Gypsy 2008 Broadway Cast Recording — Page 4

Wow, fflagg, you and I actually agree on something! (Okay, I know it's happened before, but it's pretty rare.)

My feelings may not be quite as harsh as yours... but the sentiments here are the same.

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I'm going to agree with a couple of the other posters, I don't feel this is the "definitive" Gypsy. In fact, I don't think there will ever be such a thing, at least in terms of performances. Laurents wrote the characters, especially Rose, far too well for such a term to ever truly be applied. There are so many layers and facets that no single actor could ever capture every aspect and say "this is 100% who the character is." I would even venture to say that Rose is the musical theatre equivalent of Hamlet. There is always going to be new territory to explore for each actress who attempts to take on the mammoth role.

I like the bonus song "Small World/Mamma's Talkin Soft" too.

Updated On: 8/30/08 at 02:39 PM

they go after their scenes.

speaking of the B&N bonus disc, did anyone else's have...interesting track listing names?

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I can't shake from my head LuPone singing "everything's coming up Rose Ass" over and over. Ugh.

I have a lot of Gypsy cast recordings and this is a very nice one. I will be listening to it in the top of the rotation for a while I think. A couple of remarks: the overture is very well performed here, and at a faster tempo that is exciting and more compelling than what I recall from the performance I saw. Second, having listened to the preview 5-track cd that was available at the theater, there is no comparison. The final product is miles better. Ms LuPone's voice sounds a bit bright on the preview, but there is no hint of that here as far as I can tell. Whether or not this recording is "definitive", it's well worth addition to a collection and compares favorably alongside the Merman and Lansbury cast recordings.

dottedquarterrest:
Is anyone else hearing static/volume peaks on their CD? I thought it was my speakers, but it's the same on headphones and my bf's computer (with his own CD).

Listen to the last 10 seconds of May We Entertain You, it sounds like it hits peak volume in the actual mix on the CD(a few other places, too). Am I crazy?

I am SO glad you posted this! I've been weeding through threads here and on ATC to see if anyone else had the same problem. I first downloaded a "leaked" copy ahead of time and noticed it, but figured it was just a bad bitrate compression. I bought my own copy - the B&N version - and even straight from the CD, it sounds exactly like you described. It's like a static-y breaking-up crackling sound as if it hit max volume. If I turn the treble down on my speakers, it's a little less, but it's still there. I played it on three different players, used headphones, no headphones etc. and it happens every time. It sounds awful!

Has anyone else had a problem with this? I notice a lot of people praising the mix/sound quality, so now I'm wondering if there are some bad pressings out there.

It is very bad quality for me too! I have some REALLY nice speakers and it still sounded staticy! That makes me very dissapointed! When someone buys a CD, they except great quality, this is not great quality. It sound like the version of Once Upon a Time from Brooklyn that I bought from itunes. When there are higher notes, it sounds staticy.

I loved Leigh Ann Larkin's performance. She definitely showed June's disenchantment with the whole thing from her very first scene, which I think is earlier than you see in most other productions. I also loved her choice of using her voice to show that extreme difference between June and "Dainty" June, though she really toes the line between brilliant and over the top. Luckily I don't think she ever crossed it, at least when I saw her.

Honestly the only problem I have with the CD(s) is that when I put the B&N disc in sequential order with the main disc, the Let Me Entertain You dialogue interrupts the flow of Let Me Entertain You to Broadway. But with a little editing I fixed that.

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