Xanadu on Broadway (Original Broadway Cast Recording 2007)
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Free Music Notes for Xanadu on Broadway (Original Broadway Cast Recording 2007)
Free Music Review: rather listen to the original
Hit: 2 Stars
not having seen the broadway show (yet), i understand that it must be great fun in the theatre with a silly storyline, great send-ups, excellent voices. But to my ears (and believe me, they've heard a lot of broadway cast recordings :-) this cast album sounds at points rather annoying. Best parts in it are Cheyenne Jackson and Kerry Butler, but, as much a i usually love the work of Mary Testa (especially in "new brain" and "lucky stiff" here she is a complete pain in the... sorry. I always have to skip "evil woman" for it's terrible, and everytime she and Jackie Hoffman are in the chorus it sounds like painful screaching. The Titlesong is also not half as good as the original. Well, I guess this is a piece only to be enjoyed live. I stick to the classic film soundtrack.Free Music Review: Is This What Broadway Has Come To?
Hit: 1 Stars
Wow, I could not believe how dreadful this album was! The movie had a kitschy charm that rested soundly on the talents of its performers and tunesmiths. Here you are missing all the star power and the melodic riches are squandered on terrible vocalists.
Is this what Broadway has come to -- recycling material that was marginal to begin with, spoiling any appeal the original had going for it, and offering it to deluded audiences and critics? This isn't a matter of diminished expectations -- it's more like a tailspin.
Twenty-seven (!) years after the film opened, it seems we all underestimated the contributions of the original artists. Who would have thought that innocuous, trite pop tunes were actually so hard to pull off? Who would have thought that Olivia Newton-John's voice had so much depth, strength, and grace? Well, listen to her next to Kerry Butler's brittle, shrill, hyper-aspirated instrument and you'll know.
Check out the youtube video of Kerry Butler and Curtis Holbrook performing Suddenly in Bryant Park in New York City -- badly off-key and just as charmless as on the soundtrack. Butler does the same ugly hissing thing with her voice -- "Look at me" -- that she does on the recording. Is this supposed to be part of the characterization?
To avoid at all costs.
P.S. A friend of mine whose taste I trust implicitly told me yesterday that he loved the show, and loved Kerry Butler -- he thought it was clever, funny, and tuneful. So there you have it! I suspect that seeing the show might make me more appreciative of the cast recording. As a listening experience unto itself, however, I can't say that it would ever grow on me .... In other words, take the above review with a hefty grain of salt. I'm the sort who can't like a show unless I am in love with the music (even so-so music doesn't cut it for me), and good musical values trump all other production values in my book. If you're more into the total experience, you may indeed love the show and its OCR as others seem to!
Free Music Review: Kerry Butler is paid to sing lke this?
Hit: 1 Stars
Wow, I bought this disc solely based on my affection for the original motion soundtrack to Xanadu...And I warn you not to make the same mistake I did. Kerry Butler's voice is so horrendously nasil it will annoy and anger you all at once. Really, were the producers of this show deaf? Admittedly, yea, that sounds insulting and juvenile, but I really can't fathom the quality of a voice like hers translating to entertainment for anyone. She's like the popular chick in high school who got the lead in the senior play simply because she was blonde and perceived pretty, which of course interprets talent these days. But kidding aside, this is worse than camp, beyond kitsch, yet incomprehensibly meant to entertain. I could have been--and did try to be--more lenient on this recording, but really, it is Kerry Butler's vocal that kills it, even when the unenthusiastic and amateurish instrumental behind her and the other vocalists (who are quite capable, by the way) is hard to forgive. I apologize to those of you who are adoring this adaptation, but tell me, what are you hearing?Free Music Review: Perfectly Dreadful - Buy the Soundtrack Instead
Hit: 1 Stars
I haven't seen this show (I could buy a copy of the DVD for everyone I know for the same price), but this vocal re-working of Jeff Lynne's songs from the film is flat and listless, verfying much of the negative criticism for the show. The cast seems to be holding a competition amongst themselves to see who can sound the most hammy and camp. I have seldom heard a Broadway cast recording that could so easily be mistaken for a high school production, but this takes the cake. I'm sure the stage presentation is energetic (it had better be), but the voices and arrangements on this recording are underwhelming at best, and are further done in by amateurish orchestrations (for what sounds like a couple of synthesizers) and dull vocal arrangements. I can't say if this is worth seeing (opinions vary), but I can definitely say it's not worth hearing, especially if you have any affection for the much-lambasted film's original soundtrack recording.Free Music Review: XanaDON'T!!!
Hit: 1 Stars
Whoa! I'm a big, big fan of Olivia Newton-John and I usually enjoy hearing covers of her songs, since they bring new life to old material. While I was looking forward to hear these versions, I don't think I can fully express how terrible I think they sound.
I haven't seen the live show and I'm sure the actors are good but, after listening to the album, I can say they are terrible singers!
Please don't let my 1 star rating fool you. It was actually meant as a zero but that wasn't an option. Hey, Amazon! I want my star back!
If you enjoy good pop music, buy the original movie soundtrack. You just can't beat Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra.