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20 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 AN IMPROVED RELEASE OF ALW'S INTIMATE CHAMBER PIECE Dec 14, 2005
By Marijan Bosnar
"(the historian)"
When "Aspects of love" premiered in April 1989 in London, wide audiences knew Andrew Lloyd Webber mostly by his big blockbuster musicals such as "Cats", "The Phantom of the opera" or "Evita. After the "Phantom", the composer decided to try something new, much in the same way he has done with "Cats" in the early 80-is after he decided to part ways with his lyricist Tim Rice. As the basis for his next musical he chose David Garnett's short novel of the same title.
The plot involves various love triangles and is as close to a soap opera as you can get in a musical. We follow a 17 year-old Englishman Alex, who is in love with an older French actress Rose Videle. They end up in the Spanish villa that belongs to Alex's uncle George, an elderly painter and writer. George in turn has an ongoing affair with a younger Italian sculptress Giulietta. George finds Rose and Alex in the villa and after Alex is called to the army, George and Rose begin living together, which at first Alex finds impossible to accept. Giulietta and Rose become quite friends, there is even a hint of a lesbian relationship between them. Even so, George and Rose get married. Some time has passed and Alex is out of the army and is reunited with George, Rose and their 14 year-old daughter Jenny in their villa in France. Jenny falls in love with Alex, something that a very old George, now depended solely on Jenny's love cannot agree to. Alex is torn between Rose and Jenny and soon George dies. At his funeral Alex meets Giulietta and they are instantly drawn to one another. Alex leaves with her, although Rose pleaded him not to leave her alone.
As you can see, the plot isn't quite as simple as it might appear. For this project Lloyd Webber decided to use a much smaller, almost chamber orchestra, however, that isn't a drawback. This is his most romantic score and the orchestra fits it perfectly. The music itself is full of beautiful and intimate love melodies, especially when the orchestra takes the lead in its interludes; you can almost see the nature and the scenery of the plot. The most popular songs from this show are "Love changes everything" sung by Alex and "Anything but lonely" sung by Rose. Of course, there are other catchy tunes, my favorite being "Seeing is believing", a romantic duet between Alex and Rose; "The first man you remember", sung sweetly by George to his young daughter Jenny; "Mermaid song", a shy duet between Alex and Jenny and a big ensemble number with a notable drums sequence called "Hand me the wine and the dice". It's important to note, however, that many parts of this musical is dialogue that is sung instead of being spoken, and this is the main difference between Aspects and the big Webber shows. This means that Aspects isn't meant to be played as background music while one does the dishes or cleans the house. The best way to listen it, for the first time anyway, is with headphones and paying attention to the libretto. It probably won't grab you after the first listen; it needs a bit of an effort, but after a couple of times you'll grow to like it for sure. Don Black's lyrics remain pleasing as ever.
The casting was done very well. Michael Ball, who made his name as Marius in Les Miserables, plays Alex. As always, his voice is a gem by itself. He was a perfect choice. Ann Crumb as Rose and Kathleen Rowe McAllen as Giulietta have similar voices. Kevin Colson makes you think he IS George; his voice and pronunciation sounds exactly as an elderly English gentleman should.
One of the merits of this new release is the fact that the two main problems of the previous one have been rectified: the sound quality, which was awful on the 1989 release, is superb here; due to the fact the CDs are digitally remastered. Likewise, the new libretto comes with the normal-sized font, unlike the previous one, which should also have included a magnifying glass if it was meant to be read. The CDs are also neatly packed in a slip case.
Aspects of love may not be Lloyd Webber's best known work, but a true fan of his will certainly enjoy and appreciate it.
14 of 15 found the following review helpful:
A DIFFERENT LLOYD WEBBER SOUNDING EQUALLY GOOD Nov 19, 2004
By Marijan Bosnar
"(the historian)"
When "Aspects of love" premiered in April 1989 in London, wide audiences knew Andrew Lloyd Webber mostly by his big blockbuster musicals such as "Cats", "The Phantom of the opera" or "Evita. After the "Phantom", the composer decided to try something new, much in the same way he has done with "Cats" in the early 80-is after he decided to part ways with his lyricist Tim Rice. As the basis for his next musical he chose David Garnett's short novel of the same title.
