Sunset Boulevard (1994 Los Angeles Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Sunset Boulevard (1994 Los Angeles Cast)
Free Music Review: Comparison of London and Los Angeles CDs
Hit: 5 Stars
Sadly, I haven't seen the show on stage. I found it quite enjoyable on CD. Enough of the dialogue is included to follow the story. Plus both versions include printed lyrics and dialogue.
This is a terrific dramatic musical. I give 4 stars to Lloyd Webber, et al, for songs and lyrics. I would have gone 5 stars, but there are a few songs where they get a good angsty mood going, then suddenly turn to a softer, sweeter mood. I felt they could hold the angst longer. Example: Joe singing to Betty in the final scene (after the phone call).
I purchased both London and Los Angeles CDs. I listened to each carefully and tried not to imprint on one version. Result: I favor the Los Angeles cast, because they do a better job of conveying the emotion. I also recommend L.A. if you like a darker, angsty tale. London is good if you prefer a younger, more innocent Joe & Betty.
** London (4 stars)
1. Patti LuPone (Norma) has a better voice than Glenn Close.
2. Kevin Anderson (Joe) has a sweeter, younger, higher voice.
3. Meredith Braun (Betty) has a sweeter, higher voice.
** Los Angeles (5 stars)
1. Glenn Close (Norma) does a fabulous job of conveying emotion through her voice. Because she plays a "fading" 50-something, her less perfect voice didn't detract.
2. Alan Campbell (Joe) has a deeper, darker, smoother, more adult voice. He sings most of the songs and he's better at carrying the show.
Technical note: A Windows Media Player v 11.0 bug affects the London version: you can't easily rip all the songs into Media Player, because several have the same title. There may be a work-around, but I didn't find it.
London Version Link:
Sunset Boulevard (1993 Original London Cast)
Free Music Review: No, it's not the "definitive" recording, but as of now, it's the best thing out there.
Hit: 4 Stars
Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard" has a sordid reputation of scandals, lawsuits, botches, psychotic leading ladies and creative difference war stories that is usually reserved for run-of-the-mill Hollywood productions akin to "Heaven's Gate" and/or "Cleopatra," so it is quite shocking that a stage musical is known more for it's nasty backstory than for its music, songs and storyline. It is partly due to such a scandalous past that "Sunset Boulevard" was never able to reach it's full potential as not only one of greatest "movie adaptation" musicals, but as one of the greatest musicals, period.
Let's face, for all of it's (few) good qualities, the British World Premiere recording was and is an epic, EPIC disaster. Lousy orchestrations, flat acting, odd vocal choices and obvious overall "unreadiness."
To top it off, the show's premiere was obviously rushed after only a second workshop, which was met with "gushing" acclaim. Poor Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn must have realized only too late that all that acclaim was just people being polite and that the show was far from finished. The production had to shut down and go through numerous changes and revisions at such an insane rate, that it almost drove the cast (especially Patti LuPone) insane. It is due to this the libretto and the actual cast recording differ wildly from each other, not to mention that these never-ending revisions were no doubt responsible for the numerous (over half hour) cuts on the original cast recording. After all, they had to disguise the changes somehow, didn't they?
So, after all that chaos, the show finally went to US, but having learned their lesson, there was no premiere until some EXTENSIVE overhauls and this cast album really benifits from being recorded once all the changes were complete, thus making it a tight, coherent and extremely (and I do mean EXTREMELY) professional no-nonsense album.
Some changes were for the best. Other questionable at best. I guess it's all the matter of taste, but there are some definite pros and cons here. For example, while "Every Movie's a Circus" helps the score sound a lot less repetitive, it's very flat and boring compared to the reprise of "Let's Have Lunch" heard in its place in the original London production. The orchestrations are a lot better organized in this incarnation of the show, but sometimes they're just too "tight," causing "Let's Have Lunch" to sound very dull indeed. However, "The Greatest Star of All" and "Eternal Youth is Worth a Little Suffering" are billions, above billions times superior to the awkward mess that was heard in London Cast Recording. And possibly one of the best improvements is the ending sequence, now a lot less abrupt and far more powerful than what was heard originally.
Of course, one can't forget to mention that this is the only complete recording of the show, since no cuts were needed to mask the revisions.
