Les Miserables [Original Broadway Cast]

Disc 1
1	Overture/Work Song 3:33
2	Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven 1:52
3	What Have I Done? 3:21
4	At the End of the Day 4:43
5	I Dreamed a Dream 4:13
6	Lovely Ladies 3:50
7	Who Am I? 2:49
8	Come to Me (Fantine's Death) 2:48
9	Confrontation 2:30
10	Castle on a Cloud 1:40
11	Master of the House 4:54
12	The Thenardier Waltz of Treachery 2:59
13	Look Down 2:55
14	Stars 2:58
15	Red and Black 4:31
16	Do You Hear the People Sing? 2:06
Disc 2
1	In My Life 5:15
2	A Heart Full of Love 2:22
3	Plumet Attack 1:59
4	One Day More! 3:29
5	Upon These Stones (Building the Barricade) 2:09
6	On My Own 4:11
7	Upon These Stones (Building the Barricade) 2:27
8	Javert at the Barricade/Little People/The First Attack 1:30
9	A Little Fall of Rain 0:39
10	Drink With Me 3:23
11	Bring Him Home 2:39
12	Dog Eats Dog 3:16
13	Javert's Suicide 2:15
14	Turning 3:30
15	Empty Chairs at Empty Tables 2:04
16	Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast 3:00
17	Finale 2:14

Barnes & Noble

The most genuinely moving extravaganza to be credited to theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh -- the impresario behind The Phantom Of The Opera, Miss Saigon, and Cats -- is 1987's Les Misérables, a musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel. With a score by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, and Herbert Kretzmer, Les Misérables is a sung-through opera-lite variety show set in Paris in 1832. Bringing their stirring voices to this double-disc Broadway cast recording are Colm Wilkinson in the role of Jean Valjean, the tormented hero unjustly jailed for stealing a loaf of bread, and Terrence Mann as his obsessed pursuer, Javert. Aided by sterling performances from Randy Graff and Frances Ruffelle, this blockbuster musical contains the gorgeous melodies "I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own," "Who Am I?," and "Bring Him Home," all deservedly familiar anthems. David Elliot Cohen

All Music Guide

Originally conceived as a simple recording production, Les Miserables evolved quickly into one of the premiere theater events of the 1980s. Theatrically on par with Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis is drawn from the Victor Hugo novel of the same name. The story chronicles the life of Jean Valjean, a simple Frenchman arrested as a youth for stealing a loaf of bread. After serving five years for that crime, as well as an additional 14 for attempted escape, Valjean is released on parole. Upon changing his name and eluding his parole officer, he becomes the surrogate father of a young girl and a Mayor as the French Revolution sets in. As the war rages, he finds that he cannot change the man he is. Les Miserables is typical of theater in the '80s, with extravagant effects and large, full-cast numbers. The beautiful score is full of emotion and humor, including such memorable and noteworthy songs as "Look Down," "Do You Hear the People Sing?," "Bring Him Home," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," and the ubiquitous "On My Own." The original Broadway cast recording contains some very fine performances, particularly by Colm Wilkinson (as Valjean) and Frances Ruffelle (as Eponine, the waif). The vocals on this recording are heavy on character, making it an interesting and entertaining listen. Sarah Erlewine