed show and indeed other fantastic songs which were scrapped! Till You Came In To my Life, for example, is an excellent song and Colm Wilkinson is fantastic performing it. This recording shows the great potential the show had, but unfortunatly the final product is lacking and some of the great moments on this cd have been lost in the completed musicall! Frank Wildhorn has composed excellent melodys for this show infact I think he could have written two shows with the...Read more

THIS ORIGINAL CONCEPT VERSION OF JEKYLL AND HYDE SPAWNED A BIG FOLLOWING OF THE MUSICAL. IT WAS FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER CD WITH ANTHONY WARLOW AND THEN THE BROADWAY CAST ALBUM. HOWEVER, THE PARING OF COLM WILKINSON AND LINDA EDER IS A DREAM COME TRUE. COLM'S VOICE IS NEVER BETTER. THERE ARE TWO OR THREE SONGS SUCH AS "LOVE HAS COME OF AGE" THAT WERE CUT FROM THE BROADWAY SHOW, AND YOU HAVE TO WONDER, WHY? THE ALBUM IS WONDERFUL AND READING OTHERS DOWNGRADE IT IS VERY SURPRISING. ANYONE WITH A TASTE FOR FABULOUS AND ORIGINAL MUSIC WILL LOVE THIS ALBUM. WATCH FOR FRANK WILDHORN'S NEXT MUSICAL, "VIENNA".

There are three versions of this show on CD to date. This is the original concept recording and only two people sing on it: the astounding Colm Wilkenson (known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in the original recording from London of LES MISERABLES) and Linda Edler (who also went on to be in all the recordings of this show and the concept album of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, which music was also writen by the same person - Frank Wildhorn). On this album, her voice is amazing, in my opinion, her best performance in this role. She sounds like Barbara Striesand on her best days... I mean that as a compliment. The two artists have a remarkable vocal chemistry she never finds with her other Henry Jekylls... or maybe that's just Colm. Each of them sing two roles (Lucy, Lisa, Jeckyll and Hyde). I'll let you guess who sings which.Also, don't think that this is the difinitive recording of this show because half of the songs on this original concept album are either severly...Read more