Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Deluxe - Complete Edition
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Music CD Cover Composer: Stephen Sondheim Conductor: Paul Gemignani Performer: Andy Richards Performer: Alan Rickman Performer: Helena Bonham Carter Performer: Edward Sanders Performer: Helena Bonham Carter Performer: Jamie Bower Performer: Jayne Wisener Performer: Johnny Depp Performer: Laura Michelle Kelly Performer: Sacha Baron Cohen Performer: Timothy Spall Edition: Music CD Format: Soundtrack CD Release Date: 2007-12-18 Music Label: Nonesuch Soundtracks:
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Free Music Notes for Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Deluxe - Complete Edition Album
Free Music Review: 3 Stars for the Soundtrack, an Extra Star for the Immortal Score
Hit: 4 Stars
The just released soundtrack to the film version of "Sweeney Todd" is a rather thin voiced though richly orchestrated version of the classic musical. Whether or not you care for the work of Stephen Sondheim is a matter of taste. The virtues of "Sweeney Todd" have been discussed for thirty years, so let's just cut (pun intended) to the chase. While not a disservice to this seminal piece, the new soundtrack falls far short of other recordings due to some jarring vocal miscasting. Johnny Depp has a fair baritone, and what his voice lacks in professional training is made up for by his intense protrayal. He really ACTS the role in the songs. He's also the first recorded "Sweeney" to speak with an English accent and it works. While a bit thin at the top of his register, Depp sounds just fine in "My Friends" and his duet with Alan Rickman, "Pretty Women", is rather beautiful to hear from two generally non-professional singers. Rickman performs each of his songs with aplomb and Sacha Baron-Cohen is surprisingly effective as Pirelli. In addition, Edward Sanders, the 14-year old with the best voice in the cast, is a delight as Tobias and finally allows the role the resonence it needs because he's the right age. His "Not While I'm Around" is sensational, as are his comical moments in "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir".
The other performers are unfortunately not fully up to the task on CD. Jamie Campbell Bower is somewhat enemic on "Johanna", though he brings a certain vacuosness to his performance that's right for the role and it's nice to have Anthony cast with an actor the right age. Likewise, Jayne Wisener doesn't quite have the pipes or range to bring off the complicated "Green Finch and Linnett Bird", though it's quite appealing to have this frequently over-sung piece performed in character. That brings us to Helena Bonham Carter, a delightful actress who is disasterously miscast in the singing role of Mrs. Lovett. She supposedly got the role not because she is director Tim Burton's companion and mother to his children (yeah...right) but because of her superior audition. Huh? She barely sings above a whisper and seems to hold back in order to maintain her weak vocal control. Mrs. Lovett is the bawdy, no nonsense comic harridan of the piece, but Bonham Carter's performances are totally lackluster. They just lie there. She fares best on the eerie lullaby "Wait", where her diminished vocals suit the gentle temptation of the song. However, gone is the humor of "Worst Pies in London", the maniacal energy of "A Little Priest" and the edgy provocativeness of "Poor Thing". It almost ruins the score. But not quite....
Thankfully, most of the songs from the original production made it into the film, although some are in truncated versions. The cut songs, for the most part, make sense because most were devices of the stage and this is a different medium. Burton reportedly reinstated material the screenwriter initially omitted, and it's a pleasure to get a film version of such a timeless work that doesn't butcher or bastardize the original. Also, the orchestra adds another thirty musicians compared to the 1979 Original Cast masterpiece. And yet, we don't get the usual, souped-up and drippy Hollywood orchestrations. Here the shadings are deeper and more resonant without being sentimental or over-the-top. It's actually understated in a way that serves the piece as a whole.
A mixed bag and a curio at the same time, this soundtrack will remain an unusual effort to present an obviously challenging work. Which, I guess, makes it worthwhile....in a way.