After viewing Lea Salonga's performance in 'Hey! Mr
Producer', I bought this version of 'Miss Saigon', later buying the
1995 Studio Cast. Salonga's performance on this album; with her
beautifully precise voice and way of creating emotional energy,
captures the spirit of the innocent, yet strong-willed, Kim perfectly,
especially in the duet "The Movie in My Mind". Her solo
performances in the songs; "I'd Give My Life For You" and
"The Sacred Bird" reveal the passion that Kim feels for her
son, Tam, and Chris. Yet, it is Salonga who brings this character to
life with her fantastic voice. Joanna Ampil's performance in the 1995
Studio Cast is equally brilliant, but Salonga just cannot be
beaten.

The character of Chris is admired at the beginning of the
musical, but toward the end a negative view is held of him, as he
chooses his new wife, Ellen (played by Claire Moore), over Kim. Simon
Bowman does an incredible job in portraying Chris, with his nicely
ranged and emotional voice. His performance of "Why God
Why?" is awe-inspiring. Not counting David Campbell's portrayal
of Chris in "Hey! Mr Producer", Bowman is the best Chris I
have heard to date, Peter Cousins (1995 Studio Cast) simply cannot
compete with him. I find that Cousins pronounces his words to well,
and therefore cannot create the realism which surrounds the American
GI. Bowman's American accent is very realistic, Cousins' is not. The
duets performed by Salonga and Bowman as Kim and Chris are beautiful
and are performed with great passion, especially in "Sun and
Moon", and "The Last Night of the World"; two truly
lovely songs. But Bowman's best performance in the musical, in my
opinion, is in the song "Confrontation" with Ellen and
Chris, where Chris sings: "Saigon was crazed, but she was real
And for one moment I could feel." This performance by Bowman is
deeply inspiring.

Kim's pimp, known as the Engineer, is played
outstandingly by Johnathon Pryce. Pryce portrays the seedy, comical
character with great enthusiasm. Although, the listeners should hate
him, I found that I felt sorry for him in parts due to the sad life he
has lived. That is what Boublil and Schonberg do, to create greater
realism and appeal to the emotions of the listeners. Every character
has faults, there are moments when you hate them and moments where you
pity them, a brilliant technique used by Boublil & Schonberg to
create realism. Kevin Gray's portrayal of the Engineer in the 1995
Studio Cast is also a brilliant performance, yet Pryce has a
wonderfully compelling voice, especially in the songs "If You
Want To Die In Bed", "What A Waste" and the fantastic
"The American Dream", and therefore I believe that his
performance is better.

The character of Ellen is one which can be
hated or admired. She is the character which destroys the dreams of
Kim. Claire Moore portrays Ellen quite well, although I believe that
Ruthie Henshall performs the character better in the 1995 Studio
Cast. Yet Claire's performance of the song "Now That I've Seen
Her" is powerfully beautiful. The duets between Kim and Ellen are
also performed beautifully by Salonga and Moore; "I Still
Believe", and "Room 317", two extremely powerful
songs.

Peter Polycarpou's portrayal of John, Chris' GI friend, is
the best I've heard. Although the 1995 Studio Cast's John, Hinton
Battle, performs well enough, his voice is just not fitting,
especially for the power and emotion required for the song
"Bui-Doi". The beautiful duet, "Please", between
John and Kim is also performed amazingly by Polycarpou and Salonga on
this album.

The antagonist of "Miss Saigon" is found in
Kim's cousin, Thuy, played by Keith Burns. Burns has quite a powerful
voice, and the viciousness he displays in the songs "What's This
I Find" and "This is the Hour" are really rather
effective in terrifying listeners. I think that he portrays Thuy
better than Charles Azulay (1995 Studio Cast), because he puts more
emotion into his performance.

The company numbers of "The
Heat Is On In Saigon" and "The Fall of Saigon", as well
as "This is the Hour" are performed brilliantly. These songs
are extremely good-listening.

'Les Miserables' cannot be beaten
musically or lyrically, but Boublil and Schonberg have come close with
'Miss Saigon'. If this album was complete like the 1995 Studio Cast,
then this album would be perfect. Even so, I would buy this album just
to hear the beautiful score as well as the brilliant talents of Lea
Salonga and Simon Bowman.




Excellent!   February 5, 2004
charter (the US)
32 out of 32 found this review helpful

This is a very powerful and touching musical. I'm not surprised that this has become the 6th longest-running production in Broadway history.

Although I would have preferred listening to a "current version" recording with the original London cast in it, this will do. No one will ever beat Lea Salonga - who's done all versions (London and the original & revised Broadway versions) -- in her portrayal of Kim!


Don't Pass This Up   January 13, 2003
S.E. Engstrom (Illinois, USA)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful

Easily the most touching and beautiful recording of Miss Saigon ever. Lea Salonga is infallible as Kim - the emotional strength and innocent hope she portrays leaves her voice etched in one's mind. Simon Bowman is amazing as Chris..."Why, God, Why?" is one of the most beautiful tracks. Peter Polycarpou's rendition of "Bui-Doi" is probably my favorite track...it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Jonathan Pryce is the epitome of sleazy business...sorta reminds me of Joel Grey's 'Emcee' from Cabaret...hah. Except sometimes, after hearing about his life, you can pity him.
Claire Moore's duet with Salonga ("I Still Believe") is heartbreaking, especially since we know that Chris has since married, but Kim still believes he'll return...
Keith Burns is a convincing Thuy. His voice brings character with it, and fits absolutely perfectely in "What's This I Find?" Also, his counterpoint with Salonga in "This Is The Hour" can easily send chills up your spine, same as Salonga and Polycarpou's duet in "Please".
Other Notable Tracks - "The Morning of the Dragon" is a very strong track, I personally think its one of the best. "The American Dream" makes a wonderful mockery of our system...its absolutely ingeneous. "Sun and Moon" is gorgeous, as is "Last Night Of The World"...and "The Sacred Bird" never fails to bring me to tears. I also love "The Telephone Song", Polycarpou also shines in this one.
I could go on and on...
In fact, this isn't a single track on this CD that isn't good.

One Warning, though...some of these tracks have some pretty foul language, especially "The Heat Is On In Saigon", however, that doesn't change the fact that its a great song :P

So to sum it up:

DON'T PASS UP THIS RECORDING!!!


Best recording of the 6th...   January 22, 2004
29 out of 29 found this review helpful

longest-running musical in Broadway history!

Powerful music, moving story, and best of all, first-rate performances from a superb cast. This (NOT the Studio Cast Recording) is THE definitive recording of this wonderful musical.


OUTSTANDING!   April 30, 2004
28 out of 29 found this review helpful

One of the best musicals ever produced, featuring one of the greatest musical theater actresses (Lea Salonga) to ever grace the stage!