Kinky Boots OBCR -- EW First Listen- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 6:57am

I can't even judge this score fairly because of the insane amount of auto-tuning used on the voices. They all sound like they're singing in a tin can.

How am I supposed to get to the "truth" of the story and characters when they all sound like robots?

[broadwaymarty]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 7:19am

Love, the final sentence, after hearing this score, I'm now sure MATILDA will win!

[lillebjorn]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 10:05am

I'm not if producers are allowed to send a copy of the CR to Tony voters - though it could make sense - but I don't think the KB recording helps them in the Best Score fight. Some of the songs which worked well in the production don't do so well in audio only. I'm thinking especially of "History of Wrong Guys." Ms Ashford is channeling a lot of people, including Cyndi (I think) and as a consequence, to me at least, it sounds all over the place.
As some have mentioned in the thread, the accents are a holy mess. In the theatre, I don't think it bothered the vast majority of the audience but the errors are far more apparent in the recording. Which is a shame because Ms Lauper's score is better than the treatment it receives in the OCR.
Slightly off-topic, check out her interview in "on the media." I have a lot of respect for Ms Lauper.
http://www.onthemedia.org/2013/may/03/brooke-talks-cyndi-lauper/

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 10:49am

To jnb9872 and qolbinau regarding your thoughts about the score feeling disconnected in various ways:

I agree with you both, and to finally have a recording (where the music is isolated from the show) solidifies my feeling that this isn't really a well-written score. The music is enjoyable, but it seems clearer to me now, that Kinky Boots is less of a "traditional" musical, and more along the lines of a "jukebox" musical with a slightly different twist. The twist is that the Lauper songs aren't from her back catalog. There are a few pieces that actually serve the purpose of telling the story, but too many are just pop songs that superficially share a topic related to the book.

The best example of what I'm talking about is, "Sex Is In The Heel". That song is essentially Madonna's "Vogue", but instead of glamorizing "the dance floor", "Sex..." glamorizes stiletto heels. ANY stiletto heels - not Lola's, not Charlie's, but any heel. Like Madonna's "Vogue", the lyrics include "lists" and glittery, esoteric phrases (city names, "stilettos are an '-ism'", "the heel is the transmission", etc.). Like other songs in Lauper's score, it's not the music that conveys the story, but rather the dialog that's inserted between verses.

Comparable songs from other musicals are "One Night in Bangkok" from Chess and "Buenos Aires" from Evita. The difference is that in both those numbers, the lyrics offer the audience additional information that's specific to those shows' characters and setting. They have specific context. "Sex..." is about any shoe, any heel, anywhere in the world. Without the dialog, the song is a generic dance tune.

One of my favorite numbers in the show is "The History of Wrong Guys". It's a really fun character number, but even that song's lyrics (like a lot of pop songs) are very universal. They speak about a stereotypical scenario, using generically identifiable descriptions (i.e., "Why are they only nice when they're unavailable?") that many women can identify with. They don't tell me about her specific relationship with Charlie as much as I get that her issues are as generic as the next woman's. I don't find that a bad thing, just another example of "collection of pop songs" vs. "score".

Songs like "The Most Beautiful Thing in the World", "In This Corner", and "Hold Me In Your Heart" make me look forward to what Lauper might create in the future. IMO, those are the best examples that demonstrate her potential for creating a real score, and not just a collection of songs.
Updated On: 5/21/13 at 10:49 AM

[Marlothom]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 1:04pm

I wish they had included "I come to the Rescue" and Nicola's cut song as extras. BTW- the little Nicola snipet in "The Most Beautiful Thing" is pretty much what she says over and over throughout the show, anyone care to guess where that relationship ends up?

I've seen this show many times - mostly to cheer on friends, and I think it's a fine show. But I wonder if it could have been more interesting if it began with Lola's Club Act, heel breaks and we transition to the mundane/boring shoe factory (a la Crazy For Your).

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 1:38pm

There are a few pieces that actually serve the purpose of telling the story, but too many are just pop songs that superficially share a topic related to the book.

