|
| Whistle Down The Wind (1998 Original London Cast) | 
 enlarge | Artists: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinman
Label: Decca Broadway
Category: Music
List Price: $35.98
Buy Used: $13.82
You Save: $22.16 (62%)
New (32) Used (19) from $13.82
Avg. Customer Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 21081
Format: Cast Recording
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 5 x 0.6
MPN: 547261
UPC: 731454726122
EAN: 0731454726122
ASIN: B00000JJWL
Release Date: September 21, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: X-LIBRARY 2 CD SET TESTED AND PLAYS PERFECTLY *** IN CASE WITH ORIGINAL ART, INSERT, AND SLEEVE *** SLEEVE HAS BEEN TAPED *** MAY BE MISSING A LIBRETTO *** pp ***
|
| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | The Vaults of Heaven | | • | Overture | | • | I Never Get What I Pray For | | • | Home By Now | | • | It Just Doesn't Get Any Better Than This | | • | Whistle Down The Wind | | • | The Vow | | • | Cold | | • | Unsettled Scores | | • | If Only | | • | Tiretracks and Broken Hearts | | • | Safe Haven | | • | Long Overdue for a Miracle | | • | When Children Rule The World | | • | Annie Christmas | | • | No Matter What |
Disc 2
| • | Introduction Act Two | | • | Try Not To Be Afraid | | • | A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste | | • | If Only (Reprise) - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | Charlie Christmas - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | Off Ramp Exit to Paradise - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | Safe Haven (Reprise) - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | Wrestle With the Devil - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | The Hunt - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | Nature of the Beast - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | Whistle Down the Wind - Lloyd Webber, Andre | | • | If Only (Reprise) | | • | Charlie Christmas | | • | Off Ramp Exit To Paradise | | • | Safe Haven (Reprise) | | • | Wrestle With The Devil | | • | The Hunt | | • | Nature of the Beast | | • | Whistle Down The Wind |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
At Christmastime of 1959, three Louisiana children discover a man with bloody hands and feet. Is he Jesus Christ, or is he the convicted murderer reportedly on the loose? This searing question is the basis of Whistle Down the Wind, Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-awaited new musical, and fans will find it worth the wait. A study of the faith of children contrasted with the caution and fear of adults, the story was adapted from a novel by Mary Hayley Bell and a 1961 film produced by Richard Attenborough, but its setting was transferred from northern England to the American South, giving Lloyd Webber a good excuse to indulge in rock & roll and gospel. Of course, he provides his usual supply of catchy melodies, including the rousing "Vaults of Heaven," the tender title tune, and the peppy children's number "When Children Rule the World." Longtime listeners will also recognize elements from earlier shows--the opening-scene anthem (Aspects of Love), the anguished potential savior (Jesus Christ Superstar), the climactic manhunt (Phantom of the Opera)--leading to a final collision of musical themes and overheated emotions. Whistle Down the Wind stumbled in its 1996 Washington, D.C. run and never made it to Broadway, but is realized here by its 1998 London cast, including Marcus Lovett as the mysterious man, Lottie Mayor as his most ardent believer, Dean Collinson as a James Dean wannabe, and Veronica Hart as Collinson's black girlfriend. The major drawback to this relatively unknown but solid cast is its anomalistic British accents or awkward attempts at American Southern ones. Listeners might have to use their imagination to fill in the story, as the libretto includes all the lyrics and dialogue, but no indications of song titles or track numbers, no stage directions, and no synopsis. --David Horiuchi
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 77 more reviews...
 An Andrew Lloyd Webber title not to be missed! March 15, 2000
38 out of 41 found this review helpful
"~This is an outstanding musical, with an engaging storyline. It follows a teen named Swallow who is confronted by an escaped criminal who tells her he is Jesus. Swallow believes him, and she and the other children see him as a miracle. If the story is at all difficult to follow, it does not matter, because the cd comes packaged with a libretto, containing the entire script of the play and songs. would have heard some of the songs on these cd's. That is great, because one already has a taste for the music in this play. The best songs would include "The Vaults of Heaven," "Whistle Down the Wind,"Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts," "When Children Rule The World," "No Matter What," and "A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste." The list is long, but could easily be longer. They are all great. Also, Swallow has a good singing voice, adding to the quality of the songs. To sum up, this is musical not to be missed. Most likely, one is worried about not liking the songs because one has never heard them. But trust me, there is nothing to fear.
Beautiful, beautiful music! November 16, 1999
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
Once again, I believe, Webber has written an extroadinary musical piece. I first became aware of some of the songs from this score from the video of TRIBUTE:ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S 50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION and couldn't wait to hear them again on the soundtrack album. It was worth the wait. While the criticism is correct re: the British actors' bizarre Southern accents (I'm sure that American actors' British accents sound just as strange to English ears), it has nothing to do with the music or the singing which is wonderful. The accents actually remind me of 2 old American musicals:LIL ABNER and OKLAHOMA and from what I remember, the American actors in those 2 films don't sound very much more authentic than the British actors here! In any case, the music, lyrics and orchestrations are uniformly excellent. If you're a Webber fan, I feel strongly that you will enjoy this CD. My favorite tracks are the exquisite title song, THE VAULTS OF HEAVEN and the mesmerizing IF ONLY (what a simple, brilliant melody - Webber at his best). I see that there is an album of these songs recorded by other artists inc. Tina Arena, Elaine Page and Donny Osmond. Does anyone know where a copy of this compilation CD can be obtained?
