Billy Elliot: The Musical (Original Cast Recording)
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Free Music Notes for Billy Elliot: The Musical (Original Cast Recording)
Free Music Review: Billy Elliot
Hit: 4 Stars
Received both CD's very rapidly, they are gifts so can't tell you the condition but they appear to be in great shape.Free Music Review: Good show
Hit: 4 Stars
It's not the greatest, but good enough. Fans of musicals will find plenty to like (and a little to wish for).Free Music Review: Kudos to Elton
Hit: 4 Stars
More melodic and dramatic than most cast recordings these days. Well worth owning.
JWH
Free Music Review: Elton John's Miner-Dance Score
Hit: 3 Stars
"Billy Elliot" opened to rave reviews in London, but this seems to be in spite of a score by Elton John that doesn't quite thrill like it should.
Yet I can see how this would be a really enjoyable show-- its working class story is exactly the kind of plot that is likely to capture my sentimentality, just as the movie did. Based on that Oscar-nominated film, it's the story of a lad who just really, really wants to dance, much to the dismay of his macho dad, who's out of work during the miner strikes of 1984. From the disc, you can tell the musical follows the film very closely, which is good- it's a solid storyline with enough song and dance opportunities to make it work. But the songs by Elton John, with some exceptions, are just sort of unremarkable.
The best thing about the disc is its theatricality. I was expecting this to sound like a collection of pop songs, like the cast recording of Elton John's previous musical, "Aida." What surprised me about this recording, then, is the number of musical scenes-- rather than just songs, there is an interweaving of dialogue, underscoring, and catchy hooks-- in other words, a real sense of musical storytelling that you didn't really get from Elton John in "Aida" or his songs for " The Lion King." Unfortunately, the best of these numbers come early on the recording.
The opener, "The Stars Look Down," is a hymn for the striking miners that sets exactly the right tone-- somber and angry, but tinged with optimism. The next number, "Shine" is an exuberant dance lesson that features Haydn Gwynn as Billy's hard-edged dancing teacher (Gwynn gives an impressively dimensional performance on disc-- she's the standout). "Solidarity" is my favorite track overall-- a scene that sets the striking miners in counterpoint to Billy's dance lessons. It's particularly well done, even if as a song it basically repeats the same refrain over and over: "Solidarity, Solidarity, Solidarity forever/ We're proud to be working class/Solidarity forever!"
After those, there just isn't all that much that's stuck with me. "The Letter" is nice-- a touching number sung by Billy, his deceased mother, and his dance teacher. "Electricity" is the obvious extractable pop song, and it's enjoyable, especially with a dance instrumental dropped in the middle of it. Another instrumental, "Angry Dance," is genuinely exciting-- seems like quite a rousing Act I finale. There is certainly variety in the score and the musical styles fit well with the story. But there are too many hymns for the miners, and too many so-so numbers: "Born to Boogie," "Grandma's Song," "Expressing Yourself," "Deep into the Ground," and "He Could Be a Star," while not gratingly bad or anything, don't make much of an impact, either.
But I do like the flow of the drama on this recording, and the cast is very capable (as Billy, Liam Mower feels like a very natural young actor/singer/and presumably, dancer). The lyrics by Lee Hall, who also wrote the film, are effective and often laced with profanity, which is appropriate and very much appreciated. And "Billy Elliot" does demonstrate that Elton John is stretching as a musical composer, attempting to move beyond the pop sensibilities he's known for. That being said, the songs are not as strong as they should be, and if I'm honest, I actually prefer the guilty pleasure pop-ness of the "Aida" recording.
Free Music Review: From London to Broadway
Hit: 3 Stars
It appears that no Broadway cast recording will be made, so we are stuck with the London cast recording.
The British in general do not produce strong musicals. (Any country that reveres the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber is immediately suspect.) As it happens, BILLY ELLIOT is a strong show thanks to its source material.
Elton John's score, while functional in a dramatic context, does not contain one single breakout tune. It's telling that the most memorable melody in the show accompanies an extended ballet sequence set to music from SWAN LAKE (Tchaikovsky) that is not included on this CD.
This show is centered on dance, which obviously cannot be seen on the CD.
What we can hear are the songs with some dialogue. A little more dialogue would help, but the recording conveys much of the story.
The performances are quite good and the show has been a huge hit in London and already a hot ticket in New York. The show is vry entertaining. If you are a fan of musicals you will want to hear this, though Elton John fans looking for music with a harder edge may be disappointed.