Love Never Dies cast recording- Page 2

[scripps]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 5:07pm

I've been playing "The Beauty Underneath" for the past hour on a loop. What on earth is going on during this number? Do I even want to know?

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 6:22pm

Ha! I've been playing the thirty-second sample for "The Beauty Underneath" for the last hour! I think I'm slowly going out of my mind!

And yes, I asked for the cast recording for birthday... I've never been more curious about a show before, especially not one I'm convinced I'll dislike (I do like the songs I've heard so far, though.)

[JasonM12480]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 9:24pm

The orchestrations ARE truly beautiful - if there's one thing Webber knows how to do, it's make his shows sound fantastic.

Let's hope when it comes to New York, they don't widdle down the orchestra to 4 synthesizers, a drum set, and an oboe. lol

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 10:18pm

Anybody here from the US that pre-ordered the CD in October 2009? I haven't received my copy either.

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 10:23pm

As far as recycling the title song and not writing a new one, it is important to remember that that song was written for the Phantom sequel long before THE BEAUTIFUL GAME came along.

[GreenGirl5]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 11:54pm

The orchestrations in some songs are absolutely beautiful where as others...not so much. I agree that this is the best work Webber ahs done in awhile. My favorite songs (in no particular order) are; Til I Hear You Sing, Beneath the Moonless Sky, Dear Old Friend, Once Upon Another Time, Love Never Dies, and Devil Take the Hindmost. Even though I like Dear Old Friend, there is something in the beginning of the song that annoys me. The thing that annoys me is when Meg is practicing her "Bathing Beauty" routine, the girls singing back-up sound like little kids. When I first heard it I thought I was listening to something from Kidz Bop or something. Other than that I really like the song.

[philly03]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 12:25am

"Let's hope when it comes to New York, they don't widdle down the orchestra to 4 synthesizers, a drum set, and an oboe. lol"

LOL This isn't DRACULA, the musical so here's to hoping they won't. I know they did it for Woman in White too, but WiW's wasn't as bad as it COULD have been!

I'm truly in love with the "Till I Hear You Sing" song. Like "Once Upon Another Time" a lot as well!

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 12:48am

I have an odd feeling this show will go over better than most people think...

[theevilgumby]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 1:14am

I dunno I think this looks and sounds good. F**K the nutty "everything must stay like the original" fans. I think this could be pretty good.

[bryan]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 3:19am

how many songs do the cast sing

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 7:24am

I like the use of bits of music from the Original, I also like where they take bits from the original and change them around slightly.

"Why Does She Love Me" is a version of the original's title song.

when "Dear Old Friend" startsand Meg meets Christine (and the bit that ends it off)it is a verision of what goes on at the end of Angel of Music "He's with me even now, your hands are cold, etc"

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:59am

how many songs do the cast sing

Almost all of them.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:47am

does anybody want to send it to me =D

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:29am

I too would be ever so grateful if someone sent it to me

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:31am

The musical underscoring of "Why Does She Love Me" is right out of SUNSET BLVD.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:45am

"Anybody here from the US that pre-ordered the CD in October 2009? I haven't received my copy either."

Yes. I sent them an email yesterday and they replied today saying that they will be shipping next week, which seems odd since so many people say they have all readt received theirs.

[lemiz3001]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 7:15pm

Anyone want to send it to me too haha?
I have always thought bits of the coney island waltz reminded me of Sunset Blvd.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:11pm

Does anyone have a copy that they didn't get from tss? That one has gaps between most of the tracks.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:24pm

What is TSS?

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 8:31pm

K - just gave it my first full listen.

Definitely Weber's best since his heyday. I really enjoy the melodic (and harmonic) throwbacks to POTO in the score - most of the score is beautiful. ("Bathing Beauty", while plot-appropriate, feels like a cop-out, it could ans should be bigger and have a less half-hearted melody, "The Beauty Underneath" is slightly repetitive, and to hear the Phantom sing that way makes him lose gravitas, in my opinion, and the recitative, compared to the original, is not as catchily melodic and less strong as far as lyrics are concerned, throughout.)

The orchestrations are lush and beautiful, and Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess are both delightful. Boggess, in particular, has an angelic quality to her legit soprano that is so fitting of Christine. Karimloo lacks the threating gravitas that Crawford has on record, but it does not work against him. He is excellect and quite appropriate in "The Devil Takes the Hindmost".

"Dear Old Friends" is probably my favorite track outside of the singles ("Till I Hear You Sing" and "Love Never Dies"). I love the throwback to "Prima Donna" at the end of "Dear Old Friends" - so fitting after the passive aggressive arguments between the two divas.

As per my opinion of the piece as a whole, the score is not quite as good as POTO's - there aren't as many incredible melodies, though the incredible melodies that "Love Never Dies" has are just that - incredible. There are times that the score just brings you exactly where you would expect "Phantom" could and would go and those are the best moments.

Are the lyrics free of irony and wit? Yes. Is the plot soap-opera ish and simpleton? Yes. However, does not the original production have these same problems? There are cheeessssyyy moments in the original Phantom, lousy lyrics, and an inane and unnecessarily convoluted plot. The same goes with Love Never Dies.

I'm not a super fan of Weber or of the original Phantom of the Opera, but I can say without hesitation that I am supremely impressed with Weber and Slater's ability (and from the sound of the way the recording is paced, O'Brien's) to re-create the original, in a way. It's structured almost exactly the same way - hits the same heights, lows, moves at the same rhythm - and although the show will likely not be in the same way as the original, after a full listen, I can predict with much confidence that the show will satisfy audiences enough to give it a respectable run.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 9:09pm

The score is mostly made up of songs from The Woman in White, endless reprises of "Till I Hear You Sing" and little bits of Sunset Boulevard and a little bit of "Learn to Be Lonely" here and there. Oh, and "Devil Take the Hindmost" is "The Story of Chess". That's about it. Having said that, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Not at all. It's the lyrics that need the most work. Updated On: 3/4/10 at 09:09 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:16pm

I'm with Cats...it's mostly Woman in White, with the whole "Till I Hear You Sing" thrown in.

As a Lloyd Webber fan, I'm slightly disappointed. I was a big fan of the score to The Woman in White, but perhaps the reason I'm not enjoying hearing the recording as much is because there aren't necessarily SONGS, but sung scenes. Woman in White was able to weave the songs and the sung dialogue very well. I'm sure I'll enjoy it once I see it in person though!

[philly03]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 10:19pm

The song "Beneath a Moonless Sky" reminds me a lot of Wildhorn's "I Will Be There" from the Count of Monte Cristo ~ The Musical for some reason as well. Enjoy that song too!

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 3/4/10 at 11:13pm

Does anyone know when tickets for the New York production of Love Never Dies go on sale?

[Magdalene]

Posted: 3/5/10 at 9:06am

I got the deluxe edition yesterday, and ended up watching the dvd last night (makin gof, recording the album, set design, etc). After watching it, I can honestly say that I can't wait until it opens! My mom is even interested, and that was a surprise...she likes Phantom, but prefers Les Miserables.