Track Listing

1. Prologue
2. Any Dream Will Do
3. Jacob And Sons/Joseph's Coat
4. Joseph's Dreams
5. Poor Poor Joseph
6. One More Angel In Heaven
7. Potiphar
8. Close Every Door
9. Go Go Go Joseph
10. Pharaoh Story
11. Poor Poor Pharaoh
12. Song Of The King
13. Pharaoh's Dreams Explained
14. Stone The Cows
15. Those Canaan Days
16. Brothers Come To Egypt/Grovel Grovel
17. Who's The Thief
18. Benjamin Calypso
19. Joseph All The Time
20. Jacob In Egypt
21. Finale - Any Dream Will Do/Give Me My Coloured Coat
22. Joseph Megamix

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3212 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-23
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you were to think this 1991 London revival cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat sounds a lot like the 1992 Canadian revival cast and the 1993 Los Angeles revival cast, you'd be right. All three use the glitzy version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rice's school-cantata-turned-musical based on the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, which debuted with this London revival in 1991 and became the basis for most subsequent productions, as well as the video version,. Yes, the "Joseph Megamix" is here, along with the witty lyrics and catchy melodies that borrow freely from country, calypso, French cafés, and Elvis,as well as favorites "Any Dream Will Do," "Close Every Door," and "Go, Go, Go Joseph." And orchestral credits, cover art, and running time are almost exactly the same, leading one to believe that the various casts recorded their vocals over the same prerecorded orchestral tracks.

So is there any difference between the three? Yes, the singers, most notably the role of the narrator and the title character. This London production starred Linzi Hateley as the narrator and Australian pop singer Jason Donovan as Joseph. For the 1992 Canadian cast, former teen pop sensation Donny Osmond took over the title role, with Janet Metz as the narrator. In Los Angeles in 1993, Michael Damian was Joseph and Kelli Rabke the narrator. All the narrators are solid, though Hateley is probably the best overall. The biggest difference is Osmond, the clear winner with a terrific voice and irresistible warmth, contrasted with Donovan's somewhat thick and heavy singing and Damian's rather deliberate pronunciation. You really don't need more than one of these Josephs, and the Canadian cast is the one to have. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Go, go, go Joseph.....

I bought this CD after seeing the show. The CD is fab with great performances all round. I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 as Jason Donovan's vocals as Joseph are often very soft and can't be heard clearly over the music, and the "s"'s seem a bit over done, a tad tad slurry. This may not be a reflection of his performance; it may be a production issue with the CD. Either way, it makes his performance seem a bit dumbed-down compared to the others.

The variation in stlye between tracks, and the the fun element which oozes out of each lyric like drool from a laughing nutter help to make this a musical which can be enjoyed by people of all ages. My two year old daughter loves this on in the car, and I look forward to taking her to watch it when she's older.

I won't go through all the tracks here as other reviewers have done that brilliantly before me. All I'll say is that however good you think this CD is - watching it live as ten times better! And this is a great CD - so put your tightest socks on, 'cos when you see this live it'll blow 'em off!

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S FIRST MUSICAL
Joseph and the amazing Technicolor dreamcoat was Andrew Lloyd Webber's first all musical work and his first collaboration with his best lyricist Tim Rice. It all began when in 1967 Lloyd Webber and his friend Rice were commissioned by the head of music at Colet Court School, London, to write a religious concert for the school choir. Joseph was first presented in 1968 and, after further performances at St Paul's Cathedral and the Roundhouse in London, and the Edinburgh Festival, opened in the West End in 1973. It wasn't much of a success, however, until Webber bought the rights to it in the early 90-is, reworked it and put it on stage a very successful production that is still running and has been put in many other countries in the world and filmed for a special DVD.

The plot uses motives from a well known biblical story of Joseph, the youngest son of Jacob, patriarch of Israel, and the coat of many colors that Jacob gave to Joseph as a sign that he is the special one among his sons. Joseph's older brothers became jealous and sold Joseph to be a slave in Egypt, telling their father that he's been killed by a passing goat. After being imprisoned by his equally jealous master, Joseph helps the pharaoh in solving his enigmatic dreams and becomes his first adviser who saves Egypt from the great famine. Back in Canaan, Joseph's brothers and father are starving and so the brothers go to Egypt where food is in abundance. Joseph recognizes them, but not vice versa. After he learns them a lesson because of their past behavior, Joseph is reunited with his brothers and father in Egypt.

This show is mostly aimed at kids, but can be viewed and heard by people of all ages. The songs are mostly pop and a merry note can be found in most of them. Also, this show is supposed to be fun, so there are numerous vocal styles in it. For example, there is a country song that the brothers sing; at the other point they sing a French chanson with the French accents. The pharaoh sings like Elvis and one song is in calypso tone. Overall, it's a nice whole of diverse songs and singing styles. Tim Rice has written his funniest lyrics, blending beautifully with the score. The most notable songs are "Any dream will do" and "Close every door" sung by Joseph and the big number "Jacob and sons"

This London cast recording features Jason Donovan, the Australian pop singer as Joseph and Linzi Hately as a female narrator. Donovan's voice isn't as strong as that of the American Joseph Donny Osmond, but his voice has the boyish vibretto that Osmond lacks. Hately's soprano follows the speedy tempo of her songs with ease. The booklet contains photos and full lyrics.

The flashy production of Joseph can be seen at the DVD of the same name with Donny Osmond playing the lead. Joseph remains a part of Webber-Rice trilogy that cannot be overlooked.

It was red and yellow and green and brown....
What a fantastic CD! I have never seen the show and was introduced to this when I was little. It is amazing how music like this really sticks to you and wont let you go!

My favourite tunes have to be Pharoahs "Elvis" type song, with some great lyrics also coming from Potifars song. When you listen to the lyrics, its incredible how much is squished into the song.

The variations of the songs are incredible, and I say to anyone considering it.........buy buy BUY!!!!!!!!!!