Rent (2005 Movie Soundtrack)
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Free Music Notes for Rent (2005 Movie Soundtrack)
Free Music Review: This "RENT"s Worth Owning
Hit: 5 Stars
This newly recorded soundtrack to the movie version of "RENT" surpasses its now legendary predeccesor. It's quite a remarkable version of what is now considered a classic. More significantly, this recording stands as one of the most accurate transfers from Broadway to Hollywood in film history. How could it be otherwise with most of the creative team intact and the brilliant idea some insightful executive had to use most of the original cast. These pros knew what they were doing eight shows a week. They know this stuff inside and out and bring all of their vitality and energy to these roles while not letting their mastery blight out the spontaneity.
This nearly perfect recording does have some flaws, mind you. Some of "RENT" was retro went it first appeared ten years ago. Bohemians singing about revolution, masturbation and anarchy? What is this, "Hair"? The piece now seems incredibly anachronistic. It's about as relevent to today's culture as "Oklahoma" (but just as much fun to hear as that great classic). Also, this recording is at times a bit too slick and it loses some of the original's immediacy.
However, these are minor quibbles and there's actually quite a lot of good stuff here. The score has been tightened and strealined. Gone are the "sung through" dialog passages that were so annoying after the second listen. And the orchestrations, while not as hard-driving as the original, are fuller and more textured, creating a plush bed for the vocals. And what vocals they are. Wilson Jermaine Heradia reprises his Tony Award winning role in high style, and he scores direct hits on "Today 4 You" and the haunting "I'll Cover You." He's always been able to mine both Angel's sweetness and his (her?) inner strength. The great Idina Menzel brings her magic to the score's one floppo number, the pretentious "Over the Moon." Her conviction turns that piece of camp into a piece of "almost" art. And the energy she and Tracie Thoms bring to the incendiary "Take Me or Leave Me" makes this the definitive version of that song. Anthony Rapp is once again a wry and amusing "Mark", and he again pairs effectively with Adam Pascal on the title song and the intense "What You Own." The two newcomers, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, are revelations. While Ms. Dawson brings more vitality than technique to her performance, her Mimi is full of raw emotion and she is quite effective in the quieter moments. Tracie Thoms is a force of nature and she almost steals her two duets right out from under Rapp and Menzel, and that takes some doing. The real hero of this recording, however, is the underrated Adam Pascal. On this recording Pascal's Roger finally becomes the heart and soul of this "RENT". Ponder him as a performer: cover-boy looks and a killer "rock" voice without a trace of self-conscious ego or vanity. His Roger is at once a rock and a gentle soul, and this underlines what "RENT" has always been about -- here are life's castaways, still strong enough to survive and still human enough to care. This soundtrack does full justice to that astounding creation of Jonathan Larson, committed so fully to posterity by a remarkable and eternal cast. No day but today.
Free Music Review: Viva La Vie Boheme!
Hit: 5 Stars
In 1996, a small musical transfered from its home Off-Broadway to a new theater in the heart of Time's Square. That show was Rent, and 9 years, four Tonys, and one Pulitzer Prize later, Rent is finally being made into a film with almost the entire Original Broadway Cast reprising their roles.
Warner Bros. has already stared hyping the film, and part of the major media blitz is the release of the soundtrack nearly two months before the film. My iPod will never be the same.
Though the two disc film soundtrack is incredably similar to the Original Broadway Cast Recording (after all, six of the eight principal actors in the film starred in the Original Broadway Cast anyway), there are some changes, most of them for the better.
One is the more powerful sound of the music. It's nice to hear these songs played by a larger band than the six piece band that plays in the stage version. The sound on this recording is much more complete and full. Some of the aditional music and re-orchestrations are great as well. My favorites are the musical interlude in "Tango: Maureen," the musical tag at the end of "Over the Moon," and the new song "Love Heals," which will supposedly play over the credits.
