I am really divided on this CD, and the concept of the show on the whole. "Love never Dies" is not the first sequel to another musical - it has been done several times with "Nunsense", there was "Annie Warbucks", and of course the "Falsettos" trilogy is a succession of three masterpieces. Plotwise, however, "Love never Dies" does not make sense. At all! The characters are far removed from their original conceptions - Christine may still be close to her former self, but Phantom, Raoul, Mme Giry and Meg are new and not improved. While distractors like to claim that "Oklahoma!" is all about whether Laurey goes to the ball with Curly or with Jud, "Love never Dies" mainly deals with the question of whether Christine will sing the aria. The ending is overblown and non-sensical as well. But then some of the music is gorgeous. I have to admit that musically I do not particularly like its predecessor but I have not been able to get "'Til I Hear you Sing" out of my head for weeks; it proves that Lloyd Webber is a more theatrical composer than, say, Frank Wildhorn - Lloyd Webber does not have to rely solely on key changes to create intensity. "Bathing Beauty" is a wonderful pastiche number that could very well be from a show like "No No Nanette", and it helps that Summer Strallen as Meg Giry is the stand-out performer on this CD. Sierra Boggess is also pretty good as Christine but fails to be as lovely as she was on the cast album of "The Little Mermaid". Sally Dexter, who sings Madame Giry but is the only principal cast member here not to play the part on stage, is less strong. She can certainly do the hysterics of her character but her French accent is definitely meandering, and she is a little too one-note in her portrayal. Another lowlight of the recording is "Christine Disembarks", an annoying accumulation of American cliches. Also, the lyrics usually are not too great. And I definitely disapprove of the choice to include the lyrics only with the "Deluxe Edition". But ah, the melodies!