A good point about Adam Pascal on Rent soundtrack...- Page 2

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 9:09pm

I'm confused. So, in short, you're blaming it on something technical in the recording, or a sudden mysterious disappearance of Adam's ability to sing? (And even if it is a recording issue, there ARE very obvious changins in inflection and delivery at some points that ARE acting choices, no matter on what you want to blame the issue as a whole.)

The last time I heard him sing live was like nine months ago, and he was in top shape. His voice hasn't gone anywhere. But then again, I don't think this recording is as much of a mess as some of the opinion holds.

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 09:09 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 9:36pm

No, I don't know what to blame it on. It happens. Anthony doesn't sound so great either. Idina didn't sound too good on th OBCR, but she sounded spectacular live.

I don't know what it is. I really never beleieved anyone who said he's "lost it" because as I said, he's sounded amazing the last few times I saw him live. But I can't say I'm buying the acting thing either. For some moments, yeah, the sound he has on the CD works marvelously. But on others, it's just very out of place. I guess it could be an acting choice that I personally feel is working at some points and not in others.

Still, to me, that tortured, "weak" sound is more of what I hear on the OBCR.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 9:44pm

I don't think the acting is something to "buy." It's there. He's an actOR. They're all actors -- what we can contest is the choices they make, and if you don't think the choices he's made work, that's a different story. He's approaching certain nuances in a different way, maybe. But this isn't a concert-style CD. The fact that there is acting on it isn't something debatable, or something to be bought.

Maybe elements of the CD just don't sit right with you... and that's cool. Everyone's entitled, after giving it fair chance.

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 09:44 PM

[11/11/05]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:02pm

Listening to the soundtrack I don't hear Adam....I hear Roger! There is an wounded intimacy in his vocal performance that is heartbreaking. Listen to the new "Glory". Adam now approaches the song as a monologue, finding subtle ways to bring Roger's inner torment to life through different "emotional textures" throughout the song. Unlike the OBCR, Adam's vocals now sounds more "raw" and "up close and personal" to compliment the intimate nature of film. I'm confident that once we see the movie, his vocal performance will make perfect sense (to those who doubt him) and our appreciation for his singing will be even greater because we'll have the "visual" of his acting performance of Roger to go with the soundtrack!

11/23/05

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:07pm

:::applaudes Emcee and 11/11/05:: I agree completely! I think I fell in love with Adam even more....

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:11pm

My sentiments exactly.

I have faith in Adam. His voice inflections/nuances/etc. on the soundtrack definitely reassured me.

I don't exactly understand your gripe with Anthony, either. I think he sounds great...

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 10:11 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:14pm

I think Anthony, of all the originals, sounds the most like he did in '96. And that's a total compliment.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:45pm

I think so, too! I love it.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:46pm

Emcee, what I was saying is that I don't buy that it IS an acting choice. That tone in his voice is so awkwardly placed so often that I couldn't imagine it being an acting choice so much as where his voice was at at the time of recording. There is something very one-note about him on this soundtrack, which wasn't really the case on the OBCR, which is why I don't "buy" the excuse that it's an acting choice. I would think if it were an acting choice, there'd be levels.

Lari, my "gripe" with Anthony is that he uses no vibrato whatsoever, and also has that harsh tone that works beautifully in some moments, but is just so out of place in others. The fact that he's so harsh throughout the whole thing makes it sounds as though he's lost singing ability. It almost sounds like he can't sing some of it, so he yells it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:54pm

Isn't that just... the tone of Anthony's voice? I think he sounds just like he used to -- there are some parts where, if the orchestrations weren't drastically different, I don't know if I'd be able to tell the difference between the two -- and I think that's a good thing. It's kind of unusual for people to gripe about his voice, and I'm baffled as to why the complaints only emerge with the new recording. Or, maybe they were the same in '96 and this is just a new reason to dig them up. Who knows? Maybe I missed it.

Okay. So. If you don't buy that it's an acting choice, then... what is it? That he just can't act and all and accidentally f*cked up?
I'm not trying to pick a fight, at the risk that that's what this sounds like, but... I don't understand at all what you're getting at. I don't know what to say to his defense -- because it's not that he can't sing that. He can absolutely still hit those notes. The man can sing C#, for God's sake.

At the risk of being killed -- if we're talking about Adam and Anthony yelling, what do we call Idina's vocal tone? She does her own share. And you know that I like her, but let's be fair. Like I said the last time it came down to Idina and Adam's vocals, we see what we want to see.

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 10:54 PM

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:56pm

So he screwed up *JUST* the recording?

... You do realize that they rehearsed this music for months? How he sings it on the recording is how he'd been planning to sing it for a long time.

It's definitely Adam's acting.

As for Anthony.......... Yeah. I agree with Emcee on that one.

(PS - Em, are your IMs working?)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:57pm

They should be...

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:59pm

...*Frown!* Very interesting.

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:18pm

I havent heard the Movie soundtrack yet, so I cant tell you what I think of his voice. However, if you heard the CHESS Benefit, the question of Adam "losing" his voice would be void.

I was blown away by his rendition of Pity The Child. From that moment Adam went from "That guy from Rent" to "Wow, he is absolutely amazing".

For me at least :)

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:19pm

Emcee, I just think it's a poor recording of a man with a good voice. I think what I'm getting at is that I don't think he's lost his voice, but for some reason feel he could make this vocal choice, but as an actor (and as much as I criticized him, I think he could have some good acting sense) he would know when that character's voice is sounding this way and when it's not. Even as his moods change on the CD, there is something off about his voice.

*shrug* I just think it's not a great recording. As I said before..it happens. Idina, to me, doesn't all that great on either the Rent or Wicked recordings. That's not to say she's not talented, but that something is off on those recordings. I guess it's sort of the same deal here with Adam.

