Chess From Royal Albert Hall - Review

[ThereIs1Director]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 8:59am

I havent posted in years, but I happen to be lucky enough to get a copy of Chess on DVD yesterday and thought I would post a review.

Having been a fan of the show for many years, its been a long time coming that this book finally got the fix it deserved from Sir Tim Rice and I must say he has finally has developed a functional book that works and makes complete sense.

It was so great to finally hear much of the original concept and the American version working together. There is also quite a bit of new material. There are subtle lyric changes that work very effectively, and the fantastic orchestra and chorus make songs like "Merano" sound so stunning and fantastic.

I understand from a good friend who was there and from what I have read that there were horrible sound engineering problems in the auditorium which unfortunatley transfer to the DVD. Everything sounds very compressed but its audible and certainly has its moments.

Marti Pellow is great as the Arbiter who's role is greatly expanded. I was a little dissapointed that he didn't seem as powerful as others such as Raul, and Bjorn Skiffs in "The Arbiter", but again I think some of the vocal aspects were deeply ruined by the compressing sound problems they had.

I found that the large chorus placed in Chess polo shirts were doing some, well, amateur - like choreography in the back that was distracting and most of the time was not in sync making it hard to digest at times, well, all of the time.

Josh Groban is oustanding, and normally I am not a fan of him at all. He makes the delicate moments happen, and his voice is perfect for the role. Mr. Caroll was by far the strongest of all the Anatoly's I think, but Josh really does a great job with it. Idina Menzel has her moments. I think her voice lacks the power of the previous Florence's, Elaine, Judy etc but its hard to tell if that was another sound problem or not. The "Quartet" is outstanding and beautifuly sung by all. "Nobody's Side" is good, but I wouldn't say outstanding. I felt that at times she was just screaming, and often it seemed to fall flat. "Heaven Help my Heart" is her best moment by far. The hair stood up on my neck a bit - she was in full control, didnt over blow it, and it was gentle and sad. It was the moment I really felt for her. The "Mountain Duet", and 'You and I" are fantastic. The harmonies sound very good and in control at all times. Really Really Good.

Adam Pascal whom I usually cannot deal with was awesome. He has many moments throughout the show that are well sung and executed. "Pity The Child" is incredible and I had to watch it twice immediately to take it all in. It's one of the best moments captured on this DVD. Kerry Ellis is superb at "Someone Else's Story" and her and Idina sound wonderful together on "I Know Him So Well". It really dosen't compare to the Elaine / Dickson version, but a great effort and has moments.

"Endgame" and the finale are wonderful and all and all the concert was fantastic. David Badella is a standout of course, although all I could think about was Satan from Jerry Springer, and Clarke Peters is excellent as Walter.

I think there are moments which could be cut down a bit, and there is some ballet at times that really dosent make a whole lot of sense. The DVD comes with a fantastic color book with photos from the concert, the story of Chess reworking and a very detailed synopsis both from Sir Tim which is a good idea to read before watching if you don't know the show all that well.

All in all, Id say its a huge winner, and I am very excited that it's finally documented on DVD. A work thats taken more than a quarter of a century to bring to its final product was very satisfying to watch, and some great performances that I think will be talked about for years to come. Enjoy.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 10:17am

Thanks for the detailed review! I preordered the DVD and can't wait to receive it. This is one my absolute favorite shows.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 7:16pm

Thanks SO much for this!

CHESS was the first musical I ever truly fell in love with, the london concept album that is. CHESS-the-musical was the first mailing list (before the days of message boards) I ever participated in. The show is really, really special to me and I have seen pretty much all the major producions over the years (London/Bway/Sydney/Tour/Sweden/BCEFA) but Idina as Florence and Adam as Freddy are just about as good as the roles were ever performed (btw Carolee Carmello from the US Tour is my fav besides Idina) and kerry ellis is the definitive Svetlana (for whatever that's worth). The orchestra is as fabulous as expected and nice to see the orchestrator conducting!

To finally hold a glorious dvd in my hands a decade later, after conjuring up the show in my head, seeing it work (and not work) on stage, being thrilled by it in concert and now seeing this final version... it all makes me a little teary-eyed, I must say.

P

P.S. I'm still irritated there's no Blu-ray... it's a CONCERT of a MUSICAL for chrissakes... but the fact that this evening was documented at all is a true gift to us all.

