Chess concert CD?- Page 2

Posted: 2/2/06 at 7:27pm

I think Head at least does the role justice. His "Pity the Child" might be the most boring thing I've ever heard (I think some of that can be attributed to the production), but otherwise, he sings the role well and with a well-placed sarcastic edge.

I prefer Pascal by far as I'm a big Adam fan in the first place, coupled with the fact that he was my first Freddie, but I think Murray does a nice job. Adam brings a lot more anger and rage to the role, but Murray's interpretation is good as well.

[Sasha3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:06am

Groban was everyone's focus, I thought. Sutton failed to live up to my expectations -- again, she has the musical subtley of an elephant tromping through a field of poppies and my ears damn near bleed every time she tries to shout through notes in her higher registers. Yikes. Murney was okay -- she seemed to emulate Sutton a bit in her big comblasto moment .

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:14am

I have the live Sweedish recording. Eh, it's okay, but I would have much rather had a recording of the Actor's Fund Concert! Dear Raúl, you are perfect except when you miss one freakin' cut off. That was awesome!

[darkmist115]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:17pm

agree with Melissa Errico Fan: Murney and Groban were fantastic; Pascal was pretty good, Raul was brilliant.
I also thought Sutton was ok. This was truly an outstanding cast; it is such a shame no legal recordings were made. In my wildest dreams, if the same cast came back together, and did the whole show, not just a concert version, it might just be the best piece of theatre I'd have ever seen... sheer brilliance.

Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:45pm

Dear Raúl, you are perfect except when you miss one freakin' cut off.

What happened with Raul in the concert? I didn't notice any mistakes on his part.

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:03pm

The end of the Quartet comes to mind. But I liked him very much as the Arbiter. His 'Story of Chess' is nice.

I find Julia pretty unlistenable on the higher belting/screaming, especially when she's harmonizing with Josh who sounds freaking great. Her vibratto creeps me out.

Molokov flubs a bunch of lines.

Adam has pitch problems with some of the higher parts, but his 'Pity the Child' and 'A Taste of Pity' are great.

Sutton sounded too young.

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:24pm

Sutton sounded too young.

She definitely doesn't sound like the "typical" Svetlana, but I think it puts a new spin on the character. I think her innocent sound makes her character more likeable.

(BTW, I think I'm the one who sent you the concert on musicals.net )

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:32pm

This concert was my introduction to Chess and a lot of the performers in it. I was blown away. As a Canadian who's never been to New York, the only two people I knew were Adam and Josh. This concert made me a huge Raul fan and a fan of Julia, although I do agree her "Yeow" in the middle of Nobody's Side was a bad choice.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:38pm

Sutton sounded way too young. Emily Skinner would be my dream Svetlana.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:19pm

I thought Sutton wasn't really "right" for the role, but she was fabulous nonetheless. She performed it well, though she DID look and sound a bit young and sweet.

Pascal's "Pity the Child" was mid-blowing. I just wish he had not needed to look at the score. Sounded amazing nonetheless.

Josh Groban sounded great, acted fine, but he was lacking in charisma.

Nothing that night came close to Julia Murney's "Nobody's Side," though.

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:32pm

BTW - I did not like the way the songs were arranged.

I love the Danish tour CR, with the opening of STORY OF CHESS. I mean, it makes so much more sense to explain the history of the game before the real action starts. It's also a nice prologue before BAM! Here we are in Merano.

I also miss SOVIET MACHINE.

[sweeedboy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:35pm

With Chess being my all-time favorite show (at least the original version, not the wrethedly boring and length bway version!) i had to catch this concert. I thought it was very well done save one or two minor things. Julia's nobody's side was great up until the screetch, what was that! I also didn't think that Josh really had much passion behind the role. It is such a great and meaty role filled with conflict, and while sung correctly, nothing else was really there. Adam wailed 'Pity the Child.'
I still don't undertsand why every version utilizes the bway "Endgame." The original london version was an amazing mindgame, rather than being a literal song. Much more powerful in my opinion. If you want a cast you should have seen the Swedish Version...while the new story was so so, the cast was INCREDIBLE!

[JBSinger]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:49pm

Though I wasn't in attendance, I have heard an unofficial recording of the show. FYI - Originally, Julia was supposed to be Svetlana and Lara Fabian (French popstar) was supposed to be Florence. For whatever reason, Lara bowed out and Julia was crunching in rehearsals inbetween voice-overs. Sutton was brought in last minute and actually delivers one of the more consistant performances.
though I am a fan of Groban from his studio recordings, without studio magic, the finesse just wasn't there. he had some good moments though. From all accounts, Julia had been cranking it out, but she sounded just fine to me. My favorite moment was when they did the "Whitney/Cissy" high-part in "I Know Him so Well." They blew the roof off.
I have to jump on the Raul bandwagon here as well. He was outstanding as the Arbiter. It made me wish he were Freddie. How awesome would that be!

