Having finally listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of this masterpiece, my verdict's in and clear: the London Cast Recording is the definitive version.The voices of the London Cast are, to a man (and woman) far superior -- this is most obvious when listening to the Quartet who open the show, and act as the chorus. The American artists, while excellent, simply can't compare to the power, range and tone of the Brits.The arrangements are gorgeous, the choral work astounding, and the version of "The Miller's Son" found here will floor you. Not only the best recording of this particular show, but possibly the best recording of any Sondheim show available on CD -- Sweeney Todd is the only other contender, for my money.The Orginal Cast Recording is great for a historical value. The British Cast is what you listen to when you want to hear the best show you'll never have the privilege of seeing. It's ruined me. But I'm not complaining.The music is great. It is performed by a great London cast.My one complaint is that the plastic cases for cd's almost always arrived cracked since they are mostly shipped in soft sided envelopes. Please return to shipping in cardboard as you used to do. It ends up costing me additional money to replace the cases.I saw this production in Chicago in the 70s and was very impressed by it. Just hearing the music again was delightful.I wish it had been a DVD as I would have liked to see it again. Never the less, it was great.The jacket was the 1975 London cast but the actual CD was the original Broadway Cast from 1973.Great job. The package came on early and helped me out. The price was perfect.I would recommend this to others,A Little Night Music is one of my favorite musicals. I've been listening to the original Broadway cast album for years. When I saw the London cast album available I knew I had to add it to my collection. The big draw for me on this recording was Jean Simmons playing the role of Desiree Armfeldt. Jean Simmons is a fine actress with a beautiful voice, while not a "singer" she does a great job with her songs, hers is one of the most beautiful renditions of Send in the Clowns that I have heard. The rest of the cast is fine, Hermione Gingold is here from the original Broadway cast. If you love ALNM or Stephen Sondheim I'd definitely add this to your collection.I, ofcourse like so many other reviewers of the same cd, own both the London and original Broadway cast albums, and frankly the London recording does laps around the original. First- I will admit Jean Simmons is not the ideal Desiree, but what she lacks in beauty and glamour makes up for Glyniss Jhon's creaking melodies. There is no song on this recording that is worse then the original, and very few actors ( ofcourse, who could top the original Fredrick, definately including this one). Anne is supurb. Her voice is extremely beautiful, and makes up for the corny fluffieness of the original Anne, and her expression in such songs as " A Weekend In The Country" is simply hillariously funny. This Charlotte is also devistatingly wonderful, with her delicious voice, although you can't realy balance the two Charlottes out (the other from the original), as they play the charector with much difference. This Petra is also stunning, especially in "The Miller's Son," which is recomended in all of these reviews. And what a great operetta Quintet, along with Hermoine gingold's wonderful aged performance. All the male parts are also met to the very top, especially Henrick.A few of my favorite songs on this album is the wonderfully light and fast paced, elegant little romp of "A Weekend In The Country," and "The Glamorous Life" (which has always been my favorite song from the production, with a much better Fredricka then the origianl).In conclusion, this recording should certainly be bought by "A Little Night Music" fans, and especially Stephen Sondheim,in the words of another reviewer,who's lyrics are the real star,i have both the broadway '73 and london '75 recordings. for my money, jean simmons (london) outdoes glynis johns. but len cariou (broadway)sings circles around mr. ackland. hermione gingold's performance actually improves with age. and the london petra ("the miller's son") is awesome. i think the opening is perfection; but elsewhere some of the ensemble numbers do have the odd tempo now and then. i know this is not practical advice, but the best solution would be to splice bits from both cd's to create your perfect recording.I went to see a preview of this production of a 'Little Night Music' and was bowled over ! Maybe other people will think there have been better casts or more fluid productions ( and I've worked on two myself) but this is as near to a perfect production of a great show, that I have ever witnessed.Great musical saw it onstage in London.