I completely disagree with the person who said the orchestrations sound empty. It sounds like a 10 piece rock band. I don't think they meant for it to imitate an orchestra. For instance, "Goodbye and Goodluck" sounds exactly like the "Born to Run" arrangments Springsteen used- even down to the glockenspiel- roy bittan- effects. The "last real record store" sounds inrcredibly full and during the " we've got blues and soul and R&B section" the guitars are massive-def an homage to "The Who". I love the lightness of the "Laura, Laura" section with the high organ and string pads and stabs and they nail the country tune. The" conflict resolution" sound sexacty like GnR, BeastieBoys,and Eminem. I think you have to be aware of the bands they are paying props to in order to appreciate how skillfully they have recreated their sound.
I have heard the album probably 4 times now both in my car and on my ipod and it is def one of the best sounding recordings of a show I have heard. It does not sound like they skimped on any of the production. I've heard cheap cast recordings and this is not one of them!
Updated On: 5/2/07 at 06:34 PM