P.P.S. Brian D'Arcy James incorporating the end of "Hey Jude" (the "Na na na na-na na naa"s) into the electric guitar playout of "Pity The Child" was not only brilliant, but has made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to listen to the song without adding in that part myself. It truly, truly works as if it were written that way and I much prefer it to the angsty silent rock-out after that insane last note. The mathetmatics of music are truly astounding (ABBA + Lennon = amazing theatre)!





Updated On: 6/15/09 at 07:16 PM

[I<3bway]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 7:24pm

Thanks for the view!

I'm very excited to watch the show on television on Wednesday. The only time I have heard of the musical before was looking through Mamma Mia's program, and seeing that two other members of ABBA had created a musical called Chess. I wasn't interested at first, but now after watching the trailer for the concert, I just can't get enough of it!




Does anyone know if the recording will be on iTunes?

[Barnaby151]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 10:05am

Does anyone know if they re-recorded parts of the concert in the studio?

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 2:05pm

I should probably reserve comment until I listen to the whole thing, but I'm disappointed thus far with the CD...and it's in the casting.

Idina's voice is all wrong for the material and her going all "Defying Gravity" with the last note of "Nobody's Side" just p***ed me off.

Marti Pellow has way too wispy a voice for the Arbiter.

No issues at all with Josh vocally so far and Adam? Ham on rye, but at least he's got the chops.

[bubbleblonde]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 5:11pm

They didn't re-record it they just edited it and turned up Idina's volume so she wasn't being overpowered by her co-stars like she was in the show.

[binau]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 7:12pm

On the CD Idina is very hard to palate..

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 7:13pm

I'm really disappointed with the album, too. I'm still going to watch it on PBS tonight, though.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 7:28pm

I'm really worried about the casting, but I'll watch it on PBS tonight and see how much I can stand.

[Craww]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 7:40pm

I'm watching tonight. But Idina sounds absolutely abysmal on the CD, and I'm someone who's always liked her.

I can't review Adam without bias. Not until I see if the laughably bad acting comes off better while actually viewing it.

I like Josh.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:02pm

Finished the CD and have the PBS broadcast on now as background.

Oh, how I wish Kerry and Idina has switched roles. Kerry's voice has everything that Idina's doesn't.

And even though I don't think it's as good as either Tommy Koberg or David Carroll's version, Josh's "Anthem" still gave me chills.

That and "Someone Else's Story" were the highlights to me.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:15pm

This sucks.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:18pm

Seth's was so much better.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:42pm

Wow. Is it me, or is Idina truly dreadful? Totally miscast...

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:43pm

This is just laughable. And Idina Menzel is getting on my damn nerves. How the hell did she beat out Julia Murney for Elphaba...

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:44pm

It's not you....it was a terrible casting choice.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:44pm

She's miscast. I'm turning it off now. I've had enough.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:46pm

I can't hear it at all. Even with my television turned all the way up it is barely audible.

[canmark]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:52pm

I'm watching this now. Hmm. The show is well-suited to the "concert" format, and I recall seeing a concert version in Toronto many years ago. Alas, despite some big names and an orchestra and cast of hundreds, it doesn't really stand up to the original concept album--which was excellent (and better than the Broadway cast album).

I'm not loving the costumes (what's with Adam Pascal's white t-shirt/white pants ensemble?) nor the choreography--although I do like the movements of the choir. I actually think they're the best part: good voices, enthusiastically performing funny movements (in fun numbers like Merano).

Joash Groban sings well (can't wait for his Anthem coming up), but it seems like the man only has one facial expression. Idina's Nobody's Side, sorry, doesn't compare to Elaine Page. Not liking the Arbiter, either. Will wait for Pity the Child to evaluate Adam Pascal.

[Pippin]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:54pm

Josh- Stop indicating!!!!!!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 8:56pm

I change my mind - this is mesmirizing.

Can't understand a damn word they're saying...

[Roscoe]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 9:00pm

It's crap. Gave it an hour, couldn't have cared less. Totally useless.

[Roger246]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 9:09pm

Anthem... by far the best part of the show thus far.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 9:09pm

I'm shocked there aren't any pledge breaks. I was expecting to have to listen to Midge try to sell me a tote bag again.