Now comes the most controversial aspect of this recording; that is, the actors and the singing. Let's start with the most logical choice, Glenn Close. Yes, she overacts and turns Norma Desmond into a delirious psychopath. But, come on, this is NORMA DESMOND, it's a very appropriate portrayal. My biggest problem with Miss Close is how far the key was lowered to suit her vocals. The song that suffers the worst is "With One Look," with the underscoring all but non-existant. While Glenn Close's singing is nowhere near as bad as it is usually made out to be by the self-proclaimed theatre snobs, she does have a weird tendency to shriek and wail out the notes she can't properly hit (but, let's face it, so did Diahann Carroll during her acclaimed turn as Norma Desmond in Toronto.)
Alan Campbell, while a very competent singer, is very... Plain... Just too.. "Garden variety." A problem that all Joes have endured in the many (but by far not enough) incarnations of the musical. For some reason, they are all interchangeble, which is a big shame. I am yet to see/hear an actor bring something new to the role of Joe Gillis.
George Hearn, on the contrary, is the best part of the recording. His powerful robust voice explodes with all the pain, emotion and impact of Erich Von Stroheim in the original and, thankfully, he never goes off-key or puts on a phony nazisploitation accent ala Daniel Benzali in the original production.
Judy Kuhn, while giving an effective and sweet perfomance as Betty Schaefer is obviously a decade too old for the part, but her vocals are simply impeccable.
So, this revised format of "Sunset Boulevard" is nowhere near a definitive rendition of the musical. (Perhaps if the German recording would get a complete album, then we'd be on to something.) In fact, it's a bag of mixed blessings. Here we have a full recording of the show, with improved acting and music, but at the cost of some major vocal power. And some (by far not all) of the changes are still up to debate whether they were an improvement or made the show even worse.
In any case, one must definately get this one, it goes great in contrast with the Original Cast Recording; hearing the evolution of the songs and book is a very unique experience for this musical. One can only wonder what changes will the impending movie soundtrack introduce.
Free Music Review: A few good songs, mostly uninteresting
Hit: 3 Stars
I tend to enjoy Lloyd Webber's work, particularly Evita and Phantom of the Opera, but I didn't find myself as swept away by the music here as by some of his other musicals. Strangely, I enjoyed a lot of the instrumental parts the most. The song "The Greatest Star at All" sounds very old Hollywood when its carried by strings in the Overture and Entr'acte, but not as satisfying as a vocal piece. Likewise, "Sunset Boulevard" works very well as underscoring for the car chase and in other places, but feels kind of goofy and forced when it's finally sung. With a few other exceptions ("As If We Never Said Goodbye", "With One Look"), most of the melodies feel uninspired and annoyingly repetitive to me. I don't normally mind lyrics that don't really follow the rules (false rhymes, bad scans, etc) but a lot of the lyrics here are cliched and uninteresting to the point of distraction for me. If you can find a way to get just a few of the highlights, I'd get that over the whole album any day.Free Music Review: One of my top favorites of ALW
Hit: 5 Stars
I admit when I first got into Alw I relaly didn't expand beyond Pahntom and Joseph, but when I got the Now and Forever disc set that all changed. When I heard the selectiosn from Sunset I ahd knew right hen and there I needed to get sunset. So, i did and i'm loving it.
I love Glenn CLose as norma becuase she is waht norma Desmond is. i liek the rest of the cast too, but the one thing that sticks out is the music.
The overture to Sunset, as always with ALW, is very haunting and mystical , and gets the lsitener into the plot. After the overture, With One Look, Too Much in Love to Care, Sunset Boulevard, and New WAys to Dream really hit the spot. I think this version of sunset is so much better thatn the london cast. This is a very good buy.
Free Music Review: Why Not Have Cast Fran Drescher?
Hit: 1 Stars
First of all, let me say that none of the actresses portraying Norma Desmond in the musical version, can hold a candle to Gloria Swanson in the film, she WAS Norma, almost literally. It was so close to her real life that it was almost creepy. And how brave of her to make a real comeback in such a role?
Now to this version. Glenn Close? No way, she can't sing it, she overacts to the point that she inter-changes her role with Cruella DeVille. You simply couldn't care less about her.
Patty LuPone delivered the goods, she certainly sang it light years beyond Close, and her performance had some semblence of sensitivity and vulnerability..
Andrew Lloyd Weber has made mistakes before Sunset, and since (The Woman In White ??), but replacing Lupone was one of the greatest in theatrical history.
I am not a huge Weber fan, but he is incomparable writing a soaring ballad. And Sunset has two huge ones in With One Look and As If We Never Said Goodbye. Beautiful. Get the London cast for Lupones riveting interpretations, skip Close's at all costs.