Another thing that makes this recording so great is the maturity of the performers. After nine years, not only can they still nail their parts, but most of them sound even better. The nine extra years of training and work can be heard, especially in Idina Menzel, the recent Tony Award winner for Wicked and future mega-recording artist for Warner Bros. Records. She belts out "Take Me or Leave Me" with more power and punch on this recording than on the OBC recording, and her comic timing on the song/monologue "Over the Moon" is impecable. Adam Pascal seems more at ease with his character of Roger on this recording than on the original one. His renditions of "One Song Glory" and "Your Eyes" are more heart-wrenching on this recording.
And Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms, the two new additions to the cast, sound like they've been a part of this project for nine years as well. Dawson is near perfection as Mimi. She has a suprisingly soothing and pleasing voice, unlike Daphine Ruben-Vega, the original Mimi who sounded like she'd been chain smoking for 80 years. Sadly, Dawson can't belt it like Ruben-Vega, but still I would rather hear hear than the garden-rake-on-chalkboard Ruben-Vega. Tracie Thoms is also incredable as Joanne. Her voice is fantastic, and her solo in "Seasons of Love" will give you chills.
The only downside to this recording is the number of songs from the original show that are missing from the film. Granted, many of the songs would not work on film the way they work on stage, but someone who is not familiar with Rent would have a much easier time following the story if they listened to the stage recording instead of the film one. Still, if the film version of Rent is as good as its soundtrack, then we all have something to look forward to this Thanksgiving.
Free Music Review: Better than the Original Broadway Cast Recording!
Hit: 5 Stars
RENT was a musical that defined a generation. The songs were rock and roll yet had a tender edge to them that appealed to many people across the globe. While the Origninal Broadway Cast album is great, one cannot deny that many of the songs are unneccessary, which is why the movie soundtrack is so excellent. It has all of the best songs from the OBC while trimming down much of the fat, making it the more concise record.
Most notably, 6 of the 8 Original Broadway Cast members have returned, and for the most part, they sound better than ever. Taye Diggs shows on "You'll See" that his voice has improved over the years, now sounding less forced than on the OBC and more melodic and pleasant. Anthony Rapp once again displays why his character have been noted as the heart and soul of the play. Although Idina Menzel's "Over the Moon" is a disappointment, she more than makes up for it in her duet song "Take Me or Leave Me," which is better than it was 10 years ago. While Adam Pascal's voice has lost some of its power over the years, it still blows you away during "One Song Glory" and "What You Own." Wilson Jermaine-Heredia again demonstrates why he won the Best Supporting Actor Tony in 97, doing another fine job as Angel. However, the real showstopper from the OBC on this album is Jesse L. Martin. His solos, "Sante Fe" and "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" are two of the biggest highlights. The former track displaying his orgasmically good low register while the latter tugging at your heart strings until the tears rapidly come. His vocals are much better on this record than the last, and he deserves the accolade as being the definitive Tom Collins.
The two new additions, Rosario Dawson as Mimi and Tracie Thoms as Joanne, enhance the album and show that they deserve their chance to shine along the veterans. Thoms' voice is a power to be reckoned with, as proven on her solo during "Seasons of Love" as well as "Take Me or Leave Me" and Rosario's sweet, earthy voice fares better than Rubin-Vega's harsh tone. For once Mimi actually sounds like she truly is 19, not a chain smoker in her late 20s. Dawson's "Out Tonight" and "Without You" show an actress who really has the essence of Mimi, a daring yet still young woman, down pat, not to mention her excellent singing.
While some may complain about how the music on the soundtrack is too loud, it's important to remember that RENT is a rock and roll album at heart. The song should be loud, they should be attention-grabbing, and they should be intense, both musically and emotionally. Furthermore, the bonus track "Love Heals" is a welcome addition to an already touching album. All in all, this soundtrack, against the OBC, blows it out of the water and every RENT fan should get it right away.
