If you were fortunate enough to see the original ensemble cast perform Cats or Evita on stage, the sudden shifts in genre wouldn't have been very bothersome. That was simply the nature of the show. On the big screen, though, the violent sways are more troublesome. In Evita, you have straight jazz, Latin tangos, modern pop, stylish waltzes, orchestral operas, and everything in between. Sequences of massive choral and orchestral score offer stunning moments as well. The editing of the album doesn't help this fact; even within the same song, Webber can establish a soft and heartfelt solo tone and then suddenly, with barely any transitional material, burst with an electric guitar bonanza guaranteed to wake up the neighbors. Another aspect of Evita that may cause problems is that the music is decades old, and because Webber makes little attempt to update his film adaptations to modern standards of musical taste, much of the music simply sounds badly dated. The most popular songs from that era in Webber's career are soundly rooted in the 70's and 80's easy listening genre, and by the 2000's, many of them fail to muster the same affection. Evita in particular was an early Webber hit, and the styles you hear in its songs and score would be revised with greater impact in his subsequent hits. For hardcore Webber collectors, and those that greatly appreciated the music on stage, these outdated sounds and sudden transitions are simply part of the territory; Evita is an extremely frenetic and tiring experience, assaulting the ears with such a variety of music that you're left stunned at the end. One aspect of Webber's writing that is very effective, however, is his use of repetition. He foreshadows and reprises the themes so frequently in a production like Evita that you can't help but have "Don't Cry for Me Argentine" firmly lodged in your memory whether you want it there or not. Perhaps The Phantom of the Opera was the most effective at this technique, with four or five extremely memorable themes, but Evita set the standard with its primary song.

The particulars of the story are well known; the play follows only the very basic outline of Eva Duarte's life. From a life of poverty to one as the wife of Juan Peron, Argentina's president, Evita became, despite her vanity and manipulative behavior in real life, a fantastic character for romantic consumption by the mainstream. Her death at a young age was indeed grieved by a nation about to dissolve once again into chaos, though the story glosses over many of the political details as well. For veteran Webber listeners, the primary point of interest with the film adaptations of his work rests solely on the casting of the primary three leads. This was disastrously handled with The Phantom of the Opera, causing the majority of audiences' problems with the adaptation, and casting for Evita suffered initial problems as well. Both veteran actresses Meryl Streep and Glenn Close shot scenes as Eva (Close had performed the lead role in Webber's Sunset Boulevard on stage in New York), but after the producers discovered that their voices were nowhere close to being acceptable for the part, they hired an anxious and determined Madonna instead. Even Madonna, with her established performing skills, require voice lessons to assist in extending her effective range for the wild variety of songs in Evita. Her final performance is impressive; she may not have the range of Patti LuPone, the Webber regular who performed Eva in the original Broadway production, but Madonna adds valuable attitude to the part. Her steady performance, as well as the superb orchestrations, continues the memorable aura surrounding "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." As the film's narrator, Che, Antonio Banderas is perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the entire cast. His spirited and authentic Latin flavor allows him to follow the melodies with liberal disregard, though his talent is good enough to provide the spark and flash necessary to counter Madonna's performance. His spunky rendition of the "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" theme in "Oh What a Circus" is remarkably affable. Jonathan Pryce was never going to win any awards for his vocal performances as Peron, but his tenderness --defying the real dictator's historical prowess-- allows for some of the musical's most heartfelt moments.

Even the most ardent Webber fans will admit that when running through a double-CD album for Evita, there are both highlights and moments of dissonant chanting that are, by any measure, unlistenable. It is a compilation-worthy exercise if there ever was one, and for film music collectors looking at Webber musicals from the outside, it's probable that the moments of orchestral majesty (with or without vocals) will merit some exploration. These explosive, full ensemble offerings occur at regular intervals, performing either the primary song's theme or a subtheme (as in "Requiem" and "Lament"). Unfortunately, the brass-led performance heard over the film's end titles (and in the film's trailers) is not available on the album. As for the songs, there are highlights. The opening third features the hard rock songs representing Eva's life in Buenos Aires before marrying Peron. Webber's trademark use of sax solos are a valuable asset to any of his musicals, and it graces "I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You" with great elegance. The series of "victory" songs in the mid-section of the second act are a snazzy trio. From "High Flying, Adored" to "Rainbow Tour," the height of Evita's popularity is addressed with great humor by Banderas, with the latter track containing the famous degradation of the Pope. The heartbreaking guitar and piano song for Pryce, "She is a Diamond," is his highlight. Madonna's most complicated song is the flourishing duet with Banderas in "Waltz for Eva and Che," concluding with the start of Madonna's necessary transition to an intentionally weak voice as her character dies. At Madonna's request, Webber wrote a new song for film; sparse in instrumental backing, "You Must Love Me" is merely average and fits awkwardly into her last moments of life. The song did allow for Webber to win an Academy Award, however, a nod by the Academy to Webber's lifetime achievements more than anything else. Overall, Evita is an experience you have to view to appreciate. The orchestral and vocal mixes in the film and on album are vibrant and precise, mirroring the production qualities of the original The Phantom of the Opera cast recording. Compared to the disastrous The Phantom of the Opera adaptation in 2004, the 1996 Evita is both loyal and enjoyable.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download