#1
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.
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.
