"The Phantom Of The Opera" OST

Original released on CD SONY Classical SK-93521

(US 2004, November 23)

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1911 gothic mystery novel "The Phantom of the Opera" proved to be at least the composer's second most successful project, behind only "Cats", and with the potential to outdo even that blockbuster. The musical opened in London in October 1986 and in New York in January 1988, and both productions were still running (along with many others around the world) when the film version finally premiered in December 2004. Because the same starring performers, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, moved from the West End to Broadway, there was no original Broadway cast recording, the original London cast album serving to represent both stagings. In line with the success of the show, that album, a double-disc set, was also a hit, selling four million copies in the U.S. alone by 1996, with another four million copies of a single-disc highlights version as well. Although there was also an original Canadian cast album (not to mention foreign language versions from such countries as Japan and Austria), the movie soundtrack represents the first major re-recording of the score since 1986. Again, Lloyd Webber has opted to issue it in two versions, but this time, the 63-minute single CD is considered the standard release, with the double-disc set billed as the Special Edition version. Even fans of the show and the film may want to stick with the shorter one, however. The two-hour special edition is that rarity, a soundtrack album that actually contains the complete, unedited film soundtrack, including dialogue, incidental background music, and sound effects. This, of course, makes it something of an odd listening experience, especially because there doesn't seem to be any reason why some dialogue is spoken and some is rendered in singsong recitative. Lloyd Webber has written some extra background music here and there, as well as one new song, and that's an oddity, too. Minnie Driver, who plays the prima donna Carlotta, had her singing dubbed by Margaret Preece, but she turns up at the end and, over the closing credits, sings "Learn to Be Lonely," an irrelevant and musically out-of-place song clearly composed just to have a new tune that would be Academy Award eligible. (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER's "Love Never Dies"

Original released on Double CD Really Useful 2724793

(UK 2010, March 9)

Better than I expected, though not as good as "Phantom of the Opera". Mr Lloyd Webber seems to have got some of his magic back. The style of this is much more 'Broadway' than operetta, but that suits the setting of the story, Coney Island, with its amusement park and side show freaks. There are passages with very prominent electric guitars which suit the tone and mood of the song they're used in but pull the listener out of the era in which the story is set. The cast are excellent vocally. The Phantom and Raoul and Christine and Meg Giry tend to sound a bit alike at times. The original Raoul, Steve Barton, has sadly passed away. (in RateYourMusic)

Few musicals have enjoyed the cultural (and financial) longevity of "The Phantom of the Opera". Lyricists Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and composer Andre Lloyd Webber’s take on the classic French novel by author Gaston Leroux, opened in 1986 with no endgame in sight, which makes one wonder why it took so long to cash in and make a sequel. In 2010, Webber, along with writer Glenn Slater, who won a Tony for his work on the 2007 stage adaptation of the 1989 Disney film "The Little Mermaid", brought Christine Daaé and the Phantom together again in "Love Never Dies". Set ten years after the events of the first installment, the Phantom has lured his muse from Paris to New York City for a performance (that unbeknownst to her, he set up) at a new venue called Phantasma in Coney Island. High drama and tragedy ensue (fans of the original will revel in the gothic splendor of pieces like “The Coney Island Waltz” and the crafty/schmaltzy ballads “Til I Hear You Sing” and the beautiful “Love Never Dies”), allowing Webber to spin a predictable but effective new set of themes that both celebrate the half-masked anti-hero’s pipe organ past while allowing him to evolve (as much as he can with his anger issues and addiction to heartache) beneath the formidable shadows of the Big Apple. (James Christopher Monger in AllMusic)

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