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West Side Story-The New Broadway Cast Recording |  | Artist: West Side Story-The New Broadway Cast Recording
Label: SONY CLASSICS
Category: Music
List Price: $13.92
Buy New: $10.27
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Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 1835
Format: Cast Recording
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 752391
UPC: 886975239122
EAN: 0886975239122
ASIN: B0021X5158
Release Date: June 2, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Prologue | | • | Jet Song | | • | Something's Coming | | • | Dance at the Gym | | • | Maria | | • | Tonight | | • | America | | • | Cool | | • | One Hand, One Heart | | • | Tonight (Quintet) | | • | The Rumble | | • | Me Siento Hermosa (I Feel Pretty) | | • | Somewhere | | • | Gee, Officer Krupke | | • | Un Hombre Asà (A Boy Like That)/I Have a Love; Un Hombre Asà (A Boy Like That)\ I Have a Love | | • | Finale |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Recently re-opening on Broadway to critical-acclaim, West Side Story is the masterwork of three theatrical luminaries: Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. This groundbreaking new production offers a bold new design that builds on the show's raw power and emotion and takes on new life through the inspired idea of a bilingual album and production. The Bernstein and Sondheim score considered to be one of Broadway's finest, features such classics as "Maria," "Tonight," "America," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere." The musical that changed the face of American Theatre over half a century ago continues to do so, remaining as brilliant and relevant as ever.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
 Must to see and listen August 9, 2009
Pikmin (Allentown, PA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this the next day after I watched the broadway show. The studio-quality recording is much better than live. There is no discount tickets of WSS as of July 2009. I bought them from ticketmaster two weeks before. WSS is full of dancing, even the gang fight was performed in a dance which added the uniqueness of the masterpiece. Bernstein is the genius behind the scene by mixing classical, jazz and latin music. Almost all kind of percussions such as timpani, xylophone, wood blocks, conga, etc were used. I don't understand Spanish, but the Spanish songs could be the main attraction for me to buy the music. I stopped buying CD-format anymore, but for this I need the print-out libretto (lyrics). Anyway it's only $3 more than the MP3 download.
"West Side Story" Comes Home June 3, 2009
Music Man (Boston MA)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
This recording of the new Broadway revival of "West Side Story" is a lustrous gem. Powered by a lush and expansive 30-piece orchestra, the immortal Bernstein-Sondheim score has rarely sounded so good. It's also one of the best-sung recordings in the WSS canon. Matt Cavenaugh is an attractive vocal presence who's quite effective as Tony, and while his take on "Something's Coming" is a bit on the nasal side he sails through his other songs with a clear, flowing tenor. Josefina Scaglione has a gentle if light soprano lilt, but what makes her performance so unique is that she actually sounds like a young girl, without the womanly tones that have often prevailed with former Marias. When she and Cavanaugh join forces for "Tonight" and "One Hand, One Heart" it's thrilling. The remarkable Karen Olivo brings gritty gusto to the role of Anita. Her powerful voice is full of character, which makes "America" delightful and "Un Hombre Asi" (A Boy Like That) a gut-wrencher. Cody Green also makes a strong impression as Riff, and although the other Jets tend to sound more like prep-school grads than gang members here, his wry musicality bolsters both the "Jet Song" and "Cool". When the entire cast comes together for the ominous "Quintet" they take that sometimes tricky piece and return it to its place as one of the most exhilirating moments in American musical history.
The real star of this recording, though, is Leonard Bernstein's unforgettable music. The original orchestrations by Bernstein, Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal are faithfully adapted and so propulsively executed it's infectious. Bernstein gave musical theater one of its lasting treasures with WSS. Incorporating classical, jazz and latino idioms without ever relying on pastiche, he created a cohesively structured work whose seemlessness both challenges and enthralls the listener. As in almost all of Bernstein scores, he provided orchestral movements that are by no means mere underscoring and remain as memorably character driven as any of the songs, i.e., "Prologue", "Dance at the Gym" and "The Rumble". How often does one leave the theater humming the orchestra? And the crisp, full production on this recording is perfection.
