Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
#1Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:01pm
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What are some of the most disappointing cast recordings in terms of either in terms of missing parts of the score or performances that didn't measure up to what they were on stage? I'm not talking about recordings you just plain don't like because of the show itself. Shows you love but wish the recording was more complete or the star was in as fine form as they were on stage.
My top two are the OBCR of Follies and the Tyne Daly Gypsy.
#2re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:03pmAside from FOLLIES, I think DREAMGIRLS would be right up there.
#2re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:20pmI totally agree with the OBC of Dreamgirls
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
#3re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:21pmDreamgirls is disappointing but glad they put a couple things back on it for reissue.
#4re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:33pm
I'm going to break the rules here and talk about a bad thing.
I'm ok with the FOLLIES obc because of the soundboard recording of it which I listen to all the time, the same with DREAMGIRLS. Thank God these exist to preserve the full scores because there are so many shows that were treated poorly when it came to their recordings. Hopefully one day these can be digitally mastered and released for sale!
#5re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:41pm
The original Broadway recording of TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA doesn't do justice to the joy of the material when experienced live. And the quality of the voices is problematic and doesn't serve the score as a recording well.
It has the reverse problem of the OBC of FOLLIES in that there actually wasn't quite enough music to fill 2 records and so tempos were slowed down, etc., making it feel a lot less festive and vibrant than it should have been.
#6re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 2:48pmI've never been able to make it all the way through Verona on disc.
#7re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 3:07pmfor me it's probably Mamma Mia... it's nothing like the show itself! And Mary Poppins especially! I saw the show first in London with the OLC 3 times and LOVED it and when the CD came out... got it, listened to it, thought the whole magic and 'WOW'ness just disappeared...not sure why ~
All That Jazz
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#8re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 3:17pm
I adore the Two Gentlemen of Verona recording for what it is, but I do wish there had been a new recording of the cast from the Delacorte. But I agree with MB that the OBC doesn't quite fully capture the unabashed joy of seeing the show on stage (and the London cast recording is much too abridged). That production in the park remains one of my all-time favorite theatrical experiences in NYC.
Dreamgirls is pretty obvious. The concert recording, in its attempt to capture the full score, is equally disappointing for its performances.
I would feel bad about the Follies OBC, but I'm not a huge fan of the show. I am curious to know what a full studio recording with the original cast would have sounded like.
Mamma Mia - I just think there have been so many more wonderful casts out there, including the OBC, that it deserved a better recording.
The Full Monty - The recording is ok, but it just sounds a bit dull and antiseptic compared to the more theatrical sound it had on stage.
I know it's a bit obscure, but I wish there had been more than four tracks recorded from the German production of Nine that played in Berlin in 1999 at Theater des Westens. It was a beautiful production that deserved a full cast recording.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#9re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 3:30pm
In retrospect, The Follies OBC is lacking, but I loved it for years without knowing so much was missing. As was once said of Katherine Hepburn "Not much meat on her, but what's there is 'cherce'."
And the Dreamgirls live recording is awesome. I can't imagine which of those amazing performances someone would find lacking.
#10re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 3:35pmAudra's voice is too special for Deena, but aside from that, the cast is pretty perfect.
#11re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 3:41pm
I don't understand why the Follies OBC Soundboard would be so 'good'?
I mean the Follies OBC recording isn't just 'disappointing' because it is truncated, but because the quality of it is relatively bad IMO (it sounds pretty 'tinny'? I mean compare it to the Company OBC, or even earlier recordings - Maybe I'm bias because I make allowances for the age of the recording but even the Gypsy OBC sounds better to me (1959!)).
I can't see how a Soundboard recording from the 70s could improve on this 'issue'.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#12re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 3:48pm
Bernadette Peters in SONG & DANCE.
First of all, it's only the SONG portion.
Second of all, Bernie sounds absolutely TERRIBLE.
Third of all, it's the worst produced cast album I own out of 1000s.
Lastly, "English Girls" made me vomit in my mouth.
P
#13re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 4:22pm
And the Dreamgirls live recording is awesome. I can't imagine which of those amazing performances someone would find lacking.
To me, Audra sounds a bit too polished, though I like her. Lillias is pretty fierce and I don't hate Billy Porter as much as I do on the Grease recording. But Heather Headley is pretty painful. I thought her singing was her strength in Aida , but she gets pretty off-pitch in Dreamgirls and she just didn't have the stamina or the range for It's My Party, which kills my throat just listening to it. I was really excited about this CD when it was released, but ultimately disappointed when I heard it. It's starts off pretty tight in the beginning and then gets rather sloppy by the end and because it was a concert, it really sounds like three solo artists being forced to sing together without much rehearsal time to form that tight "girl-group" sound.
