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Product Description
Product Description
Richard Burton's voice has been digitally remastered and seamlessly mixed with an all-Welsh cast to create a magical, fresh visit to the unique but universal world of Llareggub. Richard Burton's inimitable narration as First Voice in the BBC's 1963 recording of Under Milk Wood was hugely acclaimed. In this 2003 production, the famous radio play has been given a fresh lease of life. Richard Burton's unforgettable performance joins a celebrated all-Welsh cast in a highly-acclaimed dramatisation of this classic 'play for voices'. Touching, eerie and very funny, the play tells the story of a day in the life of the inhabitants of a small Welsh seaside town, their dreams and routines, their loves and regrets, their hopes and fears. With characters and phrases that have entered daily parlance, the play opens with 'To begin at the beginning' and features such much-loved characters as No Good Boyo, Lilly Smalls, Polly Garter, Organ Morgan and Captain Cat. Among the all-Welsh cast are Sian Phillips, Matthew Rhys and Glyn Houston, as well as a special guest appearance by John Humphrys. With an entrancing new musical score by John Hardy, this is set to become the classic version of a spellbinding play.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
I debated whether this should rank 2 or 3 stars and in the end settled on 2. Some may be puzzled how I could possibly rate the Richard Burton recording of Under Milk Wood as only 2 stars? The honest answer is that I don't, I rate it 5 stars, it's this recording/remix that I think deserves only 2.
The original version was beautiful (I've only ever heard the 1963 version though many say that the 1954 version was better so I've just bought it for myself to find out). I've listened to it so many times I've lost count and every time something new sneaks out and surprises you - little nuances, wordplay, tone, you get something new on every listen, and on every listen I'm transported to another place, I can see the people, the streets, the houses, the rooms in the houses, everything - a truly magical piece of work.
This new version takes the original Richard Burton reading and melds it with a new cast and some remixing. I've nothing against that in principle; I just don't think it's been very well done. The performances of the new cast are perfectly good (I'm used to some of the old ones, so to me the new seem out of place, but I'm sure if you came to this fresh you'd find them perfectly good). So what's the problem? It's the omission of some key sounds effect and the inappropriate addition of others and some incidental music that undoes this version.
Others have mentioned the lack of the children singing and while this may seem trivial it does detract, but more importantly it's the incidental music and the addition of some special effects that do most to detract and distract. For example, for those that don't know this work, in one of the very early sequences, we are introduced to some dead people. Presumably for benefit of the unfamiliar listener or hard of thinking, these have now been mixed with a hollow ghostly echo, just to get the message across, but it doesn't, it kills the atmosphere created by Burton's voice, you don't need SFX to know he's talking about dead people, it's there to hear in his tone.
I believe this had the potential to be a great piece or work, but in reality (and rather unusually for the BBC) it falls flat. If you want a good recording of Under Milk Wood buy yourself the 1963 or 1954 versions, only buy this one if you want to judge for yourself whether you think this 2003 version is an improvement on the original, but I doubt that you will.
The original version was beautiful (I've only ever heard the 1963 version though many say that the 1954 version was better so I've just bought it for myself to find out). I've listened to it so many times I've lost count and every time something new sneaks out and surprises you - little nuances, wordplay, tone, you get something new on every listen, and on every listen I'm transported to another place, I can see the people, the streets, the houses, the rooms in the houses, everything - a truly magical piece of work.
This new version takes the original Richard Burton reading and melds it with a new cast and some remixing. I've nothing against that in principle; I just don't think it's been very well done. The performances of the new cast are perfectly good (I'm used to some of the old ones, so to me the new seem out of place, but I'm sure if you came to this fresh you'd find them perfectly good). So what's the problem? It's the omission of some key sounds effect and the inappropriate addition of others and some incidental music that undoes this version.
Others have mentioned the lack of the children singing and while this may seem trivial it does detract, but more importantly it's the incidental music and the addition of some special effects that do most to detract and distract. For example, for those that don't know this work, in one of the very early sequences, we are introduced to some dead people. Presumably for benefit of the unfamiliar listener or hard of thinking, these have now been mixed with a hollow ghostly echo, just to get the message across, but it doesn't, it kills the atmosphere created by Burton's voice, you don't need SFX to know he's talking about dead people, it's there to hear in his tone.
I believe this had the potential to be a great piece or work, but in reality (and rather unusually for the BBC) it falls flat. If you want a good recording of Under Milk Wood buy yourself the 1963 or 1954 versions, only buy this one if you want to judge for yourself whether you think this 2003 version is an improvement on the original, but I doubt that you will.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This is a wonderful recording. Richard Burton's 1963 recording added seamlessly into a new, 2003, production. His 1963 narration is so well known that any other voice wouldn't seem right. I like the discrete background sound-effects as well.
It's a recording you can listen to many times, discovering new phrases each time.
It's a recording you can listen to many times, discovering new phrases each time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The editing between parts of the Richard Burton narration and Sian Philips is beautifully done. The actors parts are also good. However I do feel that the omission of the children playing and singing does detract. They added to the overall atmosphere of the village and to the image of the school teacher as a prim teacher and her desire for Sinbad Sailors
Listmania!
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