Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical - Original Cast (CD 1997)

Note: This review is written in conjunction with reviews for the other two versions of the soundtrack. Reference may be used to the other albums.

This album features the artists Robert Cuccioli as Jekyll/Hyde, Linda Eder as Lucy and Christiane Noll as Emma.

It includes the following songs:

Prologue; Lost In The Darkness; Fa ade; Pursue The Truth; Fa ade (Reprise); Emma s Reasons; I Must Go On; Take Me As I Am; Letting Go; Fa ade (Reprise 2); No One Knows Who I Am; Good N Evil; Now There Is No Choice; This Is The Moment; First Transformation; Alive; Your Work And Nothing More; Sympathy, Tenderness; Someone Like You; Alive (Reprise); Murder, Murder!; Once Upon A Dream; Obsession; In His Eyes; Dangerous Game; Fa ade (Reprise 3); Way Back; New Life; Confrontation; Fa ade (Reprise 4); Finale.

Jekyll & Hyde, though not being the greatest of Broadway musicals, has it s own unique charm. It is often panned by critics and is though of a substitute to Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables , but I must admit I hold a small flame for it.

If you ve read the book, forget about it! It doesn t fit the musical format! This is the story of a scientist who concocts a chemical formula that will allow the separation of good and evil to help his sick father who is in a mental home. Practically ignoring his best friend, John Utterson, and his fianc e, Emma Carew, he becomes obsessed with his work. Upon creating his murderous alter ego, Edward Hyde roams the streets of Victorian London killing all denied Jekyll his work and abusing a pretty, young prostitute, Lucy Harris, who has fallen in love with Jekyll.

Although many fans consider The Complete Work album to be the best by far, I would disagree. This album cuts out all the weak songs from the full 2 hours, and provides us with a better quality hour and a half of good show tunes.

As with all musicals, the main theme songs are the most popular on the album. Someone Like You , A New Life and, the most famous, This is the Moment provide us with the powerful pop songs that get stuck in our head after we ve listened to the soundtrack. The lyrics maybe a bit sickly in places, but the melodies are powerful and catchy. Cuccioli shines in his solo This is the Moment and Eder gives a heartfelt performance in Someone Like You . Eder and Noll team up beautifully in the duet In His Eyes , giving the best performance of the three albums.

The two main ensemble songs are extremely annoying. I remember listening to Fa ade and Murder, Murder! for the first time and cringing. But what s even worse, after I had listened to it a couple of times and became familiar with them, they became some of the best tracks on the album! If you can bear with some of the clich d lyrics, these songs are fun and upbeat, and will get you tapping your toes and singing along. In particular, Murder, Murder! , which has a curious time change in the chorus that makes the piece.

As with several musicals, the melodies of the songs are carried throughout the album. This gives the album a great consistency and can foreshadow in places.

There are some tracks that I feel I must comment on individually, as I find them particularly special.

Good N Evil is the song that replaced Lucy s Bring on the Men as her cabaret number. Fans cursed the producers when the change was made, as Bring on the Men was a particular favourite. In my opinion, Good N Evil , besides being rather a satanic song if you pay too much attention to the lyrics, is a much more focused option as it doesn t stray from the main thrust of the story. (It s also a personal favourite of mine!)

Your Work And Nothing More is a glorious quartet sung by Jekyll (Cuccloli), Emma (Noll), Utterson and Sir Danvers Carew. The individual melodies and lyrics for each character entwine beautifully, producing Baroque style harmonies (and give the ensemble chance to squash in yet another reprise of Fa ade!). Each artist complements the others, leaving you with a musical masterpiece!

Dangerous Game is a haunting duet between Lucy (Eder) and Hyde (Cuccloli). Unique as it is supposedly one of the only duets in a minor key (as I have heard from other sources. I cannot confirm that myself.). It s the sort of song that sends shivers down your spine and is beautifully performed by Cuccloli and Eder.

Confrontation is the unusual duet between Jekyll (Cuccloli) and Hyde (Cuccloi). I can appreciate this album s version of the song more that The Complete Work , as both parts are sung at the same time, as opposed to separately in a recording studio. Granted, affects are still used to make the voices sound different, but Cuccloli provides great distinction to the parts and proves his talent, as necessary for the part.

As a musical album, Jekyll & Hyde is a good choice for the beginner musical fan, but may be scorned by fans that are used to musicals like Phantom and Les Mis .

As a Jekyll & Hyde album, I think that this is the best recording. It provides you with toe-tapping upbeat songs, catchy pop-y themes and some unique styles, leaving out the dross.