Similar Albums:
- Artist: Sarah Brightman
- Rating:
- Release Date: October 15, 2002
- Type: Compilation (best of), Soundtrack
- Genre: Vocal Music
Review
During and after her marriage to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sarah Brightman recorded for his company, Really Useful Records, on both cast recordings (The Phantom of the Opera) and solo albums (The Songs That Got Away, Surrender) under his supervision in the 1980s and early '90s. These recordings brought her some commercial success primarily in the U.K. But after departing Really Useful, she became an international classical crossover superstar, starting with 1997's Time to Say Goodbye. Understandably, Really Useful reconfigured her earlier recordings, first on The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, and then on Encore, compilation albums that are combined on this further repackaging. Not surprisingly, Brightman recorded most of her husband's best-known songs, many of which were written for her, so one gets to hear her versions of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Memory" (in both English and Italian versions), and "The Phantom of the Opera" (a duet with Michael Crawford drawn from the Original London Cast recording of the musical). The two albums fall neatly into a division of "the best" (The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection) and "the rest" (Encore), with the second album emphasizing the aspect of the original LPs that looked to obscure songs by prominent show-music songwriters. Although Brightman tackles these tunes with her usual verve, they aren't always well suited to her; she is particularly at sea trying to render the urban humor of Stephen Sondheim's "What More Do I Need," which simply doesn't conform to her drawing-room, sub-operatic style. But much of the music here does respond well to her voice and approach, especially the many songs written by her ex-husband, making this a good purchase for Brightman fans who discovered her with Time to Say Goodbye. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| The Phantom of the Opera [From The Phantom of the Opera] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mike Batt, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe | Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman | (4:21) |
| Unexpected Song [From Song and Dance] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black | Sarah Brightman | (2:56) |
| Chanson d'Enfance [From Aspects of Love] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Charles Hart | Sarah Brightman | (3:55) |
| All I Ask of You [From The Phantom of the Opera] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe | Cliff Richard, Sarah Brightman | (4:10) |
| Don't Cry for Me Argentina [From Evita] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe | Sarah Brightman | (5:54) |
| Another Suitcase in Another Hall [From Evita] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice | Sarah Brightman | (3:21) |
| Love Changes Everything [From Aspects of Love] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Charles Hart | Sarah Brightman | (3:34) |
| Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life) | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black | Sarah Brightman, José Carreras | (4:36) |
| Memory [From Cats] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, |
Sarah Brightman | (3:58) |
| Gus: The Theatre Cat [From Cats] | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Sarah Brightman, |
(5:11) |
| Anything but Lonely [From Aspects of Love] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Charles Hart | Sarah Brightman | (2:57) |
| Macavity: The Mystery Cat [From Cats] | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Sarah Brightman | (4:46) |
| Tell Me on a Sunday [From Tell Me on a Sunday/Song and Dance] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black | Sarah Brightman | (3:45) |
| Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again [From Phantom of the Opera] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe | Sarah Brightman | (3:31) |
| Pie Jesu [From Requiem] | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Sarah Brightman, |
(3:55) |
| The Music of the Night [From Phantom of the Opera] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe | Sarah Brightman | (5:22) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Whistle Down the Wind [From Whistle Down the Wind] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinman | Sarah Brightman | (3:28) |
| Away from You [From Rex] | Richard Rodgers, Sheldon Harnick | Sarah Brightman | (3:29) |
| Guardami (With One Look) [From Sunset Boulevard][Version] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, |
Sarah Brightman | (3:38) |
| Think of Me [From The Phantom of the Opera] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe | Sarah Brightman | (3:15) |
| One More Walk Around the Garden [From Carmelina] | Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner | Sarah Brightman | (3:18) |
| Surrender [From Sunset Boulevard] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, |
Sarah Brightman | (3:06) |
| If I Ever Fall in Love Again [From the Crooked Mile] | Peter Greenwell | Sarah Brightman | (3:59) |
| Half a Moment [From Jeeves] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, |
Sarah Brightman | (3:59) |
| Piano [Memory-Italian Version] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, |
Sarah Brightman | (5:07) |
| What More Do I Need [From Saturday Night Fever] | Stephen Sondheim | Sarah Brightman | (3:04) |
| There Is More to Love [From Aspects of Love] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Charles Hart | Sarah Brightman | (2:34) |
| The Last Man in My Life [From Song and Dance] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black | Sarah Brightman | (3:10) |
| In the Mandarin's Orchid Garden [From East Is West] | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | Sarah Brightman | (3:17) |
| Nothing Like You've Ever Known [From Tell Me on a Sunday and Song ...] | Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black | Sarah Brightman | (3:11) |
| Chi il Bel Sogno Di Doretta [From LA Rondine] | Giacomo Puccini, |
Sarah Brightman | (2:45) |
