NEW South Pacific Recording!!- Page 2

[folkyboy]

Posted: 5/29/08 at 7:25am

i don't think it's that complete if it's not including all the music of "Honey Bun" considering it's part of the whole dance sequence that follows

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/30/08 at 6:07pm

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!

Mine came today!....LOVE IT!

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 5/30/08 at 6:10pm

I really like this recording, but I my favourite is still the Carnegie Hall recording with Stokes Mitchell and Reba! The tempos are a little slower on the new one and I'm really dissappointed that they left out the end of Honey Bun.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 5/30/08 at 6:17pm

I got it today too! Love it.

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 12:24am

That's true.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 12:28am

Saying O'Hara is dull is very accurate when listening to an album. She comes across very... well, dull on every album I've ever heard her on.

After you see her live, though, that all washes away!

[chino]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 1:22am

I love it.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 1:35am

iluvtheatertrash, is that because of Kelli O'Hara or is that because the sound engineers don't know how to balance her voice? Perhaps they are not giving her voice the proper presence.

The 1958 movie soundtrack is the best recording of SP that I've heard, but I'm not surprised. That is the finished product, what the audience gets. In film more time and trouble is spent on recordings. A B'way cast recording is a byproduct. Doing the entire vocal set in a day or two can not get the results that a soundtrack can get when weeks are (sometimes) spent on it. I don't know how long it took to record and mix the soundtrack from 1958, but I'd guess it was more than one day.

Bottom line: I look at each for what they are and I enjoy both.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 2:06am

iluvtheatertrash, Well I disagree about her being less dull when you see you her stage. Personally, Krissysim, I hate the 1958 soundtrack (except for the twin soliloquies) and in my opinion the best is still the Original Broadway Cast Recording. Nothing can beat the original versions of the big group numbers such as "Bloody Mary" and "There's Nothing Like a Dame."

After Listening to the revival, I am so happy I'll be able to rediscover the magnificent Paulo Szot night after night. And interestingly enough, my favorite song that O'Hara sings on the CD was probably my least favorite one in the theater, "Cock-Eyed Optimist." I do love the sense or discovery and kind of re-birth from Morrison's version of "Younger Than Springtime," but it lacks the impact that it had in the theater (anybody else LOVE the way William Tabbert sings final verse of the song on the OBC?). But, his "Carefully Taught" Rocks!! And Loretta gives a very fittingly spine tingling/haunting performance on the recording.
Updated On: 5/31/08 at 02:06 AM

[KrissySim]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 2:27am

jewishboy , I'd have to give the OBC recording another listen to. I heard it once, but I can't "replay" it in my head. My main point was not so much about a favorite, but that the type of microphone used, its placement, the acoustic environment, and many other things can influence that sound of a voice in a recording. It's not a "one size fits all" scenario. Sometimes different voices require a different set up.

I can imagine the spontaneity and originality of the OBC recording, and the whole context of the event can make it an unparalleled presentation. I've heard good things about it, and I've also heard that the recording quality is poor given the equipment they used. I'll have to give it a another listen when I get a chance. You've made me curious.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 2:55am

I like recordings better if, when there is available space left on the disc, that they include a lot of dialogue to bridge the gaps and give you a more complete listening experience and this recording seemed to strive to do the exact opposite. It is the first single disc recording to include Cable's "Younger Than Springtime" reprise which I've always loved, but with out the dialogue it just became pointless. Not recording all of "Honey Bun" was retarded. That was utterly the stupidest cut I've ever heard on CD especially since there was an additional twenty minutes of available space left on the disc. They also chose, for some reason, not to include the "Dites-Moi" reprise which is on every other recording.

The performances are serviceable, I guess, but the lack of creativity just sours the entire experience. It's silly with the Carnegie Hall concert recording being one of the most thrilling and complete recordings available one would think that they would have tried to step it up a notch and improve upon that, but instead they just strived for mediocrity and that's exactly the result. Unless you're a major fan on one of the performers, skip this recording and get the Carnegie Hall recording instead.
Updated On: 5/31/08 at 02:55 AM

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 2:58am

Kelli O'Hara is amazing. End of story.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 3:05am

As I suspected, I enjoy the disc much more than the production itself. O'Hara sounds wonderful (no sign of the previous weeks' sickness) and the entire cast are superb. I agree that O'Hara is a wonderful performer but I just can't see her even coming close to beating Lupone as some are predicting.

