Itunes - "The New Musical Cast"
Itunes - "The New Musical Cast"
#1Itunes - "The New Musical Cast"
Posted: 4/21/08 at 7:56am
Ok. This is troubling me now.
I was on iTunes music store looking at their entire collection of musical cast recordings. I was quite curious at a collection of album covers that looked very...well...unprofessional. These were all under "The New Musical Cast" and are all released by Big Eye Records, all of them released the 1st of Jan this year, and I listened to some of the song samples and they too sound unprofessional. From what I can see, there are Les Mis, Fiddler on the Roof, Tommy, Annie, Fame, Godspell, Oklahoma and Rent. There are many more.
What bothers me, is that they are recorded with MIDI instrumentation and the singing is plain awful. What troubled me most though was a new arrangement on the song "Tomorrow" from Annie. It had an 80's flashdance feel to it lol. I'm scared.
What are these recordings? Some sorta joke?
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#2re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 4/21/08 at 8:53am
Not having looked at it, it sounds like the cheap studio albums that Wal-Mart sells. These are put out, for around $5 a pop, so that people who are casually shopping and don't know the difference will buy them, instead of the $15-20 official album.
The Wicked one is a hoot.
#2re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 4/21/08 at 11:03amThese are so awful it is somewhat amusing. Although I really like the album art...
#3re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 4/21/08 at 11:15am
It's hilarious.
The Rent album is the best thing I've heard in a while. "What You Own" is a train wreck.
#4re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 4/21/08 at 11:27am
oh wow. These are atrocious. ...wow.
Who allows this?!
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#5re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 1:04pm
Bump. I just found their Little Shop of Horrors.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=277919230&s=143441
God help us all. This album appears at least 2 other times on the iTunes store under different artist names. And what is with that album art? It looks like Microsoft Clip Art Gallery. All it's missing is a hot dog, a birthday cake, and a photo of fall leaves.
How are they getting away with this? They can't have the rights to keep doing this crap.
sayokay
Understudy Joined: 10/10/08
#6re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 1:36pmOMG. The Wicked cast one is hilarious.
#7re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 1:49pmI have the Hairspray one. My mom mistook it for the CR.
#8re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 2:56pmWow, this is amazing. My favorite is the Sweeney Todd recording, where they have deleted every remotely "unpleasant" song. I.E., 75% of the score.
#9re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:09pm
I'm listening to Mama Mia!, yes Mama Mia. They spelled the name wrong. That isn't the worst part, Does Your Mother Know is sung by a man.
The Lion King.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=278062629&s=143441
#10re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:17pmCan you send me a link to these recordings?
wizard2joe
Featured Actor Joined: 11/20/08
#11re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:19pm
Omg
they mispelles Mamma Mia wrong they spelled with only one "M"
in Mamma
They even mispelled Knowing Me Knowing You
Updated On: 3/22/09 at 03:19 PM
#12re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:22pmThe funny thing about the sample clip for "The Wizard and I" on the faux-WICKED CR is that the woman doesn't sound too different from Idina.
#13re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:25pm
Is the same woman doing Idina and Galinda?
These can't all be legal. Not when when we're getting into Disney territory.
#14re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:25pmHow are these even legal?
#15re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:27pmTimesSquare, I am assuming you spelled the word "spelled" wrong on purpose as "spelt" is a species of wheat!
#16re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 3:28pm
I love 42nd Street, where the cover is clipart of a girl with face-eating sunglasses using her laptop.
And The Boy Friend (they get obscure!) where the cover is clipart of a pregnant girl going grocery shopping?
Updated On: 3/22/09 at 03:28 PM
#17re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 4:20pm
LISTEN TO THE LES MISERABLES ONE RIGHT NOW.
You will laugh until you almost cry.
First of all, Fantine is a man. I don't mean she's a contralto. No, the role is definitely played by a man. A strange, lisping man trying to sing pop. Weirdly, a different person (a girl) sings on "Come To Me."
Marius, though, seriously sounds like a drunk middle-aged guy trying to sing karaoke and doing an extremely bad impersonation of Michael Ball. Thenardier sounds exactly like a middle-school boy impersonating Captain Jack Sparrow with a metronome.
The funniest track is "Do You Hear The People Sing." It's totally a guy who is doing a silly fake opera voice but unable to hit basically any of the notes. Javert can't keep up with the tempo of the accompaniment at all. He has the best voice of the bunch, but it still sounds like my little brother singing "Stars" in the shower.
#18re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 4:28pmWow, Do You Hear the People Sing is pretty epic.
#19re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 4:33pmThe guy singing "My Friends" on the SWEENEY recording sounds just like Johnny Depp hahaha.
#20re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 5:07pm
I've just emailed Alan Menken alerting him of their pitiful version of Little Shop. I told him purely because these recordings are insulting to anyone with half working ears, and they need to be pulled from the iTunes store.
On a plus side - they have spelt MAMMA correctly for their ULTIMATE MAMMA MIA EXPERIENCE - which features songs not even in the show.
This is shocking... really.
#21re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 5:23pm
I don't think Alan Menken will mind much since I'm sure he makes money from each purchase just as he does with the Broadway and movie cast recordings.
Itunes does have some bizarre studio recordings, but I highly recommend checking out the London Theatre Orchestra La Cage Aux Folles. No, it's not as good as the Broadway cast recording, but it's neat to own since it's the only other English language recording of the score aside from the Australian Cast recording which hasn't been released on CD.
#22re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 5:28pm
This sounds like karaoke gone wrong...
HAIR's is by far, the most hilarious.
#23re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 5:32pm
Alan told me he will look into it.
I don't think these recordings are legal. Disney CERTAINLY would not allow a version of THE LION KING to be out in such terrible quality - nor would RUG and CML allow versions of Phantom, Les Mis or Joseph. It's very easy to submit an album to iTunes - I think almost anyone can do it... so, if they're not legal, the right people are not getting money from these recordings. Apple and the new musical people are.
Disney
dexter3
Featured Actor Joined: 9/13/08
#24re: Itunes - 'The New Musical Cast'
Posted: 3/22/09 at 5:32pm
Legally, anyone has the right to record a song...as long as they pay the royalties to the publisher (r whomever holds the rights to the songs)...
After the first commercial recording of a song, a songwriter does not legally have a say in whether someone is allowed/not allowed to record their music.
An exception to this rule is when someone changes a lyric to a song...thats the only case in which a songwriter can get a recording pulled, and possibly fine the person who has changed the lyric and put that recording up for sale...
:)
Videos