Wicked - Original Cast Recording

I had never heard of Wicked until I popped onto Joey McIntyre's (ex- new kid on the block) website and found that he had played one of the leading role's in a new broadway musical titled 'Wicked' - I was intrugued and wanted to know more, so I checked out the official site for the musical and listened to some clips, just by the previews of the songs I was drawn in and wanted to know and hear more, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my sister who studies at Italia Conti was in a production of it here in the UK! so not only would I get to hear the whole songs I would know the story too! WOW it was fantastic and the songs are incredible so I had to get this CD immediatley! Elphaba (played by Idina) has one of the most amazing voices and I would of loved to have seen her play this part! all the tracks roll with effortless ease and some are truly beautiful like the finale songThis is a must have buy for all musical lovers or lovers of the Wizard of Oz

Absolutely excellent! I play it in my car whilst driving (about the only place I have time to listen to c.ds nowadays) and it has been on non-stop. Originally bought in preparation for when I take my Grandchildren to see the show in London and they also love it, requesting favourite numbers every time they get in the car. One drawback has been they have all changed their opinion of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz), as have I. Which only goes to prove how much we've all listened to the words!

If you're into Musicals then this is right up your street! The show tells of the pre-Dorothy Oz and explores how those events came to pass and how the Wicked Witch of the West turned out the way she did! The CD has the majority of the songs from the show and begins with the death of the Witch - Noone Mourns the Wicked. From there we are taken back on time! What can I say, a truly wonderful musical. If you are buying this CD I would recommend you hunt the internet for the synposis of the show and make sure you go for the unofficial one which tells all the secrets of the show! With this in your head your enjoyment of the CD will be total!! I thoroughly recommend this CD.

An absolute bop.

Great musical, great music by original cast and the wonderful Idina Menzel. Favorite song is Defying Gravity - amazing.

This is a fabulous musical, it is coming to the West End in September and I cant wait. Not only is it a clever plot (basically a prequel to The Wizard of Oz though so much more than just that!), but the music is incredible. Two really strong roles for female performers, many songs stand out. My absolute favourites have to be Defying Gravity & Because I knew you, though all the songs the Wicked Witch has are fabulous, well worth a listen for musical fans!

wicked was the sound track i ever got i would give it ten out fo ten good music and e

very cheap but exactly what it says, worth the price

Trilha sonora incrível!

Llegó super rápido y muy bien empacado! Todo estuvo super bien.

I haven't had time to listen to this cd yet but I looked it over. I don't see any scratches or marks on it so it should be alright for listening to. My niece has it and says it is really good, she also got to see the live action play , which my friend and I couldn't get tickets for it was so popular. Hopefully the cd will be worth what I paid for it and next time it comes to town I will be able to get tickets.

cet album est juste formidable, d'un bout à l'autre ! Il s'agit certainement d'une des meilleures comédies musicales du 21è siècle !

The "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast recording sparkles with energy and emotion, and features the original performers for whom the music was specifically written. The musical version of "Wicked" differs substantially from the original novel by Gregory Maguire but the altered storyline, in which the minor character of Glinda the Good in the novel is elevated to co-star status in the musical, becomes a story of the friendship between two young women and the sacrifices they must make to be true to their ideals.While this makes the musical story completely different than the book it is arguably more compelling than the actual novel, as evidenced by the show's runaway success on Broadway, Chicago and on national tour. Add composer Stephen Schwartz's best work since "Pippen" 30 years ago and the result is a show that IMO is easily as enjoyable as "Les Miserables" and far more gripping than "Phantom of the Opera" or "Miss Saigon."Schwartz introduces the dramatic "Wicked Witch" theme (a six chord progression whose unspoken lyrics purportedly are "oh no, the witch is here") in the first moments of the overture and recalls it chillingly again moments later when it becomes apparent at the Wicked Witch's birth that something is horribly wrong. Then, when the young Witch is finally united with her true love in the second act, the love theme utilizes the exact same chord progression, but now set in a compelling ostinato figure that underscores the urgency and desperation of their fleeting moment together. The Hindemith-like antiphony of "No One Mourns the Wicked" both jars us and serves to clue us into realizing that something's not quite right during the "Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead"-like opening celebration number.The hopeful yet tragic "Unlimited" theme arcs through the story and is a clever homage to the "Wizard of Oz" movie score, using the same first seven notes as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and then diverging. Schwartz noted in interviews that he chose to use only the first seven notes as an inside joke because copyright laws specifically define eight notes as the point where infringement on someone else's tune occurs.The music of "Wicked" is for the most part completely dependent on the context of the musical and the individual numbers do not stand alone well, but Ms. Chenowith's "Popular" and Ms. Menzel's legitimate showstopper "Defying Gravity" are justifiably acclaimed, and the de facto finale "For Good" is already available on Amazon on two other non-Broadway recordings, one of which features the composer singing half of the duet himself.The aforementioned love song "As Long as You're Mine" also has to be heard in the context of the story to be fully appreciated; the audience at this point in the musical has been taken on a journey from the apparent celebration of the witch's demise at the beginning to the show 180 degrees to where we now understand her character and motivations to where from "Defying Gravity" onwards we are actually cheering for the witch to succeed; by the time this duet comes along near the end of the second act, the witch and her true love are being hunted across the land and we already know that our heroine is doomed to melt (and soon!) at the hands of a certain Kansas farmgirl, lending the lyrics and chord progressions, maudlin at best out of context, tremendous pathos and power akin to "The Fall of Saigon" and "The Last Night of the World" in "Miss Saigon." Only when you see the musical do you understand why Schwartz chose Fiyero's otherwise jarring verse "Maybe I'm brainless, maybe I'm wise.""Wicked" is well worth your time but you'll enjoy it infinitely more once you also see the show, and the show itself is well worth a weekend trip to the nearest city staging a production to see it.