The plot involves various love triangles and is as close to a soap opera as you can get in a musical. We follow a 17 year-old Englishman Alex, who is in love with an older French actress Rose Videle. They end up in the Spanish villa that belongs to Alex's uncle George, an elderly painter and writer. George in turn has an ongoing affair with a younger Italian sculptress Giulietta. George finds Rose and Alex in the villa and after Alex is called to the army, George and Rose begin living together, which at first Alex finds impossible to accept. Giulietta and Rose become quite friends, there is even a hint of a lesbian relationship between them. Even so, George and Rose get married. Some time has passed and Alex is out of the army and is reunited with George, Rose and their 14 year-old daughter Jenny in their villa in France. Jenny falls in love with Alex, something that a very old George, now depended solely on Jenny's love cannot agree to. Alex is torn between Rose and Jenny and soon George dies. At his funeral Alex meets Giulietta and they are instantly drawn to one another. Alex leaves with her, although Rose pleaded him not to leave her alone.
As you can see, the plot isn't quite as simple as it might appear. For this project Lloyd Webber decided to use a much smaller, almost chamber orchestra, however, that isn't a drawback. This is his most romantic score and the orchestra fits it perfectly. The music itself is full of beautiful and intimate love melodies, especially when the orchestra takes the lead in its interludes; you can almost see the nature and the scenery of the plot. The most popular songs from this show are "Love changes everything" sung by Alex and "Anything but lonely" sung by Rose. Of course, there are other catchy tunes, my favorite being "Seeing is believing", a romantic duet between Alex and Rose; "The first man you remember", sung sweetly by George to his young daughter Jenny; "Mermaid song", a shy duet between Alex and Jenny and a big ensemble number with a notable drums sequence called "Hand me the wine and the dice". It's important to note, however, that many parts of this musical is dialogue that is sung instead of being spoken, and this is the main difference between Aspects and the big Webber shows. This means that Aspects isn't meant to be played as background music while one does the dishes or cleans the house. The best way to listen it, for the first time anyway, is with headphones and paying attention to the libretto. It probably won't grab you after the first listen; it needs a bit of an effort, but after a couple of times you'll grow to like it for sure. Don Black's lyrics remain pleasing as ever.
The casting was done very well. Michael Ball, who made his name as Marius in Les Miserables, plays Alex. As always, his voice is a gem by itself. He was a perfect choice. Ann Crumb as Rose and Kathleen Rowe McAllen as Giulietta have similar voices. Kevin Colson makes you think he IS George; his voice and pronunciation sounds exactly as an elderly English gentleman should.
I have only two complaints and they concern the CD package. The musical is almost complete, over 70 minutes on both discs and a full libretto is included in the booklet. However, the font size in it is so small that you need a magnifying glass in order to read it. I had to download it from the net and print it separately. Also, the sound quality is a big disappointment; I had to increase volume on mi Hi-fi in order to hear it properly. I wished that the publishers would be more careful about these things. Luckily, all this problems have been rectified in the new digitally remastered edition also available here at Amazon, so I would suggest buying that instead of this old release.
Aspects of love may not be Lloyd Webber's best known work, but a true fan of his will certainly enjoy and appreciate it.
14 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Love Changes Everything Feb 06, 2002
By Z. Yang
After the spectacular rock musical of Jesus Christ, the extravaganza of Cats, and the glorious operatic Phantom, Andrew Lloyd Webber surprised the world with his down-to-earth "Aspects of Love", a musical adapted from the novel by David Garnett. The unusualness is also reflected in the music. What we hear is an intimate and rather contrasting music score played on a smaller orchestra - a gentle and elegant chamber piece.
The show is about love. The relationships woven among the five main characters: Alex, Rose, George, Jenny and Giulietta, is complicated enough to confuse the audience, and yet, with Don Black/Charles Hart's witty lyrics and Andrew Lloyd Webber's stroke of genius, the story is unfolded methodically. The musical is opened, uniquely, with one male soloist (Michael Ball) singing "Love Changes Everything", which distills the essence of the show. While Andrew Lloyd Webber wrapped the well-knitted plot with his intertwining music, he didn't forget bringing out half dozen of enchanting songs, which can also be performed singly in concert. Besides "Love Changes Everything", there are "Seeing is Believing", "Anything But Lonely", "The First Man You Remember", "Mermaid Song", "There is More to Love"...... The melodies simply strike you to the heart the first time you hear them and will stay there for the rest of your life.
The cast is wonderful. It feels like character Alex was written for Michael Ball. I don't know if it is Michael who made Alex so charming or it is Alex who made Michael so irresistible. His fully voiced, straight from the belly B-flat at the end of Act II alone is already one magic of the show, and yet, he offers more: his vibrato and his croon, his passion and his tenderness. I think Ann Crumb is very successful in creating Rose. She has a strong and beautiful voice and her acting is convincing and truthful. Character Rose sometimes might not be likable or even hateful, but she is very human and she is real. She is a woman with desire, weakness, and sincerity. "Anything But Lonely" tells everything about her: bitterness, loss, unyieldingness, and perhaps more...