A wonderful musical December 8, 1999
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Whistle Down the Wind is a wonderful musical. It has a mixture of songs, including, gospel, rock and typical musical type songs. My favorite songs are "No Matter What" and "Whistle Down the Wind" It is true this is a London recording but I don't notice their accents as much as I have on other albums from London. The really neat thing is there is a fair amount of spoken word along with the music. This helps you follow the story better. It is a great musical and I recomend owning it. It is well worth it!
A HIGHLY UNDERRATED LLOYD WEBBER'S GEM November 21, 2004
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
"Whistle down the wind" was Andrew Lloyd Webber's first fresh work after "Sunset Blvd" premiered in 1993. With this musical he decided to get back to his rock and roll roots that made him famous with "Jesus Christ Superstar", after which he was mostly known for his big, soaring and lush scores of "The phantom of the opera" or "Sunset". The result is very satisfying. Jim Steinman, the lyricist of "Meatloaf" is credited with the lyrics and the director is Gale Edwards, who directed a very successful run of "Superstar" in the West End in 1996.
"Whistle down the wind" is based on the original novel by Mary Hayley Bell and the film produced by Richard Attenborough and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Keith Water house and Willis Hall. The main plot of the film and the musical coincide: Set in a sleepy backwater town in 1959 Louisiana, three days before Christmas, "Whistle down the wind" tells the story of three children who discover a stranger hiding in their barn. They believe the man to be Christ and in their innocence feel a need to hide him from the adults in the small community. Each child fears he will be harmed as happened once before. At the same time the adults have been hiding the news from the children that a prisoner from a nearby penitentiary has escaped and may be at-large in their town. A wonderful ambiguity then surrounds the remainder of the story and we are never quite sure whether the innocence of the children or the experience of the parents and elders is to be believed. The main characters include a girl named Swallow, her siblings, the mysterious Man and Amos, a teenage rebel.
Setting the story in the above framework was a big advantage for Webber and his score, which matches the time when R'n'R and James Dean were the main subjects among the youth. The score boasts with fantastically orchestrated rock and blues themes as well as ballads. The use of guitars, drums and trumpets in orchestral leads is astonishing. The musical themes itself are very original and new. Some of the songs were released as a very successful singles, most notably "No matter what" performed by Boyzone or "Tire tracks and broken hearts" by Bonnie Tyler. My all time favorite song in this musical is "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste", sung by Swallow, Amos and The Man, because of its haunting melody with beautifully arranged guitar and drums sequence and the brilliant back vocals. But there is plenty of other notable songs here: "The vaults of heaven" is a rocky church hymn; "Whistle down the wind" and especially the instrumental overture of that song is certainly one of the prettiest Webber has ever composed; "Unsettled scores" and "The nature of the beast" are sweeping melodies of The Man's mental state, "If only" is a beautiful ballad with a nice violin and trumpet sequence. One of the things that this show benefits from is the use of the children's choir for two really sweet numbers, "When children rule the world" and "No matter what". Jim Steinman's rocky lyrics are more than suitable to evoke the appropriate atmosphere.
The cast on this recording is comprised of unknown (at least to me) individuals, but this isn't a drawback. Their southern accents don't sound bad to me as some of the reviewers pointed out. Lottie Mayor's Swallow has a beautiful and a gentle voice, at moments almost angelic. Marcus Lovett as The Man has a powerful vibretto and a range that varies from low to high. Dean Collinson is convincing Amos with the much needed touch of teenage mischief in his voice. He is awesome in "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste". Veronica Hart plays his black girlfriend with a wonderful vocal echo.
The show had its first run in 1997 in Washington but it closed soon for some reworking. It opened again in West End in July 1998 and played until January 2001. Some people complain that there is a lot of dialogue on this recording, but it is essential to follow the plot. The underscoring was done neatly during the dialogue sequences. This is one of those Webber's shows that needs a little effort and a couple of listening to get a grip on you. The only bad side of this CD package is its libretto, which comes only with the songs lyrics without any titles or stage actions in the brackets making it hard to follow. Since a synopsis is also missing, it is a good idea to download one from the net. Why do the publishers release such unfinished CD packages is beyond me.
"Whistle" is certainly a positive movement and breaking new grounds for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Although some of the critics weren't too keen on it, it is one of his best scores and will undoubtedly be appreciated by all true musical theater aficionados.
Almost As Good As Being There ! ! ! March 8, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I LOVE THIS CD!.....This is the FIRST time Andrew Lloyd Webber has included the complete libretto to one of his plays, which makes it a much richer experience! Rather than just hearing the musical highlights from the show...this IS the show! The wonderful diversity of music takes us from upbeat rock to gospel and everything in between. The title track is particulary beautiful!...So many of the songs are standouts...and the story of Sparrow and her siblings believing an escaped convict to be Jesus is charming, reminding us of the purity, innocence and total trust that lives in the hearts of children. I truly think you'll fall in love with this CD...I Have!
|
|
|
Proud member of the JimmyKat Network. Make sure you check out these other great JimmyKat network sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Celebrity Latest
Celebrity Pro
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
