Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.12 You Save: $21.86 (66%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.54 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: RENT IS 5 Stars
I first got this CD because two of my friends were both obsessed with RENT and saying how good it is and how great the songs are and such. Plus, they would sing the songs ALL THE TIME. Finally, I got the CD, listened to it and was completely amazed about how awesome the songs are as well as amazing the origional cast was! Just a little while ago, I actually got to see the show on Broadway and I was (and still am) in awe of the show. I can't even describe the feeling and the impact that I had. It was spectacualar. RENT has got to be THE BEST show on Broadway. Period. No buts or anything. I absolutely love it...and you're probably sitting there thinking "yeah, another RENT head who probably just wrote this to promote the sales of this CD (...) ...yadda yadda..." well, no...not really...I don't even usually write these reviews because I am THE laziest person on the planet. I just had to write a review for this CD, though because I'm able to relate to all of the characters (which could be why I'm attached to it so much) and I can't even describe this feeling of compassion I have for the show. There aren't enough descriptive words...plus I have a maximum of 1,000 words for this review so I can't even go into it. I just have to say, THANK YOU, JONATHAN LARSON for writing RENT! So, everyone buy this CD...it's wonderful...it's great...I don't know what else to say about it but just to say go experiance it for yourself, so go click on that "Add to Shopping Cart" button that I know you're just dying to press and BUY THE CD! YOU WON'T REGRET IT! If I had enough money, I'd buy it for you, but I'm not that rich...sorry...but after reading this review (if you're actually still reading it...I dunno...I probably lost a few readers because I'm babbling) and other reviews you have to be convinced to buy this wonderful CD.....and go see the show, too...it's SO GOOD! ok...I'm done now...hope this was helpful! : )Free Music Review: Look No Further!
Hit: 5 Stars
Whether you're a broadway fan, a rock fan, or simply a music fan, this album is fantastic. First of all, the show is great. It's packed with emotion, power, good music, and the message that you should simply enjoy your life (No Day But Today). Jonathan Larson was an amazing songwriter, and the original cast of Rent is unbelievable. Anthony Rapp is a great actor and an equally good vocalist, Adam Pascal is perfect for the role of Roger, Daphne-Rubin Vega adds some edge to the character of Mimi, and, of course, Wilson Jermaine Heredia is the perfect drag queen.
What I like the most about Rent is that it's a lot unlike other Broadway musicals- nobody's life is perfect. Instead of taking place in 1920's New York City, Rent is set in modern-day East Village New York, where people are struggling to make a living and simply get by. Rent covers issues such as race, AIDS, and death, and a lot of the characters aren't what you would expect in a Broadway musical. (How many shows do you know that feature a drag queen as a character AND as an actual person? Okay, but La Cage Oux Falls doesn't count.) Instead of one problem that gets fixed in the end, there are many conflicts occuring simultaneously in Rent- and it ends at sort of a "What will happen next?" point.
Now, onto the album review. Before you decide to get the "Rent Highlights" or the "Rent Movie" soundtrack instead because it's cheaper, stop and think. On the highlights CD, only a handful of the songs are featured; this CD covers the entire soundtrack, to the 8-minute "La Vie Boheme" to the lesser-known "Voice Mail #3".By buying an alternate CD, you miss out on a lot of important parts of the story (and a lot of great songs). So, pay the extra $10. It won't hurt. Really.
Overall, this 2-disc CD is great. Rent is an amazing musical with a good message. 43 songs for just $30? That sounds like a good deal to me.
Free Music Review: I Love Rent!
Hit: 5 Stars
RENT is one of only a few shows that is actually better recorded than live. Really. (Another member of that group is EVITA) I know this is shocking for most people to hear. Although RENT is a spectacle to see and the staging is impecable, the stage production never really seems to satisfy. Now, the score really does satisfy! But it seems that the laidback attitude is overdone onstage. Examples: Roger and Mark just walking onstage in the first scene, the bows, and the cheap looking moon. Also, no cast will EVER take the place of this perfect cast. Everyone in this cast is right on. The songs in this show are just so darn good. They really are awesome. Seasons of Love gets a little annoying sometimes. Seasons of Love, however, was my favorite number onstage (my least favorite number going to Contact).
