Track Listing

1. Prologue
2. Valjean's Soliloquy (What Have I Done)
3. At The End Of The Day
4. I Dreamed A Dream/Docks
5. Lovely Ladies
6. Fantine's Arrest
7. Runaway Cart
8. Who Am I: The Trial
9. Fantine's Death
10. Confrontation
11. Castle On A Cloud
12. Master Of The House
13. Bargain/Waltz Of Treachery
14. Look Down
15. Robbery/Javert's Intervention
16. Stars
17. Eponine's Errand
18. ABC Cafe: Red And Black
19. Do You Hear The People Sing
20. Rue Plumet: In My Life
21. Heart Full Of Love
22. Attack On Rue Plumet
23. One Day More
24. At The Barricade
25. On My Own
26. Building The Barricade
27. Javert's Arrival
28. Little People
29. Little Fall Of Rain
30. Night Of Anguish
31. First Attack/Night
32. Drink With Me
33. Bring Him Home
34. Dawn Of Anguish
35. Second Attack (Death Of Gavroche)
36. Final Battle
37. Sewers: Dog Eats Dog
38. Javert's Suicide
39. Turning
40. Empty Chairs At Empty Tables
41. Every Day (Marius And Cosette)
42. Valjean's Confession
43. Wedding Chorale/Beggars At The Feast
44. Epilogue

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36019 in Music
• Released on: 1999-10-25
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Soundtrack, Box set

Customer Reviews

Its ok...
I had to get this version in order to have the whole show. For that purpose it is good. However, many of the vocal performances are not up to scratch to the 10th Anniversary Edition, which I would recommend getting instead of this one, if you don't need every single song. There's also quite a lot of singing just off the beat, or coming in slightly late, which I just find very annoying! This is not Les Mis at its best.

Almost Perfect
I got this CD recently after listening to the OLC all my life. I was very eager to hear the whole show, and also Phillip Quast, a legendary Javert I had only caught glimpses of on 'Hey Mr. Producer', (I had not seen the TAC at the time). I was amazed!

It was strange not hearing the sudden jumps the OLC makes, (certainly a good thing), and the first thing I'll say is that the orchestrations are inspired, far better than the TAC's horrid orchestration which didn't feature a synthesizer, a surprisingly vital part of Miz's score. It just feels so full.

As for the cast, well, Quast came up trumps, though I put him on a par with Roger Allum as they play the role very differently. Morris has recieved much criticism for his performance here, but I think he is fine, and can do a moderately good impression of Colm Wilkinson, just with the occasional American pronunciation slipping in ;-).

Fantine was good but never really got...loud in 'I dreamed a dream', which didn't match the epic orchestration. Barry James was a great Thenardier, (I'll be seeing him in London soon), and though I prefer Jenny Galloway to Gay Soper she still did an admirable job. Cosette could have been much better, but Marius, (surprise, surprise, Michael Ball) and Enjorlas were great.

Which brings me to Eponine...don't get me wrong, obviousley she can sing, but as to be expected, her English is, to say the least, 'dodgy' in places. I love Francis Ruffelle on the OLC, (more so than Lea Salonga), and though she 'did well considering the situation', that shouldn't be the case on an album like this just for the sake of making it more international. This is the producers' error and I'm by no means saying that Kaho isn't talented!

Another thing that has pained me ever since I saw the show for the first time is the absence of (the proper) Little People. Yes, there's a short refrain but that's all, gone is the light hearted fun song, and I think the show could afford another three minutes added to the running time for such a great song.

The only other glitch I have with this album, and hey, this is a personal thing, but it's the accents. The majority of non-major parts are played by those from the L.A. company, and though, very strangely, I feel the accents work in the beginning section of 'Master of the House', in pieces like 'Do you hear...' it pains me to hear the US pronunciation of 'France' as opposed to the English one on the OLC and TAC.

That's just a little nitpick I have though, and otherwise this album is excellent, and frankly, whenever I listen to my OLC now, it just sounds dull. Compare 'Look Down', (Paris), on the OLC and CSR and you'll see what I mean!

Complete! But that's it
Predictably, what sets this recording apart from the others is its completed-ness. It has every song on there, and it was so enjoyable to finally hear all the songs in between, which patches the story all together. Some of the cast members were also stunning; in particular, Anthony Warlow was mindblowing with his powerful portrayal of Enjolras. Philip Quast, Michael Ball, Barry James and the Gavroche also deserves a mention.

On the other hand, the Valjean was not up to scratch. Gary Morris sounds very 'thin' and shrill compared to other Valjeans, and his strong American accent is slightly irritating. Similarly, I was not convinced by the Eponine. Granted, Kaho Shimada had apparently not known English before the recording was made, and I give her credit for that - but even then, she was not to my taste. Her voice seems slightly over the top and she sounds too deliberate, too showy at times. She has a very powerful voice though, and this could just be a personal interpretation.

All in all, if you're a serious Les Mis fan then this is a must-have, as it is, after all, complete. But if you're just entering the world of Les Mis and want the best out there, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Tenth Anniversary Cast over this one.