This was exactly my problem with the score. It’s fun, yes, but, as I have said before, it reminds me of a jukebox musical – the songs are vague enough and so general that they CAN work for the situation, but really don’t give us more insight into the characters. I will never understand the high praise for Lauper’s score beyond how fun and catchy it is.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 1:45pm

John Adams--

One of my favorite critics is Christian Clemmensen, who runs a website about film scores. On deserving occasions, he divides his grades into two for certain scores: "Score As Presented on Album" and "Score As Written for the Film." Often that divide illustrates a great score given a bad public release, but just as often it reflects a divide between the music's utility as a score versus it's aesthetic appeal. I think that type of split metric is worthy here. This score is very fun to listen to and the music is all appealing, and after listening to it it does not at all feel of a piece and I have neither more or less desire to see the show. It feels oddly removed from the musical it is a part of.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 1:51pm

Meh, the score is very Cyndi Lauper's famous style and with the exception of a few songs in the club, the rest feel like pop hits and don't get me started on the recorded performances. I just pray the cast does not perform like robots.

This is an alright album but what can they do when Cinderella is a superior cast album from orchestrations and performances alone. Can't wait for Pippin's cast album though.

[binau]

Posted: 5/25/13 at 8:27pm

Thank you all. Where are all the Kinky supporters? I read a post on another forum claiming the reason why the score doesn't work well on CD is because it is the book and not the score that elevates the show. So maybe that's why it just isn't working here.

With the Matilda backlash on the forum at the moment I still feel that someone should come and be accountable for this score....where are the good moments? I don't hear them. I would genuinely like to enjoy the score though, so if you can enlighten me please do.

Updated On: 5/25/13 at 08:27 PM

[wicked4l]

Posted: 5/25/13 at 8:54pm

KINKY BOOTS supporter here! Huge fan of the show! BUT this recording is a huge dissapointment. It sounds autotuned. Stephen Oreumus' orchestrations sound thin and like a weird watered down non-eq tour version of the show. It's aimed for a pop radio. Not a broadway recording. I prefer live recordings for this show. The recording does not capture the incredible energy that is on stage 8 times a week.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 5/25/13 at 9:24pm

John Adams, your vision of a "traditional" musical is very Sondheim and after. Even after Rodgers and Hammerstein created more integrated musicals where songs furthered the plots, the lyrics were not terribly specific. Also, it's interesting that you choose "One Night in Bangkok" to support your point, when Rice reportedly wanted to cut the song because it didn't fit the rest of the score but couldn't because it had been a hit single from the concept album.

Now I'm with you in that I prefer shows that are more character oriented. Kinky Boots is filled with types, which probably helps it please a wide audience. Lola is refreshingly not a type, but the book seems mightily confused about what to do with the role (which of course has been discussed often on the board).

Also, if the songs sound like "the Who" how does that make them American?

I think the score is the biggest reason for the show's success. As generic as it is, it also seems genuine. Lauper channels her warmth and ebullience into the songs and, though limited, they work. I find it hard to believe one would respond to the show after disliking the album.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/25/13 at 9:53pm

I haven't heard "beautiful" this much since listening to the Love Never Dies cast recording.

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/26/13 at 9:12am

>> it's interesting that you choose "One Night in Bangkok" to support your point, when Rice reportedly wanted to cut the song because it didn't fit the rest of the score but couldn't because it had been a hit single from the concept album.

I think the key word in your post is "reportedly". Rice was 1/3 of the writing team for Chess, and his third of the contribution was lyrics only. Why would he unilaterally consider a decision based on something he didn't write?

>> if the songs sound like "the Who" how does that make them American?

You've misinterpreted the post. I wrote that the score sounds very American. I also wrote that I heard elements of "the Who" ("also", not "because"). The acoustic guitar riff in "Take What You Got" happens to sound like the electric guitar riff of "Pinball Wizard" to my ear. But while we're on the subject of that particular song, nothing says "American" more to me than the use of the banjo in the accompaniment.

>> your vision of a "traditional" musical is very Sondheim and after. Even after Rodgers and Hammerstein created more integrated musicals where songs furthered the plots, the lyrics were not terribly specific.

"Traditional" wasn't the best choice of words on my part, but I couldn't think of a word that differentiates "jukebox" from "other musicals" without sounding like I was trying to insult Cyndi Lauper.

