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2005 Digitally Remastered Edition of One of the Best Loved Musicals of all Time and in the Lloyd Webber Canon.

Listener Reviews & Comments This recording of CATS features the original London cast, headed by Elaine Paige and Brian Blessed. Because it is the first official full-length recording of CATS, this does not always mean that the world-premiere rendition is always the best. The London cast gives a fairly adequate performance of the score, and perform it with a softer-grained approach as compared to their Broadway counterparts. And the lean-textured recording has sounded even better than before with this recent digital remastering. Elaine Paige may be acknowledged as a foremost interpreter of Grizabella, but here her performance shows that she neds some time to get into the spirit of the role. She does give a fine rentition of Memory that, despite competition from Betty Buckley, allows her to hold her own. Brian Blessed gives a firm, commanding and sonorous portrayal of Old Deuteronomy. He has a convicting voice that he demonstrates to great effect in his solos, even in his powerful Ad-Dressing of Cats. The lower-level principals don't seem to fare that well. Wayne Sleep as Mr. Mistoffelees and Paul Nicholas as Rum Tum Tugger cope adequately with the demands of the score, but they don't sing their parts with character and hence sound rather stilted. But nevertheless, most of the supporting cast members make up for these disappointments with crisp choral diction, even if their singing is a little laid back. The minor cats feature Myra Sands as a sprightly and no-nonsense Jennyanydots and Susan Jane Tanner as a soothing Jellylorum. Not to mention Bonnie Langford's lively portrayal of Rumpelteazer, and young Sarah Brightman's sweet, innocent and pure Jemima. Perhaps Jeff Shankley could be weak as Munkastrap here. And Stephen Tate makes a cameo appearance as a somewhat weak-voiced Gus: the Theatre Cat and Growltiger. The cast is ably supported by a firm hand in David Firman's direction of the orchestral accompaniments. It would be worth noting that this version of CATS is interesting in itself as a concept album. This is because the show underwent some extensive revisions for its Broadway premiere before the revisions were incorporated into all CATS productions worldwide. Almost the whole of the T.S. Eliot text is presented in this performance, with less verse cuts than the Broadway recording. In addition, you can also get to savour two draft versions of songs that were re-written. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer is given a jazzy setting which, in context, sounds a little stilted as compared to the jaunty music-hall setting written for Broadway. But, it is still interesting in itself. And so is the Ballad of Billy M'Caw, included during Growltiger's Last Stand. It may be more restrained than the Italian aria, but it still shows the character that Growltiger could have adopted if this song was retained. Other than these two notable drawing-board versions, the early drafts are minor, but still interesting. On the whole, I find this performance of CATS lacking in some sort of joie de vivre and spirit. Yet, for its historical value, I still recommend it, and makes a good alternative listening experience as compared to the Broadway cast. The packaging in a slimline double-disc jewel case includes a booklet with some production photographs from the London production, a cast list and a poorly-produced libretto in small print. There is also an abridged version of this recording (like the Broadway cast version has) that makes an ideal introduction to this recording in general, and it features the same selections as its Broadway counterpart. As an aside, this recording of CATS is not wholly complete, because it lacks The Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles due to the need to accomodate space on record.

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Cats: Original Cast Recording (1981 Original London Cast) by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats Pit Orchestra, Anita Pashley, Bonnie Langford, and Brian Blessed Price:$37.98