Free Music Review: Amazing What 10 Years Can Do!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm pleased to see that many of my concerns about the OBC reuniting 10 years later were allayed. As many have stated, this crew has gotten BETTER with age. It's hard to imagine that folks like Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin and Idina Menzel actually more or less got their start with Rent. We thought they were excellent back then, it's AMAZING what 10 years of experience has done for them.
First off, I have to go along with the group and give props to both Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms for filling the big shoes of Mimi and Joanne, respectively. I know I'm in the minority, but I never really cared for Daphne Rubin-Vega in the role of Mimi. She never sounded "right" to me, which is strange considering she originated the role. Rosario captures both the edge and the softness of the character and I totally buy her relationship with Roger now, something I never did with Daphne. While I enjoyed Fredi Walker's Joanne on the OBCR, I found her stage performances to be tiresome and irritating. Tracie Thoms gives Joanne an innocence and insecurity that is both compelling and heartbreaking.
After seeing the newest trailer and realizing that most of the non "big numbers" are played as straight dialogue instead of verse, I can understand now why certain tracks were cut. "Christmas Bells" was designed for the stage; it's a chaotic, "where do I look now" melody that works VERY well on stage, but would just be a mess on film. Where should the camera focus when there's fifteen little plots going on? "Contact" was ALMOST too avant garde for the stage show, it would definitely be a mistake to include it into the film. I'm not sorry that either was skipped. The rest of the skipped songs were really mostly moments for the ensemble actors, none of which are included in the film version. They'll always be special to those of us who loved them, but some concessions had to be made for the movie.
I was also pleasantly touched by the softness of the bonus track, "Love Heals." I always got the impression that Jonathan's raw music was a little more avant garde than the final product we saw on stage. In the RENT book, you can tell that the songs went through tons of rewrites before the production team felt it was commercial enough. Therefore, I expected Love Heals to be raw, untouched Jonathan Larson. And, for all I know, it is. It just surprised me that it would be so touchingly simple and direct, in both verse and melody. It makes me realize all over again how much talent the world lost when Jonathan passed away too soon.
Can't wait to see the movie!
Free Music Review: BUY 5 Stars
Dude, it's awesome. I don't care what all those people who don't like it are saying, THEY'RE I actually just got it ( I made my mom drive to 2 different stores so i could get the Maureen cover) and I'm listening to it right now and it's really cool. A lot of the music is more on the rock side, and up to date, which I think is sounds really cool. It's probably just as good as the OBC recording, not better, but pretty darn close. And I would know, seeing as I've listened to it practically non-stop since August. Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms are both great in their roles (Mimi and Joanne). I also love Idina Menzel's vocals on this recording. I've read a lot of reviews saying that her Over The Moon is really bad, but it's not, it's just really different from the original. And besides, it will probably make more sense once we've all seen the movie. I mean, if you heard the OBC version without actually seeing the performance first, would you seriously say, "Oh that song was excellent!!!! I want to listen to it 87 times more!!!!!!!!" ? That's what I thought. My favorite part is the "gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gottagotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta find a way" part. The mooing was really funny too. And the insturmental part on the end has gotten a lot better. Idina also does great on Take Me or Leave Me (I'm listening to it right now) as does Tracie. A number I can't wait to see is Tango: Maureen. Especially the dance. I heard it was a really complicated one. La Vie Boheme, while definitly missing some diolauge (is that spelled right?) is also a great recording. Love Heals is also a great song. great vocals from everyone on that recording. Now the I'll cover You Reprise is coming on, and as soon as I heard the first note, I started tearing up (which doesn't happen. Ever.)Oh yeah, When I see this movie, I am toatally gonna be the person who starts sobbing hysterically about 5 words into the song. I'll also be the one who moos. Sniff. Such a great song. Sigh. I wish i could sing like all these great singers who do an excellent job with this cd. So if you're having doubts about buying it, ignore them, because they're wrong. So buy the cd and then see the movie (but wait 'til November 24, in order to make sure I can get in on the 23rd. If I don't end up hitch hiking up to NYC beforhand, anyway.)