Hair (Deluxe Edition) (1968 Original Broadway Cast and 1967 Off-Broadway Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Hair (Deluxe Edition) (1968 Original Broadway Cast and 1967 Off-Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: Historic And Unforgettable
Hit: 5 Stars
This 2 CD recording should be MANDATORY for any musical theater buff- a rare opportunity to hear this historical show's developement from its off-Broadway roots to the megashow it became. Galt MacDermot's unforgettable score is wonderful in both versions (and while the film version tries to accomplish the unimagineable translation from a "non-book" musical to something with a traceable "plot", which I don't think it really does, the full orchestrations of its songs are truly realized by its composer...the versions of "Aquarius" by Ren Woods and "Easy To Be Hard" by Cheryl Barnes justify a manditory puchase alone). The only "bummer" of this collection is that it doesn't include material from the two other New York HAIR recordings, which are still only available on out-of-print RCA LPs: DIVINE HAIR: MASS IN F(which featured several HAIR songs incorporated into a Catholic Mass) and DisinHAIRited (which has many of the songs cut from both the off-Broadway and Broadway companies).
If you get a chance, check out the book LET THE SUNSHINE IN (available from this website)- it will flesh out the political and historical relevance of this incredible show. For an even BETTER overview, the out-of-print THE AGE OF HAIR traces the show from its roots to the film version. Producer Michael Butler maintains the show's website (www.MichaelButler.com) for updates on current productions and the many cast members from the original productions.
For its wonderful music, evocations of a past era and its timeless plea for peace("Let The Sunshine In", the finale song, always leaves me in tears), this is THE paragon show cd you must own!
Free Music Review: Fly In the Breeze
Hit: 5 Stars
The deluxe collector's edition released in 2003 is an excellent update for the "Hair" soundtrack. With the war in Iraq raging, the themes of war seem relevant again 37 years later. The first disc is the 1968 Broadway recording and shines with the remastering from BMG/RCA. The title track has such great energy and sense of freedom, "I let it fly in the breeze & get it caught in the trees." "Easy to Be Hard" is a lovely melody with a dramatic build, "Do you only care about the bleeding crowd? How about a needing friend? I need a friend." Shelly Plimpton on "Frank Mills" has always put a smile on my face about the girl who lost the address of a guy she likes. It's specificity about "the Waverly" and that he looks like "George Harrison of the Beatles" make it humorous, even though it's delivery is so straightforward deadpan. "Electric Blues" is a track not released on the first album, but sounds like the cast was having a huge amount of fun. Disc 2 contains the 1967 Off-Broadway production. In almost all aspects, it seems like a warm-up for the Broadway production. On "Hair," the vocals are ragged & have an assaulting quality in delivery. "Where Do I Go?" with Walker Daniels on vocals is more hushed, less musical. Walker also leads on "Exanapanetooch," a track not included on the Broadway production, wisely cut. The bonus tracks are interesting footnotes and the interview with composer Galt MacDermot is informative, but not probably something I'd want to listen to repeatedly. Overall, the remastering and verve of the original Broadway cast performance make this an excellent release. Enjoy!Free Music Review: Powerful, Joyful, Important Piece of Theatre
Hit: 5 Stars
Despite the hostile and simple-minded review from the Amazon editor Dawn Eden, HAIR is a genuine masterpiece of musical theatre, a show that changed everything, including the lives of everyone who works on it and many who see it. As someone who has directed the show twice and written a book about it ("Let the Sun Shine In: The Genius of HAIR"), I can testify to the fact that it's NOT just a silly show full of nice pop tunes. It is a powerful piece of dramatic theatre that tackles head-on the most difficult issues of the 60s -- which unfortunately remain the most difficult issues of the new millennium. Though it may appear messy and haphazard to some, HAIR is a carefully wrought, intelligent, emotional experience unlike any other. No other show can move an audience quite like this -- I'll never forget seeing our audiences sobbing every night at the end of the show as the cast begged them to "let the sun shine in." We need this show now more than ever, and its deep resonance is even more profound today than it has been at any time since the 60s.Free Music Review: The first in a long line of great rock musicals
Hit: 5 Stars
Rock shows like Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, The Wiz, Grease, Rent, Mamma Mia, and Hairspay are big hits, and are all wonderful shows(except Momma Mia) but you have to start some where. The graddaddy of all rock musicals, Hair. Written by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and music by Galt MacDermot in 1967 on Off-Broadway, (that cast is featured in this two disc set, as well as the orginal Broadway cast, and an interview with Galt MacDermot) Then moved on to Broadway in 1968, where it stayed for four years to sold out crowds. This was a new kind of musical for a new kind of generation. With songs like Aquaris, Hair, Donna, Ain't Got No, Sodomy, I Got Life, Colored Spade, and my personal favorite Let The Sunshine in. This show will never be revied because of it being very outdated. But music is never dated because you can find revelance in them today with the war and our government. Hair is the father of rock music in broadway. I love it, you will too.Free Music Review: An Iconic experience. aka uber nostalgic
Hit: 5 Stars
This album contains the forceful expression of so many feelings of the tumultous decade that turned our country on it's head. Songs like "Aquarius" to call to the hope from the near future, "3-5-0-0" to express the horror of the Viet Nam war, "I'm Black" to document the erosion of discrimination. If you lived it, you know it and love it. If you missed it, it should be required curricula of History and Civics classes, to bring the subject alive. The pre-original off-Broadway cast recording contains many songs that weren't in the final version.
And it's crystal clear. Better than the old vinyl records.
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