Evita: Music From The Motion Picture [Soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The songbook is familiar to a generation of theater-goers. Antonio Banderas is at least as good a singer as John Travolta was in Grease. And there are three star turns from the Material Girl--the celebrated "You Must Love Me," as well as "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall." --Jeff Bateman

Tracks:

Requiem For Evita - Cast
Oh What A Circus
On This Night Of A Thousand Stars - Jimmy Nail
Eva And Magaldi/Eva Beware Of The City
Buenos Aires
Another Suitcase In Another Hall
Goodnight And Thank You
I'd Be Suprisingly Good For You
Peron's Latest Flame
A New Argentina
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
High Flying, Adored
Rainbow High
And The Money Kept Rolling In (And Out) - Antonio Banderas
She Is A Diamond - Jonathan Pryce
Waltz For Eva And Che
You Must Love Me
Eva's Final Broadcast
Lament

Amazon.com

The songbook is familiar to a generation of theater-goers. Antonio Banderas is at least as good a singer as John Travolta was in Grease. And there are three star turns from the Material Girl--the celebrated "You Must Love Me," as well as "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall." --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

A Bright & Shining Gem.......2007-07-12

I have always been fascinated by Eva Peron, undoubtedly one of the most fascinating women of the 20th century. Madonna absolutely shines in the title role, and she has never been in finer voice (evidence that the professional vocal lessons she took in order to prepare for the role paid off in a big way). The songs are a dizzyingly diverse array of pop, opera, rock, Latin-flavored and classical, and there is not a dud among them. Among the finest: "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", Eva's self-pitying ode to the pitfalls of having relationships with the wrong type of men (repeatedly); "Good Night & Thank You", a tongue-in-cheek quasi-duet with Che (Antonio Banderas); "High-Flying Adored", a gorgeous but cynical ballad sung by Che about Eva's dubious rise to "power"; "Rainbow High", Eva's narcissistic analysis of how important she is to the Argentine populace; "Buenos Aires", a high-energy, Latin-jazz drenched greeting for the city a teenage Eva has so longed to escape to; "Waltz for Eva & Che", a lilting yet confrontational duet as Che "calls" Eva on what he perceives as phoniness and Eva defiantly and defensively responds in kind. Not only does Madonna turn out a sterling performance, but Antonio Banderas does a spectacular job vocally as Che, the Greek-chorus narrator of the entire story. I realize that "Evita" purists will strongly disagree, but I prefer this version over the Patti Luopne/Broadway original (actually, Elaine Paige originated the role on the London stage, and I found her interpretation of Eva to be bland and insipid). The Broadway version is much brasher and less melodious then the film, which is bright, polished and beautifully melodic. I listen to "Evita" at least once a week, and I never tire of it. Madonna truly made the role of Eva Peron her own, and she should be proud.

Music.......2007-05-28

The CD isn't bad except that a lot of the songs are over played. Madonna does a great job of singing as always. I was surprised that Antonio Bandaras could sing so beautifully.

Better than the show.......2007-03-12

A great movie (of a great show.) Madonna and Anthony Bandares are better than the original cast. Exciting production.

The Best of "Evita".......2006-11-29

"Evita" is one of those musicals that are hard to appeal to general public. The seriousness of the subject, the music itself (hardly any spoken words) and the running time of over two hours can be a little too much. There is no doubt "Evita" is a great movie - the acting, direction and scenery are all outstanding. However, the question is whether it can be easily digested.
The question of "digestion" is also very present when talking about the two different soundtracks of "Evita" available. The first one, titled "EVITA: The Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack" is essentialy the movie itself- a double-disk edition with all possible songs and notes from the movie. The second one, called "EVITA: Music From The Motion Picture", the one you are looking at right now, is a single-disk compilation of the most popular songs. It is more easier to listen to and doesn't include some songs that worked in the movie context itself, but are irrelevant in the comfort of your living room ("Charity Concert/The Art of Impossible" may give some background on Peron himself, but is basically the introduction to the fantastic song "I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You"; "Santa Evita" is a pretty, chorus composition, but only works within the movie). So, if you are a fan of the movie, but are in the mood to listen to its highlights, instead of the whole soundtrack, this is the CD for you. The songs are in a chronological order, so it preserves the plot and the emotional capacity, while it focuses on the best songs of the musical.
The main treasures of "Evita" are Madonna as the title character and Antonio Banderas as Che Guevara. Banderas shines in the songs like "Oh What a Circus" or "And The Money Kept Rolling In", while the Material Queen breathes life into "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and the Oscar-winner "You Must Love Me". And when they sing together, Madonna and Banderas are absolutely enchanting ("High Flying, Adored", "Waltz for Eva and Che"), because of the genuine chemistry they bring to the story. They make sure that you will enjoy every single song, from the catchy "Buenos Aires", to the touching "Lament", where the powerful orchestra performance will surely send chills down your spine.

Evita for a modern generation.......2006-10-31

Firstly, this recording of Evita was very well made. Most everything from the movie is here, except some orchestral sections (like the end credits). The orchestral arrangments are quite good throughout, with more modern arrangments that make the score sound more relevant to modern audiences.

Vocally, Madonna is alright, but the best part of her performance is her acting, not her voice, and is best experienced watching the movie. If you're looking for a definitive and powerful vocal Evita, look elsewhere. Now, I'm not really a fan of Madonna, but she performed very nicely on this recording. While I've not seen previous Evita productions (I'm only 25), I've heard some recordings, and while Patti LuPone's voice IS better, I personally prefer Madonna's interpretation, even though her vocals are a little weak.

Other performances are very good too, including Jonathan Pryce's Peron and Antonio Banderas' surprisingly good Che. His accent adds a certain authenticity to the role I enjoyed.

I discovered Evita through the movie, so I didn't have previous performances etched in my head to comare this to, so I was quite impressed with this recording. In the end, this recording did precisely what it intended to, brought an amazing work of theater into the modern age to be enjoyed by a new generation.

Music:

Music

Music