DREAMGIRLS score

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:03pm

I was just listening to the OBCR of DREAMGIRLS (first time in a while). I had never really noticed it before, but man does that score have a lot of clunkers!"The Rap", "I Miss You Old Friend", "Firing of Jimmy", parts of "When I First Saw You", and "Press Conference" are all very ackward.

Don't get me wrong; I really enjoy the show. Songs like "I Am Changing", "And I Am Telling You...", "Ain't No Party", etc. are wonderful. But I guess I had never realized how flawed the score really was.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:07pm

I've never been impressed with the DREAMGIRLS score, I just can't listen to it.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:15pm

I actually like "When I First Saw You."

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:16pm

I like most of it, too, which is why I prefaced it with "parts of". Sometimes when Curtis and Deena are singing together is sounds very ackward, though.

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:30pm

Awwww - - - I love that song!

WHEN I FIRST SAW YOU
Music and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger

CURTIS:
When I first saw you
I said oh my
Oh my, that's my dream
That's my dream
I needed a dream to make me strong
You were the only reason I've had to go on

You are my dream
All the things I never knew
You are my dream
Who could believe it would ever come true?

And who could believe
That the world would believe in my dreams too?

DEENA:
There comes a time
When the child's got to grow
There comes a time
When the woman's got to go

Momma said, "I am special"
She said I've got to prove, "I am just as good. I'm even better than..."
That's what she would say -
"Shine Deena, Shine!"
"Shine Deena, Shine!"
And I'm going to Shine!

CURTIS
You are my dream!

DEENA
No I've got dreams of my own!

CURTIS
All the things I could never be!

DEENA
Dreams you've never known!

CURTIS
They'll never take my dream from me!

When I first saw you
I said oh my
Oh my
That's my dream!

(c) Music published by Dreamgirls Music, Dreamettes Music, August Dreams Music & Miroku Music, Ltd. All rights administered by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI). All rights reserved.



Updated On: 4/11/05 at 09:30 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:33pm

I love "When I First Saw You" -- Harney and Ralph's version was released as a single and was a modest hit on the R&B charts (6 weeks). I've also always adored "I Miss You Old Friend."

The Press Conference I think is totally fine (and the melody to "Wonderful" is gorgeous). Jimmy's rap and firing are more plot-advancing recitative than stand-alone songs and work well in that context. It's also, I believe, the first example of rap (which was at its very early beginnings at the time) ever heard on the Broadway stage and for that, was extremely daring for Krieger and Eyen to include.

Sorry, I just don't agree and think that, to date, "Dreamgirls" is one of the most successful examples using contemporary musical idioms (rap, r&b, disco) within a musical theatre context, in the last 40 or so years since rock music began to find a place on Broadway. It's still the ONLY score in the last three decades to spawn a Grammy-winning hit song that reached the number one spot on one of the Billboard charts -- "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" stayed at number one of the R&B chart for FOUR weeks (and also hit #22 on the pop charts). That song and the rest of the score work astounding well in being able to advance plot and enrich character development within the context of the show, but then also function as first-rate pop songs, in and of themselves, outside the context of show, appealing to millions in the public who don't care a whit about Broadway. Few other "rock musicals" (including "Rent") have ever been able to do both.

Updated On: 4/11/05 at 09:33 PM

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:36pm

Bravo Margo!

*APPLAUSE* *APPLAUSE*

Take your bow!!!!!!

[Thetruth]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:39pm

Ya'll know I love the Dreamgirls score. I feel the same way about it that rentheads feel about Rent. I was just listening to it the other day, and I agree with Margo that it was very daring. The evolution of music during that time period is all right there. The score is catchy, smart, and beautiful.

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:44pm

Listening to that song is one thing, watching it performed is another!

Clearly remember this song being performed by Harney and Lee Ralph.
How the song started off so gently and slowly turned into a power play between a woman wanting to break free from her "svengali". How one minute he caressed her and then grabbed her mid song until she broke free from his grasp to ultimately just break down and succumb to that kiss in the end.

DAMN! I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Thetruth]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:46pm

Would you be mad if I said I liked Audra's version of the song better, Marquise?

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:50pm

No Truth not at all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right?
You know who I did love? NORM LEWIS! He was so "on point" as Curtis. His voice is amazing on that recording!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 9:53pm

And when you look at some of the other rock musicals that spawned hit songs on the Billboard charts, in most cases, the "hits" weren't taken directly from the cast album (as was the case with "Dreamgirls") but were instead cover versions done by pop/rock/r&b musicians. Imagine if more Broadway shows were able to create big pop/r&b hits -- theatre would be much more a part of the mainstream entertainment culture (as it was up until the early 60s) than it is now.

