YEAR: 1993
CAST: Grace Wilson, Anthony Llewellyn, Nigel Lebeau, Michael Svensson, Caroline McLean
I stumbled across this curious little studio album in a charity shop for a quid, and was attracted by the cheap looking cover. These budget Tring International published efforts have a certain aroma about them, a sort of fecal bouquet, which always suggests an ‘interesting’ listen. In researching (briefly, on Google, just now) this album, it seems very little information exists on it. The ever-reliable castalbums.org provided the release date of 1993 – no date is listed anywhere on the cover and no booklet is provided. However, the album is ‘licensed from the Long Island Music Company Limited’, a long-since dissolved small-time publisher.
The album contains a generous 15 tracks, not bad for a budget highlights package. Things start reasonably enough with a lively ‘The Heat Is On In Saigon”, but quickly head south. For starters, the production values are low throughout; the performers are clearly singing to pre-recorded synthesised backing tracks, the sound engineering is half-arsed and the cast are thin. Indeed, Chris/John are played by the same chap, as is Ellen/Gigi. This is at least not hidden, like on some budget recordings (I’m looking at you, The London Theatre Orchestra and Cast) but it leaves the chorus sounding very thin and full of many duplicated identical-sounding voices in group scenes. The performers frequently lose time with the backing tracks, as without the aid of a musical director they can be unsure of entrances and tempo. Accents slip a lot, particularly Chris/John’s (“their secret they carn’t hide”, “for their charnce to live”) but considering they probably just turned up for an afternoon’s work having never heard the tracks, did one take, then went home and never thought of it again, I don’t blame the performers too much for a lack of rehearsal. What I do have an issue with is the typo on the disc – repeated on the back of the case for the track listing – listing a song called ‘He or Me’ (instead of ‘Her or Me’ AKA ‘Now That I’ve Seen Her’).
From extensive Googling, I can’t find any more info/credits for any of the actors attached. The singing from some, in particular Kim (played by Grace Wilson) is atrocious, and she gives an embarrassingly amateur performance. Her voice is very thin and breathy, which initially I thought was an acting choice during ‘Movie in my Mind’, to show the character’s naivety and fear. However, by ‘Sun and Moon’, her vocals were still extremely weak. Her emotion ranges from being almost in a fugue state, to dull surprise. Indeed, she sounds much the same about her joy at finding new love as contemplating suicide – take a listen; Kimparison
She also has a tendency to be rather pitchy and nasal; Movie in My Mind
Gigi/Ellen, as played by Caroline McLean, doesn’t fair much better. McLean’s voice does contrast to Kim’s at least, sounding a good deal deeper and much older. But she is not appropriate for either part and sings with a rumbling vibrato which feels somewhat overdone. “He” or Me
Elsewhere, I enjoyed aspects of Anthony Llewellyn’s performance as Chris/John. He has a pleasing voice when singing at a comfortable level, but struggles when forced to belt (which equates to getting a bit shouty). His ‘Bui Doi’ is a highlight of the CD, still without being a patch on Peter Polycarpou’s original. Bui Doi
Nigel Lebeau, aside from having a fantastic name, has a campy flamboyance about him, which I can’t decide how I feel about. On the surface, he’s a pound shop Jonathan Pryce, but there is some effort to make the role more his own. He’s entertaining, if nothing else – vocals aren’t too bad. If You Want To Die In Bed
Thuy (Michael Svensson) certainly puts a lot more into his acting than Kim and has a decent voice. In truth, he is probably the most accomplished voice performance on the recording. This Is The Hour
It certainly won’t get much play time here, but it isn’t irredeemable. Clocking at 1hr 7mins, I made it all the way through in one sitting.
Unoriginal Cast Recordings 