[monestere]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 5:26am

My first exposure to SOUTH PACIFIC was the 1958 film which I saw in a 1970’s revival in 70mm with fabulous stereo sound and it just blew me away. This is the version I have listened to for 30 years.

I truly wanted this new cast album to impress me like the film did years ago, especially
since it was a more complete representation of the score than we are accustomed to
hearing. Although I have not seen the stage production, everyone I know who has seen it has had nothing but praise for the show and the principals. But I do not care much for this new cast recording. The orchestra plays beautifully and the singers are fine vocally, except Matthew Morrison, who I think is very weak as Cable. O’Hara and Szot seem to have left any passion and spontaneity from their acclaimed stage performances at the studio door because it does not come across on this recording. Everyone (except Morrison) sings nice but little else.

I have since heard the Mary Martin & Ezio Pinza original and think their performances are magnificent and the sound is still more than listenable. Even though it is not as complete, I think it is a better produced album and presents the score with much more energy than the new revival recording. That said I still prefer the film soundtrack.
The film’s Academy-Award winning 6 track stereo sound still compares favourably with modern recordings, especially on the new Fox Video 2 DVD Commemorative Edition.

But to be fair to all other recordings, including the new cast album, nothing can compete with the expanded orchestrations used in the film, which is scored for a minimum of 65 musicians, more than double the number of players used in most stage versions, including the 2008 revival. Add to that Ken Darby’s still unsurpassed gorgeous choral arrangements, which make the 1958 soundtrack recording of SOUTH PACIFIC, according to Richard Rodgers himself at the time, the best and most atmospheric recording ever of the score.

But I still believe that the new cast album should be accepted on its own terms, especially if you are not familiar with any previous cast recordings, including the 1949 original, of SOUTH PACIFIC. The 1958 soundtrack is in a class by itself, as it was recorded over a two week period under the supervision of Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves, and arguably represents their last word on how they wanted their score to be performed and sound.

[Weez]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 5:42am

Does anyone have the London 2002 recording? I do want to buy this one, but I looooove my London recording, and was wondering how they compare.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 9:19am

I don't think it's that complete if it's not including all the music of "Honey Bun" considering it's part of the whole dance sequence that follows

Dance music on CD is often less impressive (since you can't actually SEE the dance.) Some album producers record it but speed it up to artificially "create" the excitement of a live performance. (Famously, Columbia OBCR of CABARET does this with "The Telephone Song.")

This goes hand in hand with something I mentioned on the CAST RECORD group earlier. The historic 1949 original cast album runs all of 45 minutes, covers all the major songs and provides a satisfying listening experience. Goddard Lieberson was recording for a very different medium: the album was released in the then-new Lp format but also had to fit onto seven 10-inch 78-rpms. When you look at what he chose to record, you'll note no major musical material is missing. Yes, the Overture is abridged (from 6 minutes to 3 1/2) and frankly as a listener that is a perfect length for it. He also cleverly conjoined the show's finale with the act one reprise of "Some Enchanted Evening" to end the album with the show's best-known song.

It was a different buyers market because in those days people would listen to entire Lp's, but Lieberson's selection of what to record and what to omit was unusually perceptive in terms of what a home listener - someone who had not seen the show - would listen to.

With CD producers have the equivalent of roughly 4 Lp sides of music at their disposal, and while there is nothing wrong with filling all 80 minutes and recording every scrap of underscoring an dance music, the end result isn't all that listenable. Right now, because it's new, I am listening to the full CCD but there are several tracks that very soon I will be programming out.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 2:10pm

frontrowcentre2, I agree with your thoughts on the Original recording (good observation about the overture, which I think works perfectly). What is your opinion on the soundtrack?

[canmark]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 6:55pm

On Thursday I got an e-mail from Barnes & Noble saying my order for the South Pacific cast CD was "unexpectedly delayed," but today got another saying that it was ready to ship. So, I wait.

[iluvny04]

Posted: 5/31/08 at 10:22pm

Matt and William are good, but the best Younger Than Springtime is by Jason Daniely from the Concert at Carnegie Hall

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/1/08 at 12:14am

Its a lovely, elegant recording but definitely lacks some of the excitement of other recordings of the score.