Man of La Mancha (2002 Broadway Revival Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Man of La Mancha (2002 Broadway Revival Cast)
Free Music Review: The King Has Not Left the Building
Hit: 4 Stars
Brian Stokes Mitchell, truly the king of Broadway, carries this well-meaning but slightly meandering show. His convincible, vulnerable Quixote touches the heart and soul with "The Impossible Dream", and he sings a stunning rendition of "Dulcinea". Mastrantonio's voice leaves some to be desired, uncommitted and shaky on some songs but strong and vibrant in others. Sabella is a great Sancho, but whenever I hear him I still hear Pumbaa :) All in all, even if the show is lacking, Stokes' voice is beautiful and anyone who appreciates Broadway will appreciate this album.Free Music Review: Brian Stokes Mitchell is breathtaking
Hit: 4 Stars
I bought this CD immediately after seeing the show. Brian Stokes Mitchell is incredible in both voice and interpretation. It is as if these songs we have all heard over and over again are fresh and new. Sabello's Sancho is a bit schticky for my liking, but if you like that sort of thing, you'll enjoy it. How anyone could not be enraptured by Mr. Mitchell's performance is hard to believe, but then...to each his Dulcinea.Free Music Review: Marvelous Revival!
Hit: 4 Stars
Well cast revival comes close to the original, but not quite. The OBC was one of those once in a lifetime casts that created the piece and can never be equaled. Richard Kiley and Joan Diener were remarkable, but Brian Stokes Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are wonderful in their own right. And it is fantastic to have this terrific newer recording of the score.Free Music Review: An album I wanted to like more than I did
Hit: 3 Stars
I would like to give this album five stars, but it neither does justice to the original nor to the current stage production, which I enjoyed. This is mainly because the CD is poorly directed, produced and recorded--as though it were done in haste. That is unfortunate, as the album does have some wonderful moments, and the stage production deserves a better legacy.First let me say that this is an album you don't want to listen to in headphones--especially really expensive ones--because the flaws in the recording will leap out at you. There is the piccolo in "I, Don Quixote" that is annoyingly shrill, and an obvious edit in one of the numbers (I'll leave it to the listener to discover which). Worst of all, there is distortion from clipping on all of the loud passages (especially during "The Impossible Dream") which is simply inexcusable. It is as if the engineers had no idea how to set the correct level for "belters" like BSM and the woman who so spectacularly opens the show with the Gypsy number.
The poor directorial choices on the album are numerous. "Do it over" must not have been heard any time during the sessions. A dialogue coach was sorely needed, as several of the actors sound like they are reading the script for the first time (delivery ranges from merely stilted to downright amateruish). BSM's stentorian dialogue works well on stage, but is out of place here. And why does Aldonza sound like a modern New Yorker?
Then there is the singing, which is all over the map. Ernie Sabella, a credible Sancho, takes some odd breaths when he belts "I'm Sancho, yes I'm Sancho." The Muleteers sound more like a chorus from "Naked Boys Singing" than lusty vagabonds. And Mark Jacoby, who has one of the most beautiful and distinct voices on Broadway, can't seem to hit the high notes in "I'm Only Thinking of Him." It is painful to hear him reaching for the "der" in the words "I understand" among some other gaffs in the number. This is unfortunate, as the women who accompany him turn in one of the album's best performances. Why wasn't his part done over? And the choral harmony at the end of "Golden Helmet" sounds almost improvised. A couple other performances on the album are better left unmentioned.
Despite its faults, this album is not without its charms. Mastrantonio, whose singing voice can be uneven, gives a stirring and impassioned rendition of "Aldonza" that I have come to prefer to the original. Mitchell, whose glorious singing almost makes the distortion on the album forgivable, gives us a truly beautiful "Dulcinea." He also sings the hell out of "The Impossible Dream," breathing new fire into a song that had nearly gone stale. Other standouts include "Little Bird, Little Bird," and Jacoby's dirge during the final sequence. There are also some nice instrumental performances sprinkled throughout (especially the guitar).
While I certainly wouldn't give this album five stars or even four, it does have moments that redeem it from garnering two stars. It's just a pity that it doesn't fully reflect the stage production, which I'd give a solid four stars.
Free Music Review: Lovely Orchestrations...Mediocre Album
Hit: 3 Stars
I saw the show (from seats that were basically nosebleed) and was more impressed with the production than most people. To be very honest, I was most impressed with the staging and set of the show as opposed to the actual people. I did enjoy Ernie Sabella's Sancho and Mark Jacoby's Padre, however the rest of the cast had flaws. While Stokes' voice is quite possible the most gorgeous baritone voice on Broadway today, I can't say I was always as impressed with his acting. What I like about this recording is that we get to hear Mitchell sing these songs with that lovely baritone voice, but I also very much like the more guitar oriented orchestration which shines through on numbers such as "To Each His Dulcinea and "Little Bird." "To Each His Dulcinea" is among my favorite songs from this show and the guitar arpeggios make it a thousand times more beautiful. I can't say that I like Stokes over the original Richard Kiley, and I'm not crazy about either Joan Diener or Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (who sounds like she's on the virge of absolutely killing her voice via straining at times), and I wish I'd seen Marin Mazzie do the role, however, Mastrantonio is a seviceable Aldonza. For the sake of the show in its entirety, I would say stick with the Richard Kiley version, but for the sake of hearing Stokes' voice on such lovely numbers as "Dulcinea" and "The Impossible Dream" (I would say anyone planning to perform this in any scenario should hear Stokes' rendition of it) and the far improved orchestration (which is often the way of a revival album), I would say go with this. It wouldn't be a mistake to have to album, I'll say that much.