Evita [Soundtrack]

Antonio Banderas is surprisingly good as Che, his deep Spanish voice brings out the character and complimants that of Madonna who playes Evita.
The music is a mix of slow poignant ballads like "you must love me" my personal favourite of the album and up beat moving tracks like "A new Argentina". Richard Price and Jimmy Nail provide their own personal touch to the songs.

Every track on this soundtrack is brilliant, "You must love me", "I'd be good for you" and "The waltz of Ava and Che" in particular are magnificant examples of Webber at his best. Not forgetting the famous "Don't cry for me Argentina" performed gloriously by Madonnna leaving her on a par with predecessor Elaine Paige.

Whether you are a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, musicals or just want something enjoyable to listen to the "Evita" soundtrack is definately one to try.

While I can understand the opinions of those who criticise this collection, I cannot agree. Certainly, Madonna is not Elaine Paige or Patti LuPone. I am not familiar with Patti, but I am a huge fan of both Madonna and Elaine, who are very different types of singer. Elaine has a clear, powerful, soprano voice with a wide vocal range – a British version of Barbra Streisand. Despite the hit versions by Julie Covington in the seventies and Madonna in the nineties, Don’t cry for me Argentina is generally regarded (at least in Britain) as Elaine’s song. Madonna, by contrast, has a deeper voice and a more limited vocal range. Nevertheless, her version of Don’t cry for me Argentina is brilliant in its own way – and she is also in great form elsewhere on this soundtrack. Indeed, many will prefer Madonna’s voice to those of Elaine or Patti.

So, taken on its own, this is a wonderful soundtrack. It demonstrates an extra dimension to Madonna’s music that was previously absent, while it will reach places that Elaine Paige and Patti LuPone had no hope of ever reaching. If even a small proportion of Madonna’s fans end up discovering Elaine’s music because of the Evita connection, even better.

Enjoy this for what it is – a mainstream pop soundtrack - but if you are a serious fan of theatrical music, buy one of those original stage recordings (London or Broadway) or buy some of Elaine Paige’s own music.

The vocal liabilities of the singers are much more noticeable on the CD than they are when you are watching the film. Madonna has never been a particularly strong singer, but power has never been the key to her performance anyhow. I keep getting the feeling she is falling behind the pace on the fast songs, particularly "Eva Beware of the City," which only highlights her strength in the slower numbers and from that perspective she pretty much nails "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," which is the one song she has to nail. Of course, there are the inevitable comparisons to Patti LuPone, and I have to wonder if I think Madonna's best effort is on "You Must Love Me" because it is more suited to her vocal stylings than LuPone or because I never heard anybody else sing that particular song. But then the first time I heard "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" Karen Carpenter sang it with opera singers doing the intro part, so there. Similarly, Antonio Banderas does not have the same impact as he does on film, where his expressive looks and gestures provide so much of the nuance of his meaning in singing any given line (e.g., "On What a Circus"). Jonathan Pryce really does not have all that much to sing in this show, but his few moments certainly match the emotion tenor of each scene (e.g., "She is a Diamond"). Jimmy Nail sounds (and looks) to young to be Evita's ticket out of the sticks, even though he is technically the best singer in the group ("On This Night of a Thousand Stars"). However, the additional vocalists are all obviously younger than the actors lip-syncing in the film, so at least there is consistency.

All this being said, I have to say I do not think it incredibly strange than when I listen to this album at home I tend to put on the DVD rather than the CD. Not only do I get to see the visual dimension that is so important to these performances, but the beautiful cinematography. Besides, the deathbed sequences were done live so what was recorded for the CD was never used in the film and whenever I listen to the disc it is the movie version I heard in my mind. The end result might not be as great as fans of this musical might have hoped, especially given all the years we had to wait for the film version, but it is still pretty good.