Also, in the case of shows like "Hair" and "Godspell" and most other rock musicals that had chart success, the books for those shows were fairly weak and scattered, almost revues in fact, and so the composers could focus on just writing tuneful pop songs, rather than worrying about how the song would be integrated into the overall structure of the show. Krieger and Eyen managed to write new songs that appealed to the masses, that also worked perfectly within the context of the show's narrative -- a remarkable achievement.

[Thetruth]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 10:06pm

Yeah, Norm Lewis did his thing. I wish they would consider him for the movie. How old is he anyway?

[sweetiedarlinmia]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 11:00pm

Well, Thank you very much! Now I wanna listen to the CR instead of writing this paper! A bit of procrastination that I always enjoy.

[Chip1012]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 11:11pm

If you are listening to the OBC CD I think it's a pretty bad representation of the score. However, the Actor's Fund Concert is a complete joy from start to finish.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/11/05 at 11:12pm

I know the OBC cut a lot of the score, but what's there is wonderful.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 2:51am

The OBC cut almost the entire show from the album. They cut it down so that the songs would be more like singles. The show is thru-sung, and there aren't many breaks for applause. It's an amazingly intricate show. One of the greatest scores of the last 50 years.

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 10:09am

The OBC is essential listening. Astonishing performances with great arrangements. However, you truly do not get a sense of the show from this recording. Listening to the show in its entirety on the Concert Recording (as flawed as some of it might be) makes a VERY strong case that DREAMGIRLS is the best score written in the last 25 years and is the greatest of all the pop operas. How musical motifs sung in character make their way into the pop songs written for the Dreams to sing is genius. It's a towering achievement.

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:03am

I think the complexity of the score is amazing. I worked on a production of this last year, and it was astonishing to watch it all come together...like most people, I only knew the more famous songs, but Jimmys rap and a few other not-so-popular songs became my favorites.

[eslgr8]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:22am

I didn't appreciate/enjoy the Dreamgirls score until I heard the concert recording. The first third of the songs on the OBC recording really grated on me. I found the later songs to be increasingly enjoyable as the OBC recording continued, however out of context I got no sense of the plot or what the show was like to experience. Not only that, but so much good music didn't make it onto the OBC. So regardless of whether the performances are "better" on the OBC (which is subjective), I think you really need the concert version to truly fall for this powerful musical score. Not only that, but it is one of the few recordings of a musical from start to finish, including all dialog/songs. Listening to the concert recording is the next best thing to seeing the show. And L.A. people, Dreamgirls will be presented by the amazingly talented students of the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts on June 4/5. See link below.

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:16pm

Dreamgirls is definitely in my top 5 of favorite musicals of all-time. I agree with most of what is stated above, in terms of originality, brilliance, fluidity, etc. My friends and I would say that we wish there was a white version that we would call Creamgirls that all of us could be in someday! :)

Norm is in his early 40's...doesn't he look amazing for his age?

[Thetruth]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:34pm

I think the popular opinon is that the OBCR performances are much better than in the Concert Recording.

-Billy was sick
-Heather Headley was flat and sharp and all over the place
-Some folks (not me!) think that Audra was too operatic for the part.
-Nobody can ever touch Jennifer Holiday.

The went into the studio and fixed thing for the concert recording (Like Lilias' AITY, some of Billy's stuff) I don't know why they didn't fix Heather singing "Ain't No Party" cuz that was horrible mess.

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:42pm

Well, leo, as they say, 'Black don't crack!'

My Nubian goddess boss is 51 and she looks like MAYBE she's in her late thirties.

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 1:09pm

haha, robbie - Billy would say "Black don't crack" to me all the time. I love that phrase. Billy told me that when he was young, during the winter he mom made him cover his face in vasoline. Perhaps that has a little to do with it :)

Billy was diagnosed with severe acid reflux disease less than a week after the concert. Though I've seen the bootlegged video of what I believe is the dress rehearsal, he sounds pretty decent for being so ridiculously unhealthy. He talks about his sickness in Ghetto Superstar. By the way, I finally saw Ghetto Superstar, here in Pittsburgh. It's one of those life-changing experiences. I knew it would be great - but I was absolutely floored. My words aren't enough to describe how moved I was. His mother was also right in the front, seeing it for the first time. Truly an amazing night that I'll always remember.

As for the rest of the concert recording, Heather is the one that sounds pretty dreadful. Lillias' AITY isn't the best - but her It's All Over, Heavy, and I Am Changing are pretty damn awesome.
Audra is clearly a bit miscast, but even so, she's brilliant and portrays Deena beautifully.

[Thetruth]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 1:16pm

Audra definitly pulled it through with her acting.