Chess: a-London Symp Or Various/Eljas: Amazon.ca: Music

Disc: 1
1. Merano - The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas/Murray Head
2. The Russian And Molokov/ Where I Want To Be - The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas/Tommy Korberg/Denis Quilley
3. Opening Ceremony - The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas/Bjorn Skifs
4. Quartet (A Model Of Decorum And Tranquility) - Elaine Paige/Tommy Korberg/Denis Quilley/Bjorn Skifs
5. The American And Florence/Nobody's Side - Elaine Paige/Murray Head
6. Chess - LSO/Anders Eljas
7. Mountian Duet - Elaine Paige/Tommy Korberg
8. Florence Quits - Elaine Paige/Murray Head
9. Embassy Lament - Tommy Korberg/The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas
10. Anthem - Tommy Korberg
Disc: 2
1. Bangkok
2. One Night In Bangkok
3. Heaven Help My Heart
4. Argument
5. I Know Him So Well
6. The Deal (No Deal)
7. Pity The Child
8. Endgame
9. Epilogue: You And I / The Story Of Chess

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Chess is a musical that sounds like it shouldn't work but instead succeeds surprisingly well. This is the original concept album that was recorded before the musical was staged in London. Chess is the story of a love triangle told against the backdrop of an international chess tournament during the height of the cold war. The composers are Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (the Bs in ABBA) and the lyrics are by Tim Rice, who supplied the words for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, as well as Disney's Aladdin (with Howard Ashman), The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. The six-member cast does a beautiful job with the songs, which are a combination of ballads, rock, and operatic choruses. Murray Head's version of "One Night in Bangkok" became a surprise hit in the mid-'80s and it still turns up on the turntables in dance clubs around the world. --Michael Simmons

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

abba(1)

benny andersson(1)

björn ulvaeus(1)

chess(1)

tim rice(1)

Customer Reviews

61 Reviews

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (61 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From Square One You'll be Watching All 64....., Jun 15 2004

By

Meerkat - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chess (Audio CD)

I purchased Chess when it originally came out in album form, and will admit that I originally bought it only because I wanted a copy of One Night in Bangkok. It took me about five minutes to become completely enthralled with the entire album. From Merano to the Embassy Lament to Nobody's Side, there are several amazing songs in this musical (my personal favorite being Anthem).

The concept cast is phenomenal. The six principal singers are absolutely fantastic. The singers from the Broadway recording do not begin to compare to the cast featured on the concept album. In fact, I was rather disappointed with the version of Chess that finally made it to Broadway (some of the best songs from the concept album didn't make the cut to the final version).

The instant Chess was made available in CD format, I purchased it. It is well worth the cost. The concept album is by far the better of the two versions available.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Neglected Bittersweet Masterpiece, Aug 7 2003

By

Amazon Jon "AJ" (Connecticut, United Staates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chess (Audio CD)

I use the word "bittersweet" when describing this show. For not only is the score and text bittersweet, but so is the tale of this show. What started as a concept album (what you will hear here)turned into an impressive and moderately successful show in London's West End, and, subsequently, a disastrous flop on Broadway. Why it failed in New York we may never know. Granted, the show was drastically changed, perhaps too "Americanized." Maybe the shows plot (a cold-war love triangle of sorts set amidst various chess tournaments) was too timely and contemporary for the Broadway audiences of 1988. Or, perhaps the show was in the shadow of a little musical which also came to Braodway around the same time called PHANTON OF THE OPERA. Whatever the case, it's really ashame.
Start to finish, this has to be one of the most amazing scores ever composed. Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA created a perfect blend their signature pop music, brassy show tunes, and operatic anthems.
Just as impressive is the lyrical genius of Tim Rice. Rice, known for writing the lyrics to EVITA, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and THE LION KING (to name just three), gives us here his most heartfelt, passionate and personal lyrics. The combination of these lyrics with Anderson & Ulvaeus' score is heard to its fullest effect on songs like ANTHEM, HEAVEN HELP MY HEART and the heartwrenching finale, YOU AND I. I read somewhere that, at the time of the making of this album, Rice was carrying on an affair with the shows leading lady, Elaine Page. The beautiful song I KNOW HIM SO WELL, which is a duet in which two women in love with the same man (one being his wife, the other his mistress) lament the state of their respective relationships with the man, was actually paralleling the goings-on in Rice's own personal life at the time. No wonder why Elain Page sings on this disc with such heartfelt passion and conviction:

"Looking back I could've played it differently....Won a few more moments, who could tell? But it took time to understand the man. Now at least I know I know him well. Wasn't it good? Wasn't he fine? Isn't it madness he can't be mine."

Speaking of the first lady of English theater, Elaine Page, CHESS is graced with an amazing cast. Murray Head (Judas in the original JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) sings the shows most famous number ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK and is all-around very impressive. For me, though, the real star is Tommy Korberg, as the Russian. Blessed with a voice that is both rock and roll and operatic, Korberg sings with tremendous beauty and emotion. His ANTHEM, which closes out the first act (and CD) will give you goosebumps.
As I said earlier, "bittersweet" is the word I use most often to describe this show. Having seen all the major English shows of the last fifteen years or so, nothing moves me nearly as much as CHESS (and I've only listened to it- I haven't even seen a school production of it!)
It's been nearly twenty years since this landmark concept album and fifteen years since the end of the cold war and the disastrous Broadway version of CHESS. All things considered, I'd say it's perfect timing for a major revival of this masterpiece.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Something about it, Sep 7 2005

By A Customer

This review is from: Chess (Audio CD)

I love this CD....I've never seen it but I heard that a while ago, there was a concert and Josh Groban sang "Anthem." The music is brilliant...amazing...and I find it really nostalgic in that there's an obvious 80s vibe to the music....I love Elaine Paige too, who doesn't?

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 61 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 108 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Chess (1986 London Concept Cast - 1997 Polydor Slimline Rele
Chess (1986 London Concept Cast - 1997 Polydor Slimline Release) [CAST RECORDING]~ Benny Andersson (Composer), et al is very good and I usually hate musicals since they are... Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by B. Viberg

5.0 out of 5 stars Checkmate!
The year was 1984, and two guys from a 70's disco band, along with a legendary Broadway lyricist, decide to make a musical about a Cold War chess game. Read more

Published on Feb 23 2004 by hewovy