I never saw Song and Dance, so I can't compare the Peters recording to the show itself, but listening to it, I sort of wish they had recorded it with Betty Buckley. But Pgenre, if that is the worst produced cast album you own, then it seems you have never heard the Korean cast recording of Evita. Song and Dance is Grammy-worthy by comparison (though is that really saying much?).
As for the West End, I'm saddened by the popularity of live recordings in lieu of studio recordings. Zorro is ok, but the recent revival of Oliver makes me wince every time. When whatserface screams her lines during the title song, it is excruciating and when it comes to listening to a cast recording, I don't care to hear the actors sounding so winded by the choreography. In person, you can turn a deaf ear to it because you are getting the visual, but cast recordings are supposed to be about savoring the music. It's very distracting and awkward when you only have the audio, which may or may not have been recorded at the end of the week for some of the leads. I loved Jodie Prenger the night I saw it, which sounded much better than the night they recorded the performance for the CD. But I was really looking forward to a studio recording of her songs. Such a shame it didn't happen.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#14re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 5:56pmI have to say the OBCR of RENT. Even the cast themselves were disappointed with the way it turned out.
Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, RENT, Mamma Mia!, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Evita (with Julia Murney), Hairspray (with Paul Vogt), Peter and the Starcatchers (with Christian Borle), Lion King, Altar Boyz, Legally Blonde (with Lauren Zackrin).
#15re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 5:57pm
What do you think of the RENT soundtrack?
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 11/18/09 at 05:57 PM
#16re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 5:58pmReally? I think it's a pretty adequate representation of the score and those performances.
NYnativeinLA
Chorus Member Joined: 12/30/04
#17re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 6:09pmA full recording of "Side Show" would be nice!
#18re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 6:15pmI was tremendously disappointed with the Company Revival Cast Recording. Raul sounds good, and Being Alive is excellent, but the way they included scenes (i.e. rushed and often poorly acted) didn't do justice to the show at all, it was just awkward and confusing. Thank goodness the taping exists to show more of the shows strengths.
#19re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 6:32pmThe Wiz OBC because it's so incomplete. And then pretty much every song on any cast recording that fades out at the end instead of having the end of the song recorded. You know it didn't just fade out on stage. It's so aggravating.
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#20re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 6:36pm^ Love it or hate it, it's the fact they made it a pop album that it won the Grammy and became a huge selling record.
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
#21re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 7:08pm
I love the Rent OBCR. The rawness really works for the show, but without sounding sloppy and horrible like live recordings can. (No, I'm not saying it was a live recording, but live recordings can have sloppiness while studio recordings are generally polished; this was not so polished, but did not have the sloppiness one might expect from lack of polish.)
I'm still bitter about Curtains not coming with a proper lyric booklet. Especially since they say "complete lyrics available at these websites", and neither of them exist anymore, and one of them is spelled incorrectly. Augh! The audio aspect of the CD ain't bad, but the physical presentation disappoints to this day.
Updated On: 11/18/09 at 07:08 PM
KirbyCat
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
#22re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 7:11pmThe Billy Elliot OLCR. They made it so pop-sounding. I mean, I know it had a lot of Elton-style already, but it sounded very synthetic.
#23re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 7:46pm
Lion King. It just doesn't capture the magic of the show-- the sound is quite dull in places. I love Lion King, but I just can't listen all the way through the recording.
Also... this isn't Broadway, but the cast recording of A Very Potter Musical. Half the cast wasn't there, and the quality just isn't good.
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#24re: Most Disappointing Cast Recordings
Posted: 11/18/09 at 8:12pm
1. Grand Hotel: It's criminal that this waited for almost two years to have a commericial recording and doubly criminal that David Caroll didn't live long enough to be on the recording that was released eventually. The snippet at the end just doesn't begin to capture the glory of Carroll's performance.
2. Xanadu: It's good enough, but far from note-complete and sounds like a rushed job. Thank God for the pirates!
3. Pal Joey: The official Broadway recording has eveyone but Vivienne Segal and Harold Lang and the Columbia studio has them but no one else.
4. Call Me Madam: Same as #3 -- Decca has Ethel Merman and RCA has the rest of the cast with Dinah Shore. And anyway, who could replace Merman in this?
BroadwayEd
