Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Stephen Sondheim's Victorian horror thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is probably his most viscerally powerful score, realized to perfection by the original 1979 cast. Len Cariou plays the murderous title character with both menace and tragedy, while Angela Lansbury provides a grotesquely comic performance as Mrs. Lovett, his lover and partner in crime. At 73 minutes, this highlights CD is extremely generous but still omits over a half-hour from the complete recording. What's missing: the coloratura aria "Green Finch and Linnett Bird," the complete barber-contest sequence, the judge's flagellation number, much of the background of the show's central mystery, and a fair amount of connecting music. Yes, it's a good bargain, and it's convenient to have so much good music on a single CD, but any omission from this monumental score is one too many. If you're serious about Sweeney, spring for the two-disc set. --David Horiuchi

Tracks:

The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd
No Place Like London
The Worst Pies In London
Poor Thing
My Friends
The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd
Gren Finch And Linnet Bird
Ah, Miss
Johanna
Pirelli's Miracle Elixir
The Contest
The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd
Johanna
Wait
Kiss Me
Ladies In Their Sensitivities
Kiss Me

Tracks:

Pretty Women
Epiphany
A Little Priest
God, That's Good!
Johanna
By The Sea
Not While I'm Around
The Judge's Return
The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd

Amazon.com essential recording

Despite being known for her televised sleuthing these days, Angela Lansbury once managed to both spook and delight Broadway audiences as the maker of very particular delicacies in Victorian London. In this macabre extravaganza, Lansbury's Nellie Lovett is the accomplice of Len Cariou's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. After he slashes his victims, she turns them into her meat pies' main ingredient. For this most ghoulish of shows, Sondheim looked for inspiration in the way the music is used in horror and suspense movies, particularly in the soundtracks of Bernard Herrmann. The winner of nine Tony Awards in 1979, Sweeney Todd may not be Sondheim's most accessible score, but its operatic complexity (it is almost entirely sung-through) makes it darkly spellbinding. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Album Description

A Classic Stephen Sondheim Musical Available Now at a New Low Price!

Features bonus tracks, digitally remastered and new liner notes.

Customer Reviews:

Sweeney Lives!.......2007-05-14

"Sweeney Todd" was and is Sondheim's grand masterpiece, Tim Doyle notwithstanding, and this recording is the grand masterpiece of Sweeney Todd recordings. Listen to Len Cariou's voice -- magnificent! (And he was suffering from a bad cold/sore throat, supposedly caused by the fake earth the gravediggers used to shovel in the beginning minutes of the Broadway version of the musical). Angela never sounded better than on this remastered CD. On a small system like a boombox or a portable you won't notice a big improvement on the original CD, but on a room system you will feel the difference. The "bonus" tracks are a total waste of CD space. Couldn't they have found a rehearsal tape or a demo or something??? I think so.

I remember my mother driving me to the Korvette's Dept store at the Blue Star Shopping Center to get the original Sweeney Todd LP (yes, that's how old I am...). I played it to death, almost literally. I think I went through another LP set and a casette tape set before CDs came out. In my mind, nothing will ever beat that LP for sound and emotion and power, but this remastered CD is the next best thing.

A Masterpiece.......2007-05-06

Sweeney Todd is arguably one of the greatest musicals ever written. It has gorgeous melodies, witty and poetic lyrics, and a thrilling plot. The CD also showcases one of the best casts Broadway has ever seen.

Angela Lansbury is sensational as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's "partner in crime". She delivers every song in a brilliant British music hall style, and every track she is on stands out. She is luminous.

Len Cariou is simply marvelous. While most people know (the highly overrated George Hearn) from the video, in my mind Len remains the definitive Sweeney. He plays the part with a brooding intensity and shocks as well as chills. His "Ephiphany" is possibly the best track on the album. A thrilling performance.

The rest of the cast is also spectacular. Ken Jennings is a very sweet and heartbreaking Tobias. Victor Garber delivers "Johanna" with a strong voice. Sarah Rice also does very well as Johanna, both sh a Garber are a delight in "Kiss Me".

This is a cast ablbum every true Broadway fan should own. It is, in a word, magnificent.

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street .......2007-01-13

Only need one word to review this CD. Great

If you're going to hear a musical..........2006-09-04

...make it this one!

Sondheim's 'Sweeney Todd' has been described as quasi-operatic, so unending is the musical flow in this masterpiece. The plot is twisted and insidious, but something that many can take a sort of perverse pleasure in watching unfold. Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett is the jewel of this recording. Heartbreaking in 'The Worst Pies in London,' Lansbury also manages to sound obsequious and nasty ('God, that's good!') and even slightly insane (the final scene). Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd may feel a bit underpowered at times, but it all goes to underscore the differences between the Todd character's outward appearances and inward struggle.

The supporting cast rises to the challenge, with an especially wide-eyed Toby and a very fruity Pirelli. The chorus is powerful and borders on the edge of manic insanity in such gripping moments as 'City on Fire.' My personal favorite from this set is the crazed, joyous counterpoint of three soloists and the chorus all singing atop each other in 'God, that's good!'

This is a beautiful recording and a triumph of the 'musical' genre. Don't miss it!

Good but...........2006-06-16

Sondheim is regarded as being a "musical genius" but I would strongly disagree. While his music is certainly complex (bordering on chaotic), he has yet to evoke any emotion or passion in his music. His melodies are pretty, witty, complex or intellectual. Never gorgeous.

With that said, Sweeny Todd is definitely his best work. There are a few good numbers in here. "Joanna" is a pretty tune and so is "Not While I'm Around" but, again, not gorgeous. My personal favorite has always been "Kiss Me", a lyrically witty love declaration between the two young lovers.

Everyone always criticizes Andrew Lloyd Webber's music, which, in my opinion, is often luscious, sweeping and dramatic. It evokes the days of Puccini and even Rogers & Hammerstein. I'll admit Andrew Lloyd Webber is far from brilliant and he is famous for using the most insipid lyricists in the history of musical theatre, but Sondheim's music is incapable of approaching the gorgeousness of Webber's work. Now I will say that if you attend a Sondheim musical, you're in for an intellectually stimulating experience.

Just because music is intellectual does not mean it's wonderful. Sometimes intellectual is just that. When I go to the theatre, I want to be moved, not quizzed. Sondheim needs to learn how to compose melodies that, at least, follow some form or structure and don't simply drift off into A-tonal murkiness. An audience can't be expected to cry or experience emotions if the music isn't lifting them or taking them anywhere.

On last thought...
Phantom of the Opera is the longest running show on Broadway...and there's a reason! It's moving. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moves by the sweeping melodies. You can point out all of the show's shortcomings but you cannot deny that most of Webber's score is gorgeous. No matter who you are, if you go see Phantom of the Opera you will be moved. You could also see Sweeny Todd on Broadway and find it interesting and amusing. To say the least, you'll walk out of the theatre thinking, "Wow I was just intellectually stimulated! ALL RIGHT!"...and that's about it.

Webber's music IS musical theatre, Sondheim's music is like a sea of watercolors that bleeds into a murky mess.

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

sweeney terrific
Great Music . Great macabre story.
Too scary
Sondheims 2nd Masterpiece
Flawless

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Highlights from the 1979 Original Broadway Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Angela Lansbury , and Len Cariou
Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002W7E
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Prelude/The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd...
No Place Like London/The Barber And His Wife
The Worst Pies In London
My Friends/The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Lift Your Razor High, Sweeney!...
Johanna
The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned.../Wait
Kiss Me/Ladies in Their Sensitivities
Pretty Women/Epiphany
A Little Priest
God, That's Good!
Johanna
By The Sea
Not While I'm Around
Final Sequence (Excerpt)/The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Attend The Tale of Sweeney Todd...