West Side Story
 | Original Soundtrack RecordingBy Irwin Kostal, Leonard Bernstein Sony, 2004, Audio CD Customer Rating: 70 reviews Recommend |
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Leonard Bernstein's musical update of Romeo and Juliet, with a young Stephen Sondheim's brilliant lyrics, had already galvanized Broadway with its vivid reinvention as a parable of racial intolerance and generational conflict. But director Robert Wise's lavish widescreen presentation broke fresh ground by taking the story to its most impressionable audience, the teenagers who could identify directly with Tony and Maria, and opened up Jerome Robbins's kinetic choreography through bravura camera work. The original soundtrack album was not merely a huge seller but a unique touchstone for an otherwise rock-oriented audience, and its release on CD benefits from an expanded program untenable in its initial LP release, as well as a 20-bit digital transfer. With Richard Beymer, Marni Nixon (Hollywood's vocal doppelgänger of choice, here standing in for Natalie Wood), and Rita Moreno dominating, the show's bounty of terrific songs and exciting instrumental pieces remains an ear-filling treat, mixing operatic passions, tart social commentary, and high comedy. From "Tonight" to "One Hand, One Heart," "America" to "Jet Song," this is a landmark in American musical theatre and film beautifully realized on disc. — Sam Sutherland
- Overture [#] - West Side Story Cast Ensemble, Bernstein, Leonard
- Prologue
- Jet Song
- Something's Coming
- Dance At The Gym [#]
- Maria
- America
- Tonight
- Gee, Officer Krupke
- Intermission Music [#][Instrumental]
- I Feel Pretty
- One Hand, One Heart
- Quintet
- The Rumble
- Somewhere
- Cool
- A Boy Like That / I Have A Love
- Finale [#]
- End Credits [#]
Title: West Side Story (Original Soundtrack Recording)
Sales Rank: 3237 in Music
Creator: Irwin Kostal, Leonard Bernstein
Label: Sony, 2004-05-18, Audio CD, 1 Disc
Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
Item Dimensions: 0.21 pounds
Package Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches, 0.2 pounds
- A joy to listen too and sing along!!!!
- I just love The West Side Story Soundtrack! It sounds fresh and clear as if you were there. I sing along everytime I listen to it and my 7 year old son, just has to listen to it everytime we get into the car, he loves it as much as I do. It's wonderful songs stay with you all day. This is truly a classic. I grew up in the West Side of Manhatten and… More reviews
- Greater than great
- The great orchestra conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein, never got over this one fact: that his great accomplishment in composition was not one of his later classical opuses but rather the music score to a Broadway play. But, it's true, and this musical score is as close to perfection as any. The Hollywood treatment, replacing good Broadway voices… More reviews
- The iconic film soundtrack to a masterpiece of a show!
- West Side Story certainly captures the genius that was Leonard Bernstein. This unmatched score remains one of the greatest to ever reach Hollywood or Broadway.
While the options are many when it comes to West Side Story recordings, it is the film soundtrack that seemed to have the greatest impact on the public, demonstrated by its unprecedented reign at number… More reviews
- classic
- This is a classic to me for two reasons. My mother gave me her copy of this when I was ten, and I played it so much--even made myself a Jets T-shirt--no one in my immediate or extended family ever wanted to here hide or hair of West Side Story again.
Listening as an adult I see why I loved it: Listen to the rise up in "Prelude," and you hear all the elements… More reviews
- West Side Story CD
- The product came in excellent condition and I am very excited to be able to have this CD with the original cast. More reviews
