Cats: Complete Original Broadway Cast Recording

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Cats
Cast recording by
the original Broadway cast
ReleasedJanuary 26, 1983 (1983-01-26)
RecordedOctober 1982
GenreShow tunes
Length1:41:07[1]
LabelGeffen Records[2]
ProducerAndrew Lloyd Webber
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[1]

A cast recording by the original Broadway cast of the musical Cats was released on January 26, 1983, by Geffen Records. The recording won Best Cast Show Album at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards.

Track listing[]

All tracks written by T. S. Eliot and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with any additional writers noted.[1]

Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Overture" 2:52
2."Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"
5:17
3."The Naming of Cats" 3:02
4."The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" 2:10
5."The Old Gumbie Cat" 3:49
6."The Rum Tum Tugger" 3:42
7."Grizabella, The Glamour Cat" 3:06
8."Bustopher Jones" 3:08
9."Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" 4:28
10."Old Deuteronomy" 4:03
11."The Jellicle Ball" 9:34
12."Grizabella, The Glamour Cat/Memory"Nunn4:22
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Moments of Happiness" 3:14
2."Gus: The Theatre Cat" 6:32
3."Growltiger's Last Stand/The Ballad of Billy McCaw" 11:41
4."Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" 4:52
5."Macavity: The Mystery Cat" 8:23
6."Mr. Mistoffelees" 4:25
7."Memory"Nunn5:21
8."The Journey to the Heaviside Layer" 2:44
9."The Ad-Dressing of Cats" 4:22

Development and release[]

The original Broadway cast of Cats, including the understudies, recorded the album in October 1982. Lloyd Webber flew in from London to oversee the recording, which was estimated to cost as much as $400,000.[3]

The recording was released on January 26, 1983,[4] in two versions: a two-record/disc/cassette complete set, and a one-record/disc/cassette highlights version.[5][6]

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

Matthew Murray gave the recording four out of five stars, praising the orchestration and the cast's performance, particularly Betty Buckley's rendition of "Memory". However, he was wary of "the unconvincing Brit[ish] accents and American vocal mannerisms."[7] The recording also received favorable reviews from the Star Tribune[6] and the Times Colonist.[8]

Commercial performance[]

The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 5, 1988.[4][2] According to Playbill, it has sold over 2 million copies[9] and is the 16th-best-selling cast recording in the United States of all time.[4]

Accolades[]

The recording won Best Cast Show Album at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards.[10]

Weekly charts[]

Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
[11] 		5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] 17
US Billboard 200[13] 131

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Cats (Complete Original Broadway Cast Recording)". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cats (Original Cast)". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Nelsen, Don (October 24, 1982). "'Cats' on wax: Will it break any records?". New York Daily News. p. 260 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Culwell-Block, Logan. "The Definitive List of the 42 Best-Selling Cast Recordings of All Time". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  5. ^ "The sound of Cats is unforgettable (ad)". The Boston Globe. May 12, 1983. p. 102 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Anthony, Michael (February 13, 1983). "Records: Cat-chy music creeps along". Star Tribune. p. 87 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Murray, Matthew. "Cats: Original Broadway Cast, 1983 (Geffen)". Cast Album Reviews. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Hogbin, John (April 9, 1983). "Cats". Times Colonist. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Nassour, Ellis (June 17, 1997). "Cats Trivia Encyclopedia". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "Winners: 26th Annual GRAMMY Awards (1983)". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "austriancharts.at – Suche nach: cats" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  12. ^ "charts.nz – Search for: cats". New Zealand charts portal. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "Original Broadway Cast Recording: Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
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