Another fly in the ointment about the commercial recording of the show: Around the same time, Dave Clemmons was casting a concert of CHESS north of NYC, I think. There was talk of a full fledged revival at the time and that probably also scuttled any recording prospects. I ALSO heard that the ABBA guys would just wish people would get over Chess and move on.

I love this show though and would love to see it done well someday!

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:51pm

I don't know why, but I just dislike PITY THE CHILD in Act 2.

I mean, I just feel like it is too late by then to sympathize with Frederick.

It sort of adds dimension to his stuggle with Florence.

Then, of course, it really removes Frederick from Act 2. But I think it sort of compromises his choices during the interview with Anatoly if the song is in Act 2.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:13pm

Josh Groban...lacking charisma?? I'm shocked.

Shocked.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:54pm

What happened with Raul in the concert? I didn't notice any mistakes on his part.

At the end of "The Deal' he missed the final cutoff for a second. It's really not that bad.

I agree, BSo, "Pity the Child" seems pretty oddly placed in the benefit cocnert... it seems to come a little out of the blue, and would've made more sense in Act I.

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:56pm

sweetestsiren - it's also (mis-)placed late in ACT 2 on the OBC.

It just seems like he is being a complete ASS to Anatoly - whether or not he should be is, I suppose, a matter of interprestation - during the Interview (or Chess & Politics). Then, he asks for sympathy.

I prefer him asking for sympathy from Florence before she blows him off. Sort of makes his behavior in Act 2 more justifiable. (You know, he told her in Act 1 about his plight...and she left him still.)

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 5:11pm

Thanks for the info, BSoBW. Is it only the Danish Tour album that has it earlier? It just seems to pull you out of the story with that placement, whereas it would've been nice to see some depth to Freddie's character before that... coming after-the-fact, it just seems like he's making excuses. I don't like it as much as a last-minute play for sympathy.

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 5:25pm

Exactly.

I also prefer STORY OF CHESS as the opening. I know it's cliché, to open a show with that "history lesson" - but it works best there.

In the benefit, they stuck it in snugly in Act 2. Right when tensions are high.

I know, it is to bring the Arbiter back. But, hey. Arbiter - Act 1. Svetlana - Act 2.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 5:38pm

For some reason, "The Story of Chess" in Act II hasn't bothered me, although I can totally see where you're coming from. It's a little random, but I think it makes kind of a nice epilogue/resolution thing. It would've been an appropriate introduction number, but it's probably too down-tempo/slightly too long to open the show, maybe?

Overall, it would be fantastic if someone wanted to overhaul the show and revive it.

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 5:39pm

I always envisioned, I guess, "THE STORY OF CHESS" as some sort of ballet on a Chess board as the story played out, ya know?

The music is so delicate.

Updated On: 2/9/06 at 05:39 PM

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 6:02pm

That's a cool staging idea. I think lyrically, though, it sounds like it belongs at the end. "Each game of chess / Means there's one less / Variation left to be played." It's kind of nice to get the history of chess part after the dramatic "Endgame" as sort of a reminder of the epic scope of the game of chess and that what you had just witnessed was just one game in the long past and endless future of chess.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 6:06pm

Sorry, but Julia's pitch was consistently flat in her upper belt throughout. Very disappointing. Josh gave one of the finer vocal performances in the concert. And seeing how it was meant to be a concert, not a theatrical production, he was fine. I like Murney, but a couple of times, she was actually completely off-key. Get the Chess in Concert CD from Sweden. It's one of the finest recordings of the score AND it is sung in English. The Danish recording may be the most complete, but they skimped on the orchestrations and some of the voices are rather annoying. I'm not a huge fan of the book changes for the Danish version either. The story changes focus often and ends with Florence singing a reprise of Anthem leaving me wondering whose story was really being told. By far the most baffling rewrite to date.

[NCGuy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 6:13pm

I'm not a huge fan of the book changes for the Danish version either. The story changes focus often and ends with Florence singing a reprise of Anthem leaving me wondering whose story was really being told. By far the most baffling rewrite to date.

I know it isn't on the CD, but didn't the Broadway production end with Judy Kuhn singing a reprise of Anthem?

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 6:24pm

I guess Chess will never have the perfect book.

It depends on which story the director wants to be told.

Florence is the only consistant character throughout the show, really. She is the one who suffers repeatedly, so to speak. I've always seen it as her story. Sort of an interesting take as the "STORY OF A CHESS SECOND."

sweetestsiren - I agree with the lyric idea. Maybe having a reprise later on, though, would further stregnthen the idea is the lyrics are also sung at the top of the show?

Then again, I've always seen the game of Chess as a metaphor for the love story and political story...which was, I'm sure, the intent.

Updated On: 2/9/06 at 06:24 PM