Cast Recordings: Story or Not?

[goldenstate5]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 1:30am

Which do you prefer: Cast albums with dialouge spread throughout songs and a general giveaway of the story within the recording, along with full reprises and spoken lead-ins or cast albums that simply gives you the songs and not much story whatsoever, and stands on its own.

Personally, I think it adds to the charm of a Broadway musical cast recording when there is dialouge, reminding you that you are listening to a preserved show. The story actually gives you an idea about how the musical flows, but too much could end up becoming too generous (Avenue Q's album has too much dialouge in my opinion, but it's still terrific)

But, then again, some shows have songs that can stand on their own, and the dialouge keeps it from playing on the radio and what not. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels had the right idea when releasing the show version of "Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True" and also releasing a stand-alone version on the album as well.

So, do you prefer your musical listening experience tainted by the reminder that it is a show with a story, or do you prefer to listen to songs in their full melodic glory?...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 1:42am

I like it better with dialogue spread throughout the songs and all of the reprises recorded. a good example would be the LA Sunset Boulevard CDs where they simply recorded the entire show on 2 CDs and the OBC of Victor/Victoria and the revival recording of Damn Yankees where they very obviously did their best to have key dialogue moments recorded so that you would get a very nice idea of the story behind the songs.

The London revival recording of Chicago also has a lot more dialogue then the Broadway revival CD and even goes so far as to record the act one finale reprise of "All That Jazz" which is my favorite part of the entire show so needless to say I enjoy the London CD a lot more then the Broadway cast. There are times when I just enjoy hearing the song, but those are few and far between compared to the list of show CDs that I wish would have included more dialogue. most of the CDs on that list also have 15 or 20 minutes of extra space left on the disc as well.
Updated On: 8/19/06 at 01:42 AM

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 7:47am

i like the cast recordings with dialogue
but i sort of like separate dialogue tracks like on THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and JERSEY BOYS because then if one day i dont feel really dialoguey, i can switch the song
but yeah, i like some dialogue- helps me understand and get more into the story
Updated On: 8/19/06 at 07:47 AM

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 8:07am

It's very nice to have the dialogue.

For example, The Woman in White wouldn't be comprehensive without having the entire show on disc.

Whereas Wicked shares the basic plot outline without dialogue.

[James885]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 8:11am

For me, it's always nice to have dialogue on the recording because it lets you get more into the story.

[smiles]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:12am

I love the dialogue within and leading into the songs. It makes the songs so much more enjoyable (for myself at least)

[icantbelive]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:37am

I like tracks that have dialogue but some are way too much. Like the dialogue track on the 1993 Assassins was way too long and unnesesary. But I like the short dialogue tracks like on Drowsy. Lead-ins are also great.

[vgd07]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:21pm

Personally, I believe most cast recordings should stick with just songs and no dialogue . It just seems akward to listen to too much dialogue on a CD, plus sometimes it just gives too much away about the show. The songs are what people want to hear from a show, not the book. Take the 2000-cast cd of Godspell, the lead-ins and dialogue in the songs seem too tacky for a CD.