Album

Despite a long history of pop and musical-theater success in England, Sarah Brightman was not well known in the U.S. until her 1997 album Time to Say Goodbye became a triumph, topping the Billboard classical crossover chart for most of 1998. Really Useful Records, her former husband Andrew Lloyd Webber's label, took advantage of her sudden popularity to release this compilation of recordings of Lloyd Webber songs she'd made between 1985 and 1995, and since she had served as a real muse to the composer, many of his most popular songs were included. Several of them—"Pie Jesu," "All I Ask of You," "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," and "Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life)"—had been chart hits for Brightman in the U.K. So had "The Phantom of the Opera," the title song of a musical Lloyd Webber had written for her and in which she had starred, albeit in a different recording from the one included here, which was the Original London Cast version featuring her co-star, Michael Crawford. Also included were the most memorable songs from such Lloyd Webber shows as Evita ("Don't Cry for Me Argentina"), Song & Dance ("Unexpected Song," "Tell Me on a Sunday"), Aspects of Love ("Love Changes Everything"), and Cats ("Memory," "Gus: The Theatre Cat," "Macavity: The Mystery Cat"). Even the songs that had not been tailored specifically for Brightman had been written for her kind of voice, a full-bodied, dramatic soprano, and she sang with a thorough understanding of the composer's intentions. The result was an excellent primer for anyone who had first encountered Brightman with "Time to Say Goodbye" and was wondering where she came from.

© William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

CD 1
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Phantom of the Opera (musical) Work Michael Crawford Vocals, Sarah Brightman Vocals
1	The Phantom of the Opera	4:19			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Song and Dance (musical) Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
2	Unexpected Song	2:54			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Aspects of Love, musical Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
3	Chanson D'enfance	3:53			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Phantom of the Opera (musical) Work Cliff Richard Vocals, Sarah Brightman Vocals
4	All I Ask of You	4:08			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Evita (musical) Work 9:11 Sarah Brightman Vocals
5	Don't Cry for Me Argentina	5:52			$0.99
6	Another Suitcase in Another Hall	3:19			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Aspects of Love, musical Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
7	Love Changes Everything	3:33			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Amigos Para Siempre (Official Theme of the Barcelona 1992 Games) Work Harry Rabinowitz Conductor, David Caddick Conductor, Sarah Brightman Vocals, José Carreras Vocals
8	Amigos Para Siempre (Official Theme of the Barcelona 1992 Games)	4:34			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Cats (musical) Work 9:06 John Gielgud Vocals, Sarah Brightman Vocals
9	Memory	3:56			$0.99
10	Gus: The Theatre Cat	5:10			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Aspects of Love, musical Work Michael Reed Conductor, Sarah Brightman Vocals
11	Anything but Lonely	2:55			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Cats (musical) Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
12	Macavity: The Mystery Cat	4:44			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Tell Me on a Sunday, musical play (1979) (original version) Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
13	Tell Me on a Sunday	3:43			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Phantom of the Opera (musical) Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
14	Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again	3:29			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Requiem for soloists, chorus and orchestra Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
15	Pie Jesu	3:54			$0.99
Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer Phantom of the Opera (musical) Work Sarah Brightman Vocals
16	The Music of the Night	5:22			$0.99