Initial opinions on RENT soundtrack- Page 12

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 10/4/05 at 3:39pm

rentrocks27, I'm pretty sure Light My Candle still takes place on Christmas Eve, and Roger meeting Mimi is kind of when everything starts, so maybe that's why they didn't change the line in Halloween? =/

[xrent_headx]

Posted: 10/4/05 at 6:56pm

canadians dont get any choice over the cover...*tear

i dont really like over the moon

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/4/05 at 7:23pm

Yeah, Mimi and Roger & Collins and Angel still meet on Christmas eve and as far as I know that's when Tango Maureen happens, too. So all the earth shattering stuff is still Christmas Eve.

I am not happy with OTM. Maybe the performance will be better with the visual.

Jesse Martin rocks my socks off. I really like his delivery of some of the lines this time.

[theatrebabe]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 6:03pm

Woah woah woah. Had to bump this because I just got the soundtrack today(sad I know). So DIFFERENT!!! Not bad, just different. I think I'll get used to it.
Anthony's voice is less nazaly. Adam's voice sounds higher, more whiny kind of. I barely reconized them. I guess I'm glad it's so different. I mean it would suck if they dilivered their lines excatly the same way they did ten years ago.
The songs sound more like songs as apposed to conversations put to music. You know what I mean? Would you Light my Candle always sounded more lika a conversation to me, but now I hear it as a song.
And RENT definetly sounds more like a song without all the talking. Hmmmmm. I don't know, more later.

ETA: WOAH!!! What's with Over the Moon? Totally lacking Maureen's kinky divaness.

Updated On: 10/5/05 at 06:03 PM

[OhSoWicked]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 9:35pm

I got a Benny cover. Not out of choice, but it took me 3 tries to get the clerk at Barnes & Noble to know what the heck I was talking about. He showed me the OBCR and the "Best of" before finding me the soundtrack ... I was so happy to see it that I didn't even look at who was on the cover lol. When I got home I was like aww, Taye. I would've picked Maureen but hey, her hubby is good too.

LOVEEEE LOVE LOVE LOVE Take Me or Leave Me. The slight changes in it are AWESOME. Ahh. I love Without You and I like LMC BETTER than the OBCR *shrug*. I think thats just because I haaated Daphne's voice.

[theatrebabe]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 9:43pm

Yea, I got Benny too. I ordered it so I didn't have a choice. I kinda wanted Anthony. But hey, Taye works.

I dunno. I think Idina sounds a little bored all her songs. Much more than her really energetic Maureen on the OBCR. I think the visuals will change all that.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 9:50pm

I've had it for a week but haven't had any urge to break the shrink wrap. And lo and behold, there's the soundtrack available for streaming on Napster Premium. So, I've been listening to it tonight, and have to agree that listening to a soundtrack is only half an experience. Like watching a play in the dark. I'll reserve my final judgment on the entire movie experience after I actually see it.

However, Rosario Dawson's songs are so OBVIOUSLY pitch corrected digitally I'm practically waiting for a Cher "Believe" repeat at any minute. It just sounds so metallic and artificial. Jesse's contributions all sound to me as if they were digitally inserted into the proceedings, the way Photoshop can place somebody in a picture who was never there to begin with. There are times that you actually hear the digital cut out as he finishes a word. I find that sort of thing really distracting.

[theatrebabe]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:06pm

Ok, when Adam says "It's a candy bar wrapper" in WYLMC, it sounds so much like a robot. I kind of laugh when I hear it. And a lot of Jesse's lines do sound cut off at the ends. His voice seems to have gotten deeper. Weird.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:10pm

Why is Wilson apparently unable to get out, "And Collins will recount his experiences as an anarchist..."? It's not like he was going to leap on a table in those heels in a recording booth. What is so hard about saying the word "an?"

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:14pm

ha, I've never noticed that! Weird. Maybe they'd like to think that he is THE anarchist.

Updated On: 10/5/05 at 10:14 PM

[jeremykushnier1fan]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:16pm

My many thoughts,

Over the moon, is to different and i just think there is something not right about it. I definatly perfere the OBCR version.

Out Tonight, i can't clearly hear Rosario's voice. I love the music, but i feel her voice isn't strong enough to be heard over the music.

