The Phantom of the Opera [2004 Soundtrack] [Special Edition]

Disc 1
1	Prologue 2:47
2	Overture/Hannibal 7:25
3	Think of Me 6:33
4	Angel of Music 2:59
5	Little Lotte/The Mirror (Angel of Music) 4:11
6	The Phantom of the Opera 4:23
7	The Music of the Night 5:38
8	Magical Lasso 1:19
9	I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It 3:21
10	Notes/Prima Donna 10:04
11	Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh/Il Muto 6:12
12	Why Have You Brought Me Here/Raoul I've Been There 3:04
13	All I Ask of You 4:52
14	All I Ask of You (Reprise) 2:55
Disc 2
1	Masquerade/Why So Silent 8:38
2	Madame Giry's Tale/The Fairground 3:29
3	Journey to the Cemetery 3:29
4	Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again 3:41
5	Wandering Child 1:47
6	The Swordfight 1:48
7	We Have All Been Blind 3:55
8	Don Juan 4:00
9	The Point of No Return/Chandelier Crash 6:43
10	Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer 14:32
11	Learn to Be Lonely / Minnie Driver 2:27

Barnes & Noble

It was a tough act to follow, but they pulled it off. The producers of the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera were faced with the dual expectations of the devoted fans of this beloved musical: first, to match the gothic splendor and eerie atmosphere so perfectly conjured up on stage, and second, to find singers who could equal the now-legendary original cast members Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Thanks to both Joel Schumacher's stirring film direction and the inspired casting of Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in the leading roles as the Phantom and Christine respectively, both expectations have been triumphantly met. To emphasize that the film and stage versions are, by nature, different animals though, the double-disc Special Edition of the Phantom soundtrack features telling portions of dialogue and sound effects from the film itself that add immeasurably to the dramatic effect of the music. Lloyd-Webber's well-crafted score has also been spiced up with appropriate new arrangements, as well as an additional song, "Learn to Be Lonely," sung by cast member Minnie Driver. Hear all this and be swept up once again by "the music of the night." William Pearl

All Music Guide

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1911 gothic mystery novel The Phantom of the Opera proved to be at least the composer's second-most successful project, behind only Cats, and with the potential to outdo even that blockbuster. The musical opened in London in October 1986 and in New York in January 1988, and both productions were still running (along with many others around the world) when the film version finally premiered in December 2004. Because the same starring performers, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, moved from the West End to Broadway, there was no original Broadway cast recording, the original London cast album serving to represent both stagings. In line with the success of the show, that album, a double-disc set, was also a hit, selling four-million copies in the U.S. alone by 1996, with another four-million copies of a single-disc highlights version as well. Although there was also an original Canadian cast album (not to mention foreign language versions from such countries as Japan and Austria), the movie soundtrack represents the first major re-recording of the score since 1986. Again, Lloyd Webber has opted to issue it in two versions, but this time, the 63-minute single CD is considered the standard release, with the double-disc set (housed, for a limited time, in a cardboard booklet with numerous photographs) billed as the "special edition" version. Even fans of the show and the film may want to stick with the shorter one, however. The two-hour special edition is that rarity, a soundtrack album which actually contains the complete, unedited film soundtrack, including dialogue, incidental background music, and sound effects. This, of course, makes it something of an odd listening experience, especially because there doesn't seem to be any reason why some dialogue is spoken and some is rendered in sing-song recitative. Lloyd Webber has written some extra background music here and there, as well as one new song, and that's an oddity, too. Minnie Driver, who plays the prima donna Carlotta, had her singing dubbed by Margaret Preece, but she turns up at the end and, over the closing credits, sings "Learn to Be Lonely," an irrelevant and musically out-of-place song clearly composed just to have a new tune that would be Academy Award-eligible. The film's other singers are adequate but no competition to Crawford, Brightman, and their colleagues, and the initial recording remains the one to buy. William Ruhlmann