Evita (The Motion Picture Music Soundtrack) / Madonna as Evita, includes the two hit songs: ''You Must Love Me'' & ''Don't Cry For Me Argentina'' / Warner Bros. Records 2x Audio Cassette / 9362-46346-4

UPC 093624634645

Evita is the soundtrack album to the 1996 musical film of the same name, performed mostly by American singer Madonna. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on November 12, 1996. Directed by Alan Parker, the film was based on Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1978 musical Evita about First Lady of Argentina Eva Perón, portrayed by Madonna. The soundtrack consists of reworked songs from its original 1976 concept album as well as a new song, "You Must Love Me". Additional performers on the soundtrack include Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce and Jimmy Nail.

After securing the title role in Evita, Madonna underwent vocal training in order to enhance her singing abilities. The actors were tense during the recording sessions for Evita, since they were from a non-musical background. The musical style for Evita differed from Madonna's previous works and she was not comfortable in recording her vocals inside the studio alongside the orchestra. After an emergency meeting with the principal personnel, it was decided she would record in a separate location. It took almost four months for the soundtrack to be finished. Rice and Lloyd Webber had employed the classical technique while creating the music, taking the central theme, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", and tweaking it to cater to a variety of settings. Through the songs, the soundtrack tells the story of Eva Perón's beginnings, her rise to fame, political career and gradually her death.

The soundtrack was released in two different versions. A two-disc edition featured all the tracks from the film, and a single-disc edition contained a selection of song highlights. Evita was promoted by the release of three singles—"You Must Love Me", "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall"; the first won the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1997. Critical reception towards the soundtrack was mixed, with AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine calling it "unengaging" while Hartford Courant's Greg Morago praised Madonna's singing abilities. Evita peaked at number two in the US Billboard 200 chart, and was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and has sold over seven million copies worldwide.

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