You didn't go back far enough into American musical theater history, however. Much of Lauper's score is more reminiscent of earlier times, before R+H.

Lauper's score is a mixed bag. Some songs are specific to the book (like In This Corner, Charlie's Soliloquy and Price and Son/Most Beautiful Thing...). Others are much like the songs from the Tin Pan Alley days, when writers would take popular songs they wrote for general listening pleasure and plug them into a book.

Of the KB reviews I've read, the one that matches most how I feel about Lauper's score is the one written for the LA Times. Charles McNulty wrote:

The score's patchwork quality, however, never establishes a compositional through line. "Kinky Boots" lacks the natural tumbling flow of a musical — or even a concept album for that matter. Lauper's greenhorn status is nowhere more evident than in the show's assemblage of mix-and-match tunes.

I see and hear what McNulty describes as a "patchwork" quality. Although I wouldn't have used the term "greenhorn", I also feel like there are some issues with KB as a score that are due to Lauper's inexperience with writing for musical theater.

I think Lauper is definitely on the right track, and I'm looking forward to what she writes in the future, but this first attempt doesn't deserve a Tony for "Best Score", especially when compared to the score for Matilda.
Updated On: 5/26/13 at 09:12 AM

[broadwayfreak4]

Posted: 5/26/13 at 6:25pm

Just listened to the first three tracks and by the end of the third I literally fell asleep.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/26/13 at 6:47pm

yuck! could these songs be any more repetitive? Very Mediocre and the lyrics are just dumb. Id rather be listening to bible songs.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/26/13 at 7:10pm

^ OH - So you've just listened to the score now?? Weren't you just comparing its score to MATILDA'S in another thread?

[JarqueLemos]

Posted: 5/27/13 at 3:50am

its pretty good will buy some songs, I am singing to it even though I cannot sing.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/27/13 at 4:27am

I loved Kinky Boots, and the songs are very catchy and fun.

[Up In One]

Posted: 5/27/13 at 5:33am

"This score is very fun to listen to and the music is all appealing, and after listening to it it does not at all feel of a piece and I have neither more or less desire to see the show. It feels oddly removed from the musical it is a part of."

You havnt seen the show yet you can say it feels oddly removed from the musical it is a part of?

The entire show is a gorgeous pop musical and the score is at one with it. Very much like musicals of Ross & Adler. The crowds who are clamoring for Kinky Boots the musical will also buy up the CD. The combined popularity of the show and the pop format of the CD will make this recording a top seller.

[binau]

Posted: 5/27/13 at 6:46am

I think what he is suggesting is that it doesn't feel like a coherent piece of story telling but a collection of generic pop songs.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 5/27/13 at 9:29am

Precisely, qolbinau. Generic both as written (though, as I've consistently stated, I reserve the right to re-appraise once given the context of the book and production around it) and as produced on the album. It feels very sterile and antiseptic. My understanding of the rave responses the audiences have been giving it lead me to understand this is most likely not the case with the musical as a whole, so my inference about the album derives from that disconnect.

[DEClarke]

Posted: 6/2/13 at 11:27am

Kinky Boots (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is Fun, Funky, and Infectious

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/2/13 at 11:49am

From the above review:

Lauper's only misstep is that the score is not solidly cohesive, which causes the album to play out more like a Pop/Rock album than a richly narrative Broadway score.

The value a person places on that "only misstep" can make a big difference in whether/not a person believes the score should win a Tony.

To me, it's a pretty big misstep; one that I would describe as "critical". Updated On: 6/2/13 at 11:49 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/2/13 at 1:54pm

I liked the musical. I only decided to buy the cd since I could get it for a mere 9.99. I'm kind of thinking I spent too much.

In the time I've had the cd, I haven't been able to listen to the entire thing straight through. Zzzzzzz....

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 6/2/13 at 7:54pm

I think the score is indeed pretty cohesive, but I do not think it is successful as a theater score. The songs do not build in any way or get very far beyond surface emotions of a given situation. Without the flashy staging and performances, the score feels very static. The music does not move or excite me at all.
I did see the show, and when I left the theater I would give it a solid "B". I expected to find the album a fun diversion, but unfortunately I don't think I'll be listening much.