Much has been made of the fact that several Stephen Sondheim lyrics have been translated into Spanish for this revival. While it makes perfect sense and is absolutely right for the characters, it doesn't always work. "I Feel Pretty" has a lyric that Sondheim often disparages but is in fact quite memorable. It's current version, "Me Siento Hermosa", is a bit of a distraction because of that fact. The same might have been said for "Un Hombre Asi / I Have a Love" were it not for the passion that Olivo and Scaglione bring to it. Still, the Spanish lyrics fit quite snugly into the "Quintet" and make "Somewhere" and the "Finale" more heart-wrenching than ever.
What a delectable suprise it is, after all these years, to have "West Side Story" back and sounding as vibrant and alive as it did in 1957. Bernstein would be pleased.
Awesome! July 5, 2009
C. Anno (Baltimore, Maryland)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great recording! We saw the show during its preBroadway run in D.C., and the album truly catches the magic of the show and the stellar cast. Matt Cavenaugh's recording of Maria is amazing, and Josefina Scaglione sings with vitality tinged with vulnerability. This is my favorite recording of West Side Story.
WSS CD October 17, 2009
C. Hill (New York, NY)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I saw West Side Story on Broadway. Loved the music and bought the CD on Amazon. I received the CD on time.
THE SCORE STILL SOARS-THIS CAST DOES NOT June 3, 2009
Robert F. Powers (Quincy, Ma USA)
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
The five star rating is based solely on the merits of the music and lyrics not the current cast who shamefully abuse it. Josephina Scaglione as Maria is no contest the best of the bunch and she valiantly carries Tony through their duets. Matt Cavanaugh as Tony looks like a pretty boy flight attendant who down-sized himself to Doc's Drugstore, instead of the recently reformed street punk. And his singing is not bad, not good, but not bad, but his line readings of dialogue are so embarassingly cringe-worthy I kept hoping Chino would show up with his gun a lot sooner. Their songs "Tonight" and "One Hand, One Heart" sound great but the songs are beautiful and that helps but unfortunately Tony has dialogue during those scenes and the tone of his voice during the "Marriage" in "One Hand, One Heart" he may as well have been inviting Maria to go roller-skating. The famous scene where Tony and Maria meet for the first time, his line readings are so child-like to suggest he never spoke to or seen a girl before. Karen Olivio is certainly no spit-fire as Anita and if you saw an understudy at any given performance there would be no loss.
If I sound sarcastic, I am, but I'm also angry.
This production is the first American production to have the songs sung by the Puerto Ricans in Spanish. It makes sense that amongst themselves they would speak Spanish but even here this premise is compromised. "I Feel Pretty" is entirely in Spanish but "America" is in English. I would bet my bottom dollar that Stephen Sondheim, the lyricist wanted his sardonic and witty lyrics heard. The "Quintet" that leads to the rumble scene is a night-marish mish-mash. The Jets sing in English, The Sharks sing in Spanish-except they sing the word tonight in English. I am pretty sure there is a word in Spanish for tonight. Anita sings in English(?) Tony and Maria sing in Engish and when everyone sings together in both languages-cover your ears. The Maria/Anita duet is split. "A Boy Like That" in Spanish-"I Have A Love" in English(the Sondheim influence again). And then the very brief reprise of "Somewhere" where Tony lies dying-She sings English and He sings Spanish????
I don't speak Spanish but if someone out there reading this review knows the language please tell me if these translations are correct.
very smart Maria, very smart becomes por favor Maria, por favor
but my heart Anita, but my heart becomes por favor Anita, por favor
or can por favor mean anything?
The CD has its' moments though mainly due to the copious amounts of Leonard Bernsteins wonderful pulsating, jazz influenced music. If you feel the need to add another recording of "West Side Story" to your music library then by all means buy it, but the original 1957 Broadway recording and even the movie soundtrack are better, much better.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
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