Cats - Paris Cast Recording

I loved the Hamburg cast recording and for ages thought that it gave 
the best and most accurate representation of both the score and the 
show. However, I was thrilled to find that the 1989 Paris recording 
surpassed even that excellent album in nearly every way.  Firstly 
this is because of the sound quality of the music, the Cats 
orchestrations have a very distinctive, almost hallucinogenic, sound 
in live performance but I've never felt that this was re-created on 
any of the recordings, especially in the English language versions.  
The French disc on the other hand manages to fully capture the 
acoustic quality of the score as it is heard in the theatre, even 
more so than the live Hamburg version.  I feel that most of the other
recordings tend to sound very soft and spongy and make the music 
appear as if it's children's cartoon music, this recording is much 
sharper, darker and more sensual and has a much more defined feel to 
it, it sounds like serious music.  It is also the only recording to 
really make the score sound like a score, rather than just a 
collection of tunes.  If the other recordings sound quite contained, 
this one sounds expansive, as though it was recorded in a wide-open 
space.  Cameron Mackintosh once said 'you can tell people about this 
[the show], but no one can explain the experience of Cats' and
that's true I think.  None-the-less I believe that of all the 
recordings, this one goes farthest towards effectively communicating 
the aura of the show as you would experience it live.   This is 
intensified by the fact that this is by far and away the most 
comprehensive of all the albums.  With the exception of the Gumbie 
Cat's dance, which is still only featured in the standard edited 
version found on the other recordings, the album is virtually 
complete.  It contains, for example, the full Mistoffelees dance,
which is not included on any of the other recordings and is only 
featured in the video in a very edited form.  It even contains little 
sequences such as the police sirens and Macavity cords which precedes 
Mungojerry and Rumpleteazer's entrance, which are absent from the 
other albums. The singers too are mainly excellent.  Gay Marshall's 
Grizabella is a lot quieter and more internalised than most.  It must 
have been a sorrowful, moving performance to watch but does not sound 
quite distressed enough to really work fully on record.  Laure Balon 
and Cristina Grimandi, as Demeter and Bombalurina, are a bit below 
par during Macavity, but otherwise the company are great.  Matthew 
Jessner makes an amazing Munkustrap, the best I have ever heard on 
record and Frederic Norbert is an excellent Tugger (Rocky 
Tam Tam).  

This recording contains stunning versions of the big set pieces
Pekes and the Pollicles and Growltiger and by far the best Jellicle 
Ball you will ever hear.  It is so sinewy and sensitive and layered 
that even the version on the Hamburg recording sounds clompy and 
heavy in comparison. 

Although the French translation did receive some criticism at the 
time, I like it a lot.  Admittedly my French is not great, but I 
imagine that for many non-French listeners like myself, it is the 
sound and feel of the language, rather than the actual words that is 
important.  In this respect, it is wonderful; it sounds smooth and 
sensitive to the rhythms of the music and the emotional nature of the 
scene or song, if you already know the text in English (or whatever 
your native language is) then I can't see how the language would 
stunt your enjoyment of the recording in any way.  In all I think 
that this is an absolute must for all serious Cats fans (if you 
can actually find a copy any more), quite apart from the fact that it 
contains several sections which have never been fully recorded 
before, it will also allow you to re-discover the sequences you do 
know, to hear them again with fresh ears.  It really made me re-
evaluate the music of Cats and made me feel even more passionate 
about it. This is my favourite recording of Cats and possibly my 
favourite ALW album (along with the Australian Starlight
Express album - another superior and unfortunately little known 
recording of an overly derided score - and the superb Canadian Sunset 
Boulevard album).

- Stephen