Assassins Original Cast Recording in Dolby Atmos

With the release of Apple Music Classical earlier this week, I randomly saw that Apple has released the original cast recording of Assassins in their remixed Dolby Atmos format. On a lark, I listened to this new version of the recording and was stunned at the new detail I was able to hear in the expanded Starobin orchestrations - especially compared to the version I've been listening to since 2012.

Just wanted to flag this recording for those of you on here who have Apple Music, and I'd be interested to see if they intend to remix more musical theatre albums in the Dolby Atmos format. Assassins never struck me as an album that had particularly bad mixing, but hearing the detail of the strings and percussion was almost revelatory. I'd love to compare on other recordings, especially since Apple Music keeps the original mix available to listen to in case you end up preferring that.

Updated On: 3/30/23 at 02:01 PM

I guess I should have expected Apple not to know the difference between cast albums and classical.

The original Broadway cast album of Assassins is also available in Dolby Atmos on the Apple Music app. No need to subscribe to their Classical service to obtain it. That is if you already subscribe to Apple Music.

CarlosAlberto said: "The original Broadway cast album of Assassins is also available in Dolby Atmos on the Apple Music app. No need to subscribe to their Classical service to obtain it. That is if you already subscribe to Apple Music."

Just for awareness since we may have some classical fans on this board, if you subscribe to regular Apple Music, your subscription includes Classical, albeit just in a new app.

ardiem said: "The album is on the standard Apple Music app. I'm a Spotify user who also looked into Apple Music this week after the news of Apple Classical launching."

Yes, sorry if my original post was confusing. When the Classical app launched, it showed some of my cast recordings in the library - Assassins is the one I noticed first, as it starts with "a" and I was investigating why it appears on this app, which showed me that the recording was available in Dolby Atmos. Since I've had this cast recording on my iPhone since I bought it in 2013, I hadn't noticed it was available so it made me intrigued to listen - and I'm very glad I did.

On the related note, many musical theatre composers are included in the Classical app - Sondheim and Webber have their own pages with a list of significant "works" and popular recordings. An interesting choice, I agree.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Is there any kind of database for other cast albums remastered in Dolby Atmos?"

As far as I know, no. Which is unfortunate. I've been looking up individual albums to see if there are Dolby Atmos versions available for comparison. I think Assassins is one of the first cast recordings I've listened to in this format, as apple seems to prioritize popular pop recordings and new releases. I haven't dug much deeper into what cast recordings are available in Dolby - but I looked at most of the original Sondheim cast recordings, and didn't see any that had been remixed.

Updated On: 3/30/23 at 12:27 PM

HeyMrMusic said: "Others off the top of my head are Wicked, Hamilton, and the most recent into the Woods. I’d love a comprehensive list of the albums available in Dolby Atmos."

So would I. Maybe I will compile one myself and share it here with you all. Off the top of my head the West Side Story (2021) soundtrack is in Dolby Atmos and sounds spectacular.