Standout Songs:
RENT
You'll See
Out Tonight
I'll Cover You
Seasons of Love
Take Me or Leave Me
I'll Cover You (reprise)
Goodbye Love
You'll notice I left out some of the most popular Renthead favorites (La Vie Boheme and Today 4 U for example) But these truly are the most musically superior songs on this recording..... but they are all awesome!
Top Five Cast Members (1 being the best)
5. Jessie L. Martin
4. Daphne Rubin Vega
3. Taye Diggs
2. Anthony Rapp
1. Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel's performance is "wicked" awesome.... any yes, pun intended!
This is a wonderful show, but be careful. When I first listened to the CD I felt so bad that I bought it. I thought it was all stupid, but I learned to adore it.
The best recording of a Broadway musical.
However...
The best Broadway Musical Award goes to.....
LES MISERABLES! Of course!
Have fun listening!
Free Music Review: Fabulous, But Let's Not Kid Ourselves
Hit: 5 Stars
I had pretty much ignored the "Rent" phenomenon because of the massive over-hype campaign at the time of its opening (I mean, jeez, a Bloomingdales boutique of "Rent" clothes?) until I broke down and saw it in Chicago. After that, my tune changed, but let's not kid ourselves. "Rent" is Broadway show tunes through and through, not the brave new world that the critics made it out to be. There are shades of "Godspell" and "Hair", etc. all the way through it, and there are numbers (e.g., "Tango Maureen") that are so firmly Broadway, with a capital B, that would be laughed off the stage in the East Village. Further, these characters are as true to the East Village, well, if perhaps if they had all gone to Brown or Exeter. Plus there's the ludicrous ending...Those major quibbles aside, "Rent" is a great show (aside from the clunky "Seasons of Love") and I'm surprised to find that I play it regularly. Many of the most charming, poignant and/or funniest moments come from the songs which are not the MAIN ones (e.g., "Light my Candle," "Sante Fe, etc."]. The "Over the Moon" performance number is excruciating and you'll run for the fast forward button on your CD player. If you have a chance to see the actress/actor known as only as "Simone" (Nina Simone's daughter) play Mimi on the road, don't miss it as she blows away the chick who sings the role here. All of this griping aside (which comes mostly from a "let's not kid ourselves attitude cause folks, this are show tunes here", it's a great score and I highly recommend this.Free Music Review: Great rendering of an amazing play
Hit: 5 Stars
"Rent" is based on Puccini's "La Bohème", but instead of taking place in 19th century Bohemia, it is staged in 20th century New York. The show focuses around eight friends and their relationships with each other. Of course, conflict exists between them (or else there wouldn't be a plot!). In the end, however...well i guess you have to find out for yourself! The prevailing theme throughout the play is to take advantage of today and not take it for granted that we will be alive tomorrow: "There's only us, there's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other road, no other way, no day but today".I rented the soundtrack to "Rent" for the first time a few months ago, without having seen the show performed live. I loved it but was not especially moved by it at the time. I didn't purchase the cd then.
Last night, I saw the show live for the first time. I was blown out of my seat. I don't think words can describe the emotion I felt during the show and the utter elation I felt after the show concluded. It was the most vibrant, engaging, and inspiring work of drama I've ever seen performed. Similarly, I don't think the cd does justice to the performance. YOU MUST SEE THE SHOW LIVE TO GET THE FULL EMOTION OF IT. Nevertheless, I must have the cd now because I couldn't get enough of the show. If you cannot see the show, however, the cd is still definitely worth getting. It is infinitely more rewarding, however, to see the show live. By all means, go see it! In the meantime, get the soundtrack but know that it is not enough!