PARADE 2023 Broadway Cast Recording Thread — Page 2

Stunning album - and I'm barely through. So glad it was with the City Center orchestrations.

Platt and Diamond sound even better live and in-person, which is hard to believe considering they sound remarkable on the recording.

Updated On: 3/23/23 at 12:22 AM

I still don’t understand why the first Big News isn’t part of the score anymore but I’ll echo the sentiments above. It’s a beautiful show and a stunning album.

*SERIOUS* goosebumps just from that opening number alone. Stunning.

I am only on the opening number, and I have absolute chills! WOW JUST WOW!

This is indeed some pretty music.

Excuse my lame pun, but pencil in a Tony nom for Ben Platt, and for Micaela Diamond too. They sound incredible together, and I’m sure both of their Act Two duets get the tears flowing at the Jacobs night after night.

Beyond them, this feels like an ensemble piece, though Alex Joseph Grayson’s “That’s What He Said” sounds like a showstopper on the scale of “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” There are so many standouts in this cast and I won’t single everyone out.

No wonder this won JRB a Tony 25 years ago. Like Kimberly Akimbo, it’s fun to listen to this score and see how it calls back to the composer’s other works. The soaring love ballads and alternating between major and minor keys of The Bridges of Madison County, the bluesy piano lines of The Last Five Years (“Real Big News” ), and even the simpler charm of Mr. Saturday Night… I thought “The Picture Show”, for instance, sounded a bit like “Unbelievable” or “What’s Playing at the Movies.” The expanded orchestrations, first heard at Encores, sound fantastic.

It sounds like Paradise Square ripped off a few elements from this show: the opening snare drum in “The Old Red Hills of Home” sounds like the start of “I’m Coming.” There’s also that five-note orchestral refrain in ORHOH strikingly similar to “Let It Burn”, and the sampling of “Camptown Races” in Parade’s Act II opener.

This show is frighteningly more timely than ever - for this, its wonderful score, and powerhouse performances from top to bottom, color me intrigued. I’d love to see this one live if at all possible.

Updated On: 3/23/23 at 01:54 PM

ClydeBarrow said: "Did anyone else notice that in Funeral Sequence Jake Pedersen says "To put her in the cold and lonely gwwound" instead of ground?"

Lol yes! I was wondering if that was just my ears tricking me. Big fan of his performance otherwise, though.

Love this recording for so many reasons. I don't know the last time I heard such textured instrumentation, and it's absolutely stunning over and over and over. The cast nails it – Grayson's "That's What He Said" is every bit the showstopper here that it is live, which is quite an achievement. And the leads' big songs translate absolutely beautifully. Agree with others here that there are a few disappointing omissions, but overall it is an absolute gem that we are just so lucky to have.

Guess I'll be the contrarian here, but I don't understand the rapturous response. The orchestrations sound wonderful, and many of the supporting cast's songs are just as good as previous recordings. A lot of the mixing on the vocals, however, sounds overly breathy and whispery. I'm not sure how she sounds live, but Micaela Diamond in particular sounds thin, and I can hear every flaw in her voice, especially in All The Wasted Time.

I almost turned the recording off before the Old Soldier's entrance because I was so put off by Charlie Webb's Old Red Hills. The phrasing is nonexistent. He breathes confoundingly in the middle of short phrases (In a town called *breath* Marietta *breath* in the old red hills of home...). Then there's an odd pause (at first I thought it was a breath, but his breathing is elsewhere audible) before the G4 on the word "honor" that completely interrupted the lyric. The accent is all over the place. The falsetto on the last "farewell" is odd both in placement and in pronunciation. It's a terrible way to set the tone for the rest of the album.

Ben Platt sounds like Ben Platt, which is to say perfectly fine with a dash of fast vibrato. I don't know how to best explain it, but it sounds like he's singing a song, whereas it sounded like Brent Carver was acting the song. Over all, this album affirmed that no one can touch the magic of the original recording, and how lucky we are to have Brent Carver and Carolee Carmello's brilliant performances so expertly preserved.

Agreeing with slow_the_rain and EnochSnow. I’m glad others can hear this for the try-but-not-quite that it is. This is not a great album, like the OBC is, but I’m glad it’s bringing joy to many who many not have known the show before.

It seems like it was done in haste, before many had authority over their parts. Voices also sound tired. This was probably jammed in after a full run in a rehearsal room I guess? And again, like so many albums today, the mixing gives no sense of scale or world. It sounds like these people are sitting next to me and singing. That’s not how it should be.

Young Soldier has some nice notes but they’re pluses in an overall minus. He sounds like he wouldn’t be able to “fight” his way out of a paper bag. Those contemporary riffs DO NOT belong here. And I have second-hand-embarrassment about his crack being included in his last “farewellllll”. No time to retake and just drop a new one in?

Old Soldier has better phrasing (thank you Howard McGillin) but sounds like you could drive a truck through that vibrato. Those high notes make me nervous. Not a patch on Don Chastain or even John Dossett at Encores.

Jay winces his way through the notes which Evan Pappas flipped up to with flair and fun.

Jake is pretty unbearable, without the cheeky charm this part should have, sounds like he’s 40 (was this recorded at 7am or something?) and yes, full of “W” instead of “R” sounds.
Alex Grayson is pretty fantastic, and I enjoy Sean Allan Krill, who I loved at Encores as well.
Ben’s vibrato can be hard on the ears but overall I think he knows his way around this part and I’m enjoying him here.

You can hear the wonderful voice of Paul Alexander Nolan clear in the ensemble numbers but I feel like we shouldn’t be able to.

Haven’t made it much further and don’t know if I want to, mainly deterred by the weird mixing. The OBC has been pushed even higher into brilliance after this. If you’re someone who loves this 2023 recording and you haven’t heard the OBC, give it a shot.

Updated On: 3/25/23 at 08:04 AM

What the hell happens at 6min 11sec of Old Red Hills? Sounds like a sforzando in the male voices. Total mixing screw-up?

I don't understand how someone could listen to "It's Hard to Speak my Heart" and conclude that Ben Platt is neither a good singer nor actor. That song and performance feels like an entire play in itself.

ClydeBarrow said: "Did anyone else notice that in Funeral Sequence Jake Pedersen says "To put her in the cold and lonely gwwound" instead of ground?"

“He’s widderwy hitting the gwiddy”

After giving it a couple days to take it in, I've decided I still prefer the 2007 Donmar Warehouse recording. That said, this is an exceptional cast recording. I wouldn't be surprised if JRB gets another Grammy nomination this fall.

Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt are both great on their numbers, but the standout is Alex Joseph Grayson. His 'Feel The Rain Fall' is absolutely guttural and terrifying, I can't imagine what it must be like to experience that live.

I really wish we had gotten more connective tissue with the smaller reprises and dialogue scenes, which is why the Donmar Warehouse recording is still my favorite, but if you're a fan of Parade, there's a good chance all of your favorite moments are in this album.

I'll be visiting New York in September, provided I can somehow get my hands on a ticket to Here We Are, so I'm really hoping this will extend so I can get a chance to see it.