La Vie Boheme, i still love it, no matter what anyone else says.

Love heals, wow, I heard the Sherie Rene Scott version and that was beautiful, but this cast just blows it away. Idina's voice is absoultly beautiful in this song, as well as everyone else.

-Jesse L. Martin is still wonderful as ever.
-Tracie is absoultly perfect for the part and well deserving.
-Anthony Rapp, to me, is more mature and all together better in this recording.
-Adam still blows my mind.


over all, i love it.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:20pm

I had to listen to Love Heals about 5 times before I picked out Wilsons "natural" singing voice!! Wow, he still sounds like an "Angel", and what a range!!

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:22pm

I got the Angel cover. My favorite character. I love the new sound, I think that it works well for a movie you know? It comes out at the perfect time, I have litterally worn out my OBC. I love "witch she ain't ever studied"

[jeremykushnier1fan]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:24pm

OH GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T METION THAT!
I too was so excited to here Wilsons actual voice, which is by the way BEAUTIFUL, FANTASTIC...and just plain amazing.

[theatrebabe]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:27pm

Hah!! I LOVE the "which she ain't ever studied". Cracked me up.

And Jesse' "gettin dizzy" It's spooky!

Updated On: 10/5/05 at 10:27 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/5/05 at 10:58pm

I thought Adam's choice of using Bullwinkle's voice for "The world revives..." in "Without You" was completely unexpected. I only wish Rosario had done "Colors renew..." a la Rocket J. Squirrel. Hokey smokes.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 7:02pm

>I still hate the line "think twice before you pooh-pooh it" in You'll See. I keep wanting to change it to "think twice before you refuse it".

How about "think twice before you eschew it"?

:-P

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:00pm

Wow, so much to say in reaction to the cd as well as comments posted...so many thoughts, so little time, lol.

Well, I'll just start with the fact that I love it. Mostly because it's like this kick ass time capsule of the show and the actors, and how they've grown..and I feel like parts of my life too in a way.

When I first listened to it, I found tears welling up, just because here I was, 10 years later, listening to Rent for the first time again, basically. And it instantly and uncontrollably sent me right back to 10 years ago when I heard the OBC for the first time, and made me think of my reactions then to hearing the lyrics for the first time and the effect they had on the person I was and my outlook on my future and life in general - just very powerful and overwhelming. No matter how much I may now think it's a bit of a 'fad' that teens get into this show, and then you go to study theatre and kinda grow out of it (maybe that was just me and the people I knew - I certainly don't speak for everyone here), there's no changing that period in time when this show impacted my life immensely, and that will always stay with me. Listening to this cd for the first time took me right back to that place, and I haven't left it since.

I love how much they've all grown and that you can hear it undeniably on the album. As someone said before, it is a soundtrack, which is very different than an obc. Not only that, but it's the tracks from the film itself, so...it's kinda like if, hypothetically speaking (cause NO ONE really does this lol) someone ipodrecorded a show or something and listened to it - you'd expect a difference in that and the obc, right? maybe that's a bad example.

I digress. I love that you can just listen to it and get the full extent of what they're expressing and feeling just by listening to them - that they've all grown as actors to the point that now they're not just rockin' out to this great new music, but have learned how to truly cherish the words and fully utilize them as a means of dialogue and expression as opposed to just something that goes along with this melody - does that make any sense? There seems to now be a marriage between the lyrics and music that is lacking (in comparison to this one I mean) in the original, to sum up what I'm trying to say on that subject.

I like tracie a lot. I love that she's just different: not better, not worse. The whole tone of her voice is just different from Fredi's right from the get-go so there's no "this is a comparison" but rather an obvious new interpretation of the character so you take it as something new and not meant to be put up side-by-side to the obc joanne immediately. I dunno which I like better: fredi's rich, thick, soulful voice, or tracie's light, clear. but-can-still-funk-it-up-with-the-best-of-em' voice...but I love that there are two options now, y'know?