It doesn't matter what the critics had said about the show or if it enjoyed box office success, this show is an immortal work of art. It deals with the very basic emotion of human being - love. For me this is a winner because it deeply reaches the human hearts and encompasses the reality of aspects of love with an immense delicacy. After all life is real, and so is love.
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
EXQUISITE & UNDER-RATED MASTERPIECE! Aug 30, 2005
By M. Mercedes
I will never understand why this show was never the hit it so deserved to be. It was richly complex, deeply profound, and touched me to the core, staying with me, still, through the years. Perhaps it was too daring for the narrow, provincial American mind.
Much has been said here, but to truly appreciate the music, I think you had to have seen the original show live.
I was fortunate enough to see the original cast at the Kennedy Center in D.C. 1993 (or so) and will NEVER forget it. It is WAY up there at the top of my favorites of all Broadway shows, and I have seen almost ALL of Andrew Lloyd Webber's shows at least once-- in both D.C. and NYC-- since the beginning.
If ASPECTS OF LOVE ever comes around again, don't miss it!
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Andrew Lloyd Webber's True Masterpiece. Feb 21, 2001
By Wayne Rossi
During the 1980s, Andrew Lloyd Webber did a number of pieces that were, admittedly, entirely popular theatre: Cats, Starlight Express, and Phantom of the Opera. And he did Aspects of Love.It is almost impossible to say how different Aspects of Love is from all of Andrew Lloyd Webber's other shows. The show continuously introduces a variety of themes into the mix, and almost no piece of music exists in isolation. The score is used in witty ways throughout, such that Aspects of Love does not have isolated songs, but is rather a complete work. Aspects is a story about a young man, Alex (played by Michael Ball), who falls in love with an actress (Rose, played by Ann Crumb) as he travels through France. They break into his uncle's villa in the Pyrenees, and things begin to get complex once she meets his uncle George (Kevin Colson). We also meet a variety of characters, such as the Italian sculptress Giulietta Trapani (Kathleen Rowe McAllen) and Jenny (Diana Morrison), daughter of Rose & George. Well...ahem. Yes. The plot's complicated (spans at least 15 years), and I'm not telling you any more of it, but you'll need a road map to keep up with the relationships when you listen to this. Andrew Lloyd Webber has done some really good and great shows-Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, and Beautiful Game to name five-but this is his masterpiece. Aspects of Love's music is hardly the pop stylings of Phantom of the Opera (Music of the Night is based on material he didn't want to put in Aspects), but rather a set of delicate themes that carefully underscore a very dark, intimate, complex love story. This is also the first show with lyrics that were up to the standard set by the Rice & Lloyd Webber shows of the '70s-definitely the first time that Evita's wit was matched. Don Black and Charles Hart worked the lyrics into the music perfectly, and it all seems to flow as, not a selection of songs that are programmatic, but as a single, triumphant piece of musical theatre. The lead here is Michael Ball, better known as Marius in 3 of 4 major Les Miz English language recordings. Ball is a good romantic lead, with the voice to support a show like Aspects. You could argue that he puts a rather positive spin on the character of Alex in this recording (where the lyrics may suggest a more negative impact), but he seems very human to me especially in the second act, when he's faced with very difficult ethical decisions...in any case, I'm a Michael Ball fan. Ann Crumb is Rose Vibert, the actress. (This role was played on Broadway by Sarah Brightman.) Ms. Crumb captures the character of Rose perfectly, as someone who seems rather afraid of being cut off from others. Kevin Colson plays a great George, Alex's uncle and overall playboy. He seems to breathe the spirit of an old man who doesn't really grow up until much later on in life. Giulietta Trapani is played by Kathleen Rowe McAllen, whose performance isn't quite at the level of Ms. Crumb's, but still has a spirit and life all its own. Diana Morrison is wonderfully naïve as Jenny, and puts a lot into the character. This is a must-have for any ALW fan, really. Try not to judge it on one listen-take in the cleverness of the lyrics and music, more of which will come out each time you hear the recording. We're very fortunate that this is very nearly complete (some spoken dialogue and a few lines of chorus lyrics are cut), as it does flow together beautifully. It's a shame that a show like Phantom, which was most likely written largely for the money, is still on Broadway and in London's West End, whereas Aspects of Love is all but forgotten. So, whether you're a fan or a naysayer of ALW, this is one recording you really should check out. You certainly won't come out with the same impression of Lloyd Webber as you started with...
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