Well, first of all I disagree with anyone who thinks Patti Lu Pone is the best Fantine. I personally hate Lu Pone in every role she's been in. I just don't like her. Likewise, I resent you thinking that the original cast recording of "The Phantom of the Opera" is the best recording of that show as well. Michael Crawford is an abysmal singer and I have no idea why anyone would give him, an actor who sounds like freakin' piglet from Winnie the Pooh, a role like the Phantom that requires a booming baritone voice. I also hate Sarah Brightman in that recording. I believe that The Phantom of the Opera like Les Miserables didn't know exactly what they were doing in the beginning. Wilkinson, though I highly respect the man, is not the best Valjean out there. Both of those shows really came into themselves in their 25th Anniversary recordings, which I regard as the best recordings with both.

As for the film version of Les Miserables, it's not that bad. Yes, the score is butchered but I think the actors did fine with what they had. Yeah, it was pretty stupid that they had to sing live, yeah, Jackman is off sometimes, but I still get a lot of enjoyment out of the recording. The presentation of the soundtrack however is unforgivable and that more than anything makes me mad. I guess I have strong opinions about some things and not so strong on others.