Love Never Dies cast recording — Page 4

"(That bugs the everlivin' crap outta me -- kinda like on "Titanic". Ugh!)"

That's noting. Try Finding Nemo at Disney World (and its cast recording). Nemo is definitely a girl talking in her most cloying, irritating, annoying voice. Had I been Nemo's dad I let him stay lost than have to listen to that!

I admit i got a leak (didnt send it out though) but I also bought the album yesterday.

've only JUST begun listening -- and so far, Gustave is sounding (to me) like they were using a female for his voice -- and I was hoping that this was NOT the case.

Even if they did use a girl, it's quite common. I know Tommy, Ragtime and The Secret Garden used girls in male roles (some on the recordings and some were alternates). I hate the 30 year-old woman trying to sound like a pre-teen boy in Titanic, but that was the only time it ever bugged me. She didn't ever look like a boy on stage. I couldn't figure out what they were trying to accomplish with that (but I loved everything else about the show).

---

"Even if they did use a girl, it's quite common. I know Tommy, Ragtime and The Secret Garden used girls in male roles (some on the recordings and some were alternates)."

That doesn't make it any less annoying. And neither the Broadway Company of Ragtime nor the national tours used girls in place of The Little Boy. (don't know about little Coalhouse, but since he doesn't speak or sing it doesn't matter too much).

Just heard a good chunk of Act 1 on Sirius Broadway, and am wondering about something in "The Beauty Underneath" -- is it the little boy exclaiming "yes" a couple of times? It sounds like a woman in heat, but I assume he's talking to Christine's son.

"Yeeessss!" Kinda creepy sounding...

Having just read the CD's synopsis I noticed that it doesn't say what happens to Meg. Does anyone know?

On another note...
I use to be annoyed with the way ALW keep stealing bits of his own work from other shows and reembalming them into whatever he was working on currently. Recently, this has become less of a bother. If anything I am starting to enjoy it. It reminds me of what filmmakers like James Cameron and Tim Burton do in their films. They also seem to recycle certain looks from their other movies. It also reminds me of the way a lot of Stephen King's stories are errily connected by certain towns or stray characters that make appreances. S King does it on purpose as I am sure ALW probably didn't.
It's the strange musical world of ALWebber.

For those who have the deluxe edition, I just read that it comes with an expanded booklet. Is that true? Does it have the lyrics?? I got the standard CD. I wish mine had the lyrics though. And I don't wanna hear anything about why I wanna see those lyrics anyway. :P Still listening to it like crazy!

I finally got my today. What was funny was that they said I lived in the UK so the crossed it off and wrote "U.S.A." but what I found weird was that the CD was not wrapped...did anyone else get theirs not wrapped? It was like I got it used or something!

Just finished listening to the entire score.
First let me say that it is gorgeously orchestrated and beautifully sung (especially by Ramin, Sierra, & the child).
There are several wonderful tunes and interesting melodies ("till I Hear her sing" has been running through my head for days). I do hear some echoes of Woman In White, and I thought the quotes from the original Phantom were effective and appropriate.

Christine needs better Act One material. she doesn't show up for a good long while into the Act and then just sings an easy/pretty tune to her upset son. they've Raoul up to be so unpleasant, you don't root for him at all in the love triange.

Christine/Phantom do have some passionate love duets and the hit songs are broad and Pucciniesque. The Entr'Acte is also stunning. Could stand as a solo instrumental piece. In some ways, it would be good hear some of those orchestral techniques used throughout the score (I loved the period use of tuba).

I wasn't confused like the reviews said, though I think having a Flashback AGAIN at the top of the show is a cop out. Haven't we used that up with Evita, Phantom 1, Aspects of Love and Sunset Blvd. Tired cliche.

Love Ramin's voice. very flexible and powerful.
Sierra's voice is also lovely. Great high notes, even when sung quietly. Just needs more to do in Act One.
I'd buy solo albums from both of them.

while "Love never Dies" is a good song, it's "Till I Hear Her sing" that will be the standout hit and soon be overdone by every tenor with a good Bb.

Technically, the album is a concept recording but happens to have most of the original cast. I guess Liz was not cast yet.

still waiting on my cd from the LND site too anyone else?

I finished listening and was pleasantly surprised. The lyrics definitely fall flat in some places but overall "Love Never Dies" is an elegant, haunting score that I liked much, much more than I thought I would.

I think ALW's short callbacks to the first "Phantom" were perfectly placed and gave me goosebumps. I also loved the pounding beat in "Mother Please! I'm Scared!" that seemed to be the title song in the original but warped into "The Beauty Underneath." In fact, I wish that Webber had re-used this musical piece for the intro to "Beauty" instead of its current incarnation.

There are great songs here, to be sure. Look at "Till I Hear You Sing," "Once Upon Another Time," "Devil Take The Hindmost" and the title song. I was also very impressed by two songs that haven't gotten written about much here. The first is "Old Friends" which is very witty, well-orchestrated and a nice wink at fans of the first show. I also adored "Beneath A Moonless Sky," though it steals blatantly from the finale of "A Nightmare Before Christmas."

"The Beauty Underneath" has a great melody, but the lyrics to the song are so unabashedly horrible that they sink the song for me.

Again, I was expecting a trainwreck, and instead I found something very lovely.

In terms of the storyarc (SPOILERS), I also wonder what happened to Meg at the end, and wonder if Webber chose the wrong tragedy to end the show. For me, Christine's death left me numb and emotionally detached. In my opinion, if the Phantom had sacrificed himself to save his newly discovered son, there would be much more emotional resonance, because he would prove once and for all to the woman he loved that he is not a monster. But maybe that's just me.

Updated On: 3/15/10 at 09:32 PM