Wicked: 5th Anniversary Special Edition

Having just seen this a few weeks ago, "Wicked" blew me away. I wasn't expecting such a spectacular staging. Like any good Broadway musical, it taps into every emotion in the book, and with two masterful performances in the leads, the material is given every chance to shine. Even when the material is a tad weak.
The story, as the other 293 reviewers have stated, needs not to be reiterated. However, I was continually surprised at how clever and funny the whole thing was. It's ingenious, and like, oh, probably a million other persons, went out and bought the novel right away.
This recording is an excellent souvenir of the show. Like most excerpted cast albums, you're gonna miss a lot. Quite a bit happens between songs...
...nevertheless...
...the songs that floored me initially are all here. Idina Menzel is simply amazing. Having followed her career since "Rent" and her solo album, it's a joy to see other people finally discovering what the rest of us have known...Read more

Although I've been a huge admirer of both Kristin Chenowith and idina Menzel for a few years now, I was not sure what to expect upon first hearing this soundtrack. Actually, I ended up seeing the show on broadway, and buying the CD the day after because i couldn't get enough of this music! Stephen Schwartz has made a brilliant creation, and couldn't have gotten better voices to sing it. The vocal harmonies are beautiful throughout. Defying Gravity, the real showstopper (much thanks to Ms. Menzel's UNBELIEVABLE voice), gave me almost as big of a chill when hearing it on the soundtrack as it did in live performance. Ms. Chenowith's lovely voice carries songs as well, and the song Popular is cute and funny, while showing off her vocal talent. Aside from Defying Gravity, my favorite songs are I'm Not That Girl (sung by Ms. Menzel), and the love ballad As Long as You're Mine. It's a fun, entertaining musical more full of emotion than I had expected it would be. Between Norman Leo...Read more

This contains 2 discs. The first disc is the Original Broadway Cast,which won a Grammy Award. The music and lyrics were composed by Stephen Schwartz. The cd features Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristen Chenoweth as Galinda, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, and the rest of the Wicked Cast.

The second disk has 8 tracks. LeAnn Rimes, Delta Goodrem, Kerry Ellis, Stephanie J. Block, and Idina Menzel; lend their voices to 3 remixed Wicked songs. One recording, "Making Good", featuring Stephanie J. Block, is a never before heard original audio of her singing a song while working with Stephen Schwartz. Idina Menzel sings a fantastic remixed version of Defying Gravity that will give you chills.

The rest of the songs are from the German cast recording (As Long As Youre Mine, No Good Deed) and the Japanese cast recording (Dancing Through Life, Popular). Hearing these beloved songs translated is quite entertaining.

The case is beautifully redesigned with new...Read more