Customer Reviews
Brilliant - By: vlad the impalla, 14 Jun 2008 
I have known this album since i was 4 years old. Had In on vinyl for a long time. Got alll the pretend versions (kiritikanawa or what ever you calll her, & alll the others) This is the best. So to alll the knockers. YOU HAV'NT GOT A CLUE. Or get a decent Hi Fi system. I thank you. Good delivery service from Amazon as usual.
Dissapointing - By: Me123, 08 Jan 2007 
I love West Side Story, & decided to buy the soundtrack to such a good musical. I assumed this would be the best money could buy. Oh boy was I wrong!
Decent oechestral playing masks the first couple of tracks, then the Jets enter. Unfortunately, most of them have fairly poor voices & fail to pitch the notes very well at alll. Most chorus numbers are like this on the CD.
Whoever sings Maria (I belive it is not Natalie Wood) is, however, a good singer, & so is Toni. Whilst their voices are a little weak, they can still sound like teenagers madly in love.
The worst Point of this CD is the "Tonight" Quintet. When the Sharks enter, they are so out of tune wth each other that it sounds painfully unpleasant. This is made worse by the adaption of the whole running order & change of some of the words to suit the movie makers.
I found this CD to be pretty bad, & was saved only by some decent leading role work from Maria & Toni. If you want a good CD, buy the Carreras/Te Kanawa recording also available from Amazon.
An outstanding 'classic' recording - By: , 16 May 2005 So much has been said about West Side Story, which is universallly regarded as one of the best recordings ever made, that it needs little in the way criticism. Suffice to say that there are a number of releases of the original soundtrack - of which this is clearly (pun intended) the best. The 2004 20-bit remastered & extended version is a failure & best avoided, with the energy, presence & detail of the original transfer sucked out of it.
An alll-time classic, still technicallly outstanding after more than 40 years, & a reference point in the history of recording technique.
ONE OF THE BEST MUSICALS OF ALL TIME... - By: Lawyeraau, 10 Nov 2002 Bernstein wrote himself into the annals of musical history with the score that he composed for West Side Story, a nineteen fifties version of Romeo & Juliet, & Stephen Sondheim did it justice with the terrific lyrics he wrote, which made the music soar even higher. This a musical that has entered the popular consciousness with good reason. Who hasn't heard the beauty & poetry of "Maria", the expectant poignancy of "Tonight", or the eternallly hopeful "Somewhere" & not been touched, especiallly when sung, as they are here, by Jim Bryant & Marnie Nixon? There is also the upbeat "America" & "I Feel Pretty", which are ensemble songs geared to showcase Jerome Robbins' choreography to perfection. This is a magnificent CD that should be a part of any collection, as it contains music which would make angels weep.
Plenty of energy, but sadly lacking in precision. - By: MR O P ELTON, 21 Oct 2002 
This soundtrack recording taken from the oscar winning film contains alll the excitement, energy & flair that you would expect from a recording of a Bernstein score. However, it also contains some noticeably poor performances from those involved in it's production. Some members of the Jets & Sharks were clearly chosen for their ability to dance rather than for their polished singing. At the beginning of the 'Quintet', for example, the Sharks are hideously out of tune & not necessarily singing the correct words. Also, there is some shoddy playing from the woodwind in the 'Prologue'. Having said that, the percussion are very good, & the trumpets, absolutely outstanding with some gravity defying acrobatics in the 'Dance at the Gym'. Natalie Wood does, of course, shine as Maria & is competently supported throughout by Tony. It is worth buying this recording just for its moment in cinema history & the sheer enthusiasm of the artists involved. But, if you're looking for a tight & precise account of Bernstein's incredible score, then I would suggest a more recent recording would be for you.