Trust me, I'm not trying to take away from his talent; I think I've said before I think he has a good--great even--voice. I'm just...confused by how he sounds on this soundtrack. I'm not trying to say I know what it is that caused him to sound that way so much as wonder why it is he does.

And no, I don't think that's just the tone fo Anthony's voice...on the OBCR he seems to have better control over it--softening it when necessary, choosing good places for vibrato...just better control over his dynamics.

Idina has done her share of yelling, but most of the time when I'm fighting against the claim that she's yelling, it's because I really don't think she does much of the time. She has a unique technique, a unique voice, and a harsher vocal tone that your typical Broadway singer, and much of the time she gets attacked for screaming when she's just singing differently. If someone were to say that Adam and Anthony were yelling on the OBCR of Rent, I'd completely disagree. At some points on the soundtrack, I do think it sounds that way. That's not to say they always sound like that, because when I've heard them otherwise, they don't. And I do think Idina does some "yelling" in the beginning of "Over the Moon," but that tone is very fit to the moment. I don't think she has that harsh tone at softer moments where its not appropriate on this particular recording. She just doesn't do that in general. But, if she is doing that yelling/singing thing, I'll admit it. The Tonys come to mind.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:19pm

And Chess was ALSO proof that the man could act. There's a common theory that holds that Adam's performance in Chess was what ultimately got him his part in Cabaret; he never auditioned. (Pity the Child was the C# I was referring to.)

ETA - BroadwayGirl, you and I posted at the same time -- I'm not ignoring you!

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 11:19 PM

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:25pm

Chess Benefit is one of my favorite recordings I own. Everyone in that cast was just *amazing*. Adam really really defined himself as a Broadway Star.

As far as the Rent Movie goes, I think alot of the natural dynamics of the actors voices, as stage actors would filter differently in the movie. (I know this point was already touched on) It doesnt have to be "Belt Belt belt belt Belt" for it to be a powerful performance.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:25pm

And to that, BroadwayGirl, I don't think I have much more to say than "fair enough." I mean, we can't exactly put a reason behind the wonderment, which is fine, I guess. And this is also where I fail a bit, because I'm not a singer -- so the specifics aren't as easy for me to pick up on. Things like exactly where it might be a good place to put vibrato are things that I don't pick up so naturally -- I have what I'd like to think is more of a conception than just one of the difference between "good" and bad," but I lack as much knowledge there as I will admit that you seem to have. And to touch on what you said about Idina have unique techniques and vocal tonal quality, as opposed to your "usual" Broadway singer -- point taken, but I also think that's true for many members of this cast, and those with voices similar. And like you say that Idina's yelling is appropriate for the moment, I say that what I see as blatant yelling in Adam's performance (say, Goodbye Love, for example - THAT is yelling) is absolutely appropriate for the moment.

I think we agree more than we think we do, save for our overall opinions of the recording -- on principle, I think I'd say.

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 11:25 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:26pm

Lari, there are PLENTY of times when people screw up JUST the recording and they sound great live.

Emcee, I saw Adam in Chess, and he sounded spectacular. I still need to be convinced on his acting. I see him more of a person with presence. But that's a whole 'nother story.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:29pm

Truthfully, he has so much presence and charisma that often I think it passes as acting. Often. Not always. I'm sorry, but you can't play the Emcee as well as he did if you can't act pretty damned convincingly. I wish the run had been longer so more people would have had the opportunity to see what he could do. I think that was the day I saw him as so much more than a hot dude with a killer set of pipes.

VivaBohemia -- who IS that in your avatar?! It looks sort of like Adam, sort of like Cary, sort of like Manley and sort of like Jeremy, depending on how you look at it. It's like the big conglomerate Roger!

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 11:29 PM

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:29pm

All in all, I'm just thrilled Adam got to be in the movie
I think he sounds fine on the soundtrack and as for his acting, only time will tell

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:38pm

Emcee, I actually wanted to see him in Cabaret because I pretty much thought they wouldn't have cast him if he didn't impress them...he's not like a big celebrity draw. And he just seemed like an interesting choice.But I didn't get the chance to see him. The thing is--well first, I agree that his presence is often what passes for acting, which is good and bad at the same time. And second, since I didn't see him in anything that really made me think "Ok, he really IS a good actor," I have my initial opinion until I see something that convinces me. Ya know?

And then the other thing is that I can be critical. Probably to the point where it's a little absurd.

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:38pm

Emcee, that would be the lovely Jeremy Kushnier in my Avatar. :)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:42pm

They cast plenty of people in the role who were downright awful, BroadwayGirl. But I don't think they'd have picked someone unimpressive to close the show. Something so monumental as that revival needed to go out with a bang. It's been almost two years, and in complete honesty, it still shocks me a bit. I love the man to the ends of the earth, but when I heard they cast him, I just thought "Interesting... but, are they NUTS? He can't do that." That performance, at the risk of sounding like a sentimental nerd, will remain one of my fondest memories. It was everything that I never expected I'd see from him -- in the best possible way. Present, vulnerable, beautifully sung, funny and totally heartfelt. You could tell how badly he wanted it, and how happy and proud he was to have it. And happy actors just make me happy.

After seeing that, I've confidently stood by anything he's said or shown that he thinks he can do, with the exception of the slightly absurd comment about wanting to play Leo Bloom. I think he knows his limits, but I don't think he's so limited.

/ end tangential rant of love.

Updated On: 9/29/05 at 11:42 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/29/05 at 11:44pm

Ugh. Now I'm regretting not seeing that show. Like...not even just with Adam. I never saw it at ALL.