ANITA MAKES EVERY SONG BETTER
5
By TheMuffinQueen
Anita can make any song better no matter how bad! She has an awesome voice and a funny attitude so everything is better!
I'd like to give it 3 1/2 but I'll round it up to 4
4
By Yehieli
This musical was the first kind of Broadway experience I EVER had and I've since come to find it my favorite musical. I've listened to pretty much every possible recording out there and while this one is a very good recording, it's not my favorite.
I find Chita Rivera to sound drunk in almost all of her songs, the exception being America. However, I guess it's a simple matter of not being able to have everything since Chita Rivera WAS a phenomenal dancer.
Carol Lawrence does a great job, but I believe that if you're going to perform on Broadway you should be able to hit all the right notes in your song and it irritates me to no end that in "A Boy Like That," after she sings the second "Oh no, Anita, no!" she goes on to sing a blatantly wrong note on "You (should know better)."
And "Maria" is quite wonderful, really, but why does Larry Kert have to go straight to the r's in Marrrrrrrrrrrrrria? If he needs to sing r's to be able to move on to higher notes, he really ought to have worked on his breath support before accepting the part of Tony, not that I wouldn't rather listen to him that Matt Cavenaugh with his uncontrolled vibrato and awfully nasal tone. Another thing I'm not sure I love are Kert's vowel sounds…they change all the time and they're a little…unrealistic as compared to how they'd sound if he were speaking the lyrics. He's quite good, though, overall.
I like all the Jet songs; they make me smile. It's kind of ironic that I played Maria but loved the Jet songs better than the rest of the music in the musical, though "A Boy Like That" is my favorite.
My conclusion: Great recording, but a little more rehearsal would have hit the nail on the head. It's still worth the purchase, though. =)
Fantastic Album--mangled by iTunes
5
By solduchotsprings
West Side Story is a classic. However, if you want to listen to the album in its entirety, buy the cd. I bought this from iTunes yesterday, only to have the tracks split-up into two separate "albums" and thus I'm not able to play the songs in the order intended. I changed the track info so that all the tracks match and are viewed as a single album on my Mac. That works for my Mac, but my portable devices are synced to iCloud, which means I can't correct the multi-album error unless I disable iCloud and sync my mobile devices to my Mac only. That's what I've decided to do. I've had this problem occur with ripped cds, but I can't understand how Apple can get this wrong on something they sell in iTunes. Content as great as "West Side Story" purchased via iTunes should work perfectly on their products. Instead, it's just another hassle.
Its really good, I just prefer the movie & Revival soundtracks.
3
By John;p
Its not that its bad, I just think that there are versions of certain songs that aren't as good as the movie or revival. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't much care for the lady who played Anita in the original, but to be fair, It may just have been the fact that that particular style of singing was more popular on Broadway, and may just not be my cup of tea. But regardless, this show is amazing, without a doubt a timeless classic, and I can't wait to make my musical debut as Chino in my school's production of West Side Story!!!
I wish
5
By NCC1701E
There are several Broadway musicals that I wish I could have seen live. This is certainly one. I have this on record, then to cassette tape, then CD. Now Digital. I wouldn't be without it. Too much to say but an absolute must have. You will never regret it.
G
I like to be in America!
5
By B.Bopp
This is one of the greatest American musicals ever made. Although I think the movie recording is better, this one really captures the energy and grit that makes the show special. Larry Kert is really amazing. Carol Lawrence is not better than Marni Nixon, but she is still a bit better suited for the part because she was younger. Although Chita Rivera isn't the best singer, she still manages to pull it off with a lot of spunk. This is definitely worth buying.
West Side Story: Shakespeare Would Be Proud
5
By No Real Nickname, but a Broadway Fan
Being a musical-theatre fan, I figured that I had heard the title of this show so many times that I ought to see it, so that if nothing else, I would know what everybody was talking about. Little did I know that the Shakespeare-loving side of me would enjoy it, too! I watched this movie for the first time about a year ago now, and the ending brought tears to my eyes. It's a perfect blend of great music, amazing choreography, and William Shakespeare's beautiful, heart-wrenching love story.
This Is the One!
5
By Biff McKeldin
There are many West Side Story recordings as is befitting one of the greatest scores written for Broadway: there are more polished recordings, more complete recordings, more operatic recordings, more contemporary recordings; but none of them comes close to capturing the excitement found here on the 1957 original cast album. I own many other recordings of this show, and love most of them, but if I could only keep one, this would be it. The singing isn’t always flawless, and it has a harsher edge to it than many other cast albums of the time (probably a conscious choice on the part of the original record producer, Goddard Lieberson – the better to capture the edginess of the show itself), but it has an energy about it that is unmatched.
The Best!
5
By BARNBARN
Maybe it's cause I grew up with it, and nothing against the movie or the current Broadway production, but when I hear anyone sings any of these songs, they always sound slightly wrong until I play the recordings from this version. THIS is how it SHOULD sound. I had it on vinyl until I downloaded this. The digital reproduction sounds great. And I don't care what new mics they have now or digital techniques they have for new versions, this just sounds great. Period.
love it
5
By xxtheemoprincexx
I love this musical, never get tired of it
