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 Guide
