# Original Cast Recording/Soundtrack that Stands Alone **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130 "2006-03-20T14:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/21 "2006-03-21T02:35:29Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Porgy and Bess. 🙂 > > Joking aside, most great Broadwas cast albums stand alone. Things like **Kiss Me Kate, The Pajama Game, The King and I, Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, A Chorus Line, Man of La Mancha,** just to name a few, are great music that stands on its own. I was brought up listening to most of those on my father’s records, and didn’t see any of them for years after. I’ll second _West Side Story_ and _Rocky Horror_, and add _HMS Pinafore_ by Gilbert and Sullivan (even though most of their stuff was just as good). Oh, does Elvis count? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/22 "2006-03-21T02:59:46Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > Another vote for **Jesus Christ Superstar** , though the original album preceded any stage or film version. If it is still a valid choice given that fact, I also cast a vote for **Tommy** I’ll second this. I’ve never seen The Who’s Tommy but I love the soundtrack. I think I have a pretty good grasp of what happens throughout the musical based upon the songs as well. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/23 "2006-03-21T03:51:20Z")
**Pacific Overtures** soundtrack tells the story to me. But I already knew the backstory, so that may be cheating. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/24 "2006-03-22T03:00:30Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Porgy and Bess. 🙂 > > Joking aside, most great Broadwas cast albums stand alone. Things like **Kiss Me Kate, The Pajama Game, The King and I, Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, A Chorus Line, Man of La Mancha,** just to name a few, are great music that stands on its own. Many Broadway recordings are great, usually being recorded after the cast has performed the plat several times. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/25 "2006-03-22T03:46:23Z")
**The Blues Brothers**. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/26 "2006-03-22T05:06:00Z")
**Wicked** , for sure. I loved the show long before I saw it. **Sunset Boulevard** , in its own way. I have the CD, but have never seen a production (or the movie, for that matter) and the story’s perfectly coherent. **A Chorus Line** : I hate the show itself. I’ve only seen the movie, which I’m sure has a lot to do with it, but I HATED it. Love the music, though. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/27 "2006-03-22T13:51:20Z")
Henry Mancini’s soundtracks all have the characteristic that they make great listening whether or not you’ve seen the movie. Some of the more notable ones are: Breakfast at Tiffany’s Hatari! Charade The Pink Panther Experiment in Terror Even the TV series “music from” albums are great that way: Peter Gunn Mr. Lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/28 "2006-03-22T13:55:05Z")
_Chess_ and _The Blues Brothers_ are two that spring readily to mind… ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/29 "2006-03-22T14:30:57Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > **The Blues Brothers**. Definitely. **A Chorus Line** ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130/30 "2006-03-22T17:26:23Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > **Robert and Elizabeth,** definitely. It’s the story of Robert Browning falling in love with Elizabeth (Moulton-) Barrett and rescuing her from a dysfunctional family. _The Moon In My Pocket, Escape Me Never, Hate Me Please,_ and all the rest. The whole thing is a treasure. I get goosebumps and start breathing hard just thinking about it. Based on this, I have just ordered it. It sounds like something I would love!! For me, Rent, Phantom, Les Miz (I’ve seen it in Chicago and NYC but loved the recording for years before), West Side Story all hold up on their own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-cast-recording-soundtrack-that-stands-alone/349130.md?page=1)