Onto the last part ms. dawson. Not sure how to put this. The first time i listened, I thought "very impressive" - and I STILL think that. But that first time I remember thinking "so much potential there, I can't wait to hear where it goes"...and then I realized, neither in the movie, or the more I listen to the cd, will it 'go' anywhere, y'nkow? (yet another reason why I'd choose live theatre over film any day of the week and twice on Sunday, lol) It seems that, knowing she's such a strong actress and that she has a naturally beautiful and pop-ish vocal quality, that they could have gone further with making her sound less "I'm singing on an 'album'" and more "I'm singing because my emotions are so intense that simply SPEAKING these words isn't enough to express what I'm feeling and what these words mean to me" - there are most certainly many instances where she DOES manage that, but overall. because everyone else on the cd is at that level 100% of the time, she suffers in comparison.

The only 'qualm' I have with listening to her is that I DETEST her vowels. I can understand making some choices to make it more 'rock' sounding, but I dont' think that's what that choice was. I think it was just not knowing better, or a choice that perhaps will be conveyed and clear once it's SEEN. I just have a huge pet peeve about bad vowels, especially dipthongs that are sustained on the wrong sound...it's like nails on a chalk board to me.

I do feel absolutely certain though that when I SEE the movie, Rosario's entire package of the acting and hearing the 'so-so' singing parts together will blow me away and that she'll be amazing. No doubt in my mind about that one: the girl is pretty fierce. I also think she could be an amazing musical theatre performer if she sticks with it and just gains experience and a teeny bit of training with her instrument vocally.

All in all, I love the fact that this cd even exists because it's this chance to listen to the show for the first time all over again and embrace the growth and the changes, all the time understanding that it's a new medium, but that the message is still there.

yay rent! can't wait to see it!

oy - sorry for hte long post - it's been months I think since I posted, so I'm makin' up for lost time

Kristy

Updated On: 10/6/05 at 10:00 PM

[theatrebabe]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:18pm

Thanks Kristy!! That was an awesome review. And I agree with you. I think Rosario could be much better. Hmmmm.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:24pm

Amazon FINALLY got their act together and sent me the recording today!!!

Overall, I'm very pleased and really really excited. I'm going to be listening to this a lot. Here are some of my opinions:

Idina- sounds great. She sounds like she's making a sheep sound instead of a moo! LoL!!! I love hearing her on "Love Heals" though, I think she sounds the best on that song!

Anthony- Wow. He's gotten even better. His voice sounds SO good, I was really impressed.

Tracie- I love her. I think she's going to be such a great asset to the film, I can't wait to see what she does on screen

Rosario- What's the big deal about her? I think she sounds fantastic. Her voice is beautiful. I'm sure you guys will disagree with me, but I think it's just a different approach than what you've heard DRV or maybe other Mimis do, but I thought she was GREAT for the role.

Adam- I agree that he sounds different. I disagree that he's gotten worse or anything like that, it's just different. It sounds like they had to synthesize his voice or something like that, I don't understand what it is. But I still think he sounds good.

That's it I guess, but I'm just as anxious to see the film as you guys!!!

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:31pm

I think Adam sounds so AMAZING on the soundtrack. Same for Anthony.

Tracie is such a PLEASANT delight. Rosario - well I've already stated about her before.

This kind've random. But do you guys think - if the late R&B sensation Aaliyah was alive - she would've been up for Mimi? Because I'm a big Aaliyah fan, and somehow I can really see her as Mimi. She had a fantastic voice, and experienced with some rock music on her last album she got make. Plus she was getting into to movies, and was trying to get on Broadway. (Almost got the role of Aida)



Anyone else get a Mimi vibe from her? So sad, she'll never get her chance.

Updated On: 10/6/05 at 10:31 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:35pm

I think Aaliyah was very talented, but I get more of a sultry vibe from her than a Mimi vibe. If that makes any sense. She would've been very interesting to see.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:42pm

Yeah I def. see what you're saying.

I do get a Rosario vibe from her. Or should I say I get an Aaliyah vibe from Rosario.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 10:50pm

I agree. There's definitely a little bit of an Aaliyah vibe in Rosario.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/6/05 at 11:55pm

I would have liked to have seen Aaliyah play Mimi, or at least hear her sing the music.







Mya, Tatyana, Zoe Saldana, and Christina Milian look like Mimis to me.