Performers that were ill on cast recordings.- Page 2

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 12:02pm

Costly lands close to the mark. I don't know how much of this is standard practice anymore, but back in the day, a show was normally recorded the Sunday or Monday following the premiere, since there were no shows that day; however, that means everyone is on overtime, and even a minute into an extra hour can lead to astronomical results. As I recall, all Equity members come under the jurisdiction of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) when doing an original cast album. Each singer is paid one week's salary for a nine-hour work period that must include an hour break for lunch or dinner. Theoretically, five minutes of overtime means another week's pay. The Musician's Union is even stricter. The more cast and orchestra you have, the more overtime becomes a frightening prospect. This is why record labels don't often come out looking good from sales of a cast album.

Updated On: 9/10/15 at 12:02 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 12:04pm

Yes, the studio time is pretty costly. Then you have the fees for all the recording personnel and any additional musicians that may have been brought in to supplement the orchestra. Cast recordings are already pretty expensive, especially considering the typically low rate of return on that investment, so rescheduling can be very costly.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 12:34pm

Of course, in these days of AutoTune, as long as it's properly used and they don't sound like robots, it should be fine. (Stephen Schwartz in particular is a proponent of using technology to achieve desired results; whatever his merits or lack thereof as a composer, he knows how to produce a record for damn sure.)

Updated On: 9/10/15 at 12:34 PM

[Pootie2]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 12:49pm

Thanks for the explanations. I don't have many mainstream albums to begin with so I'm not sure what autotune even sounds like (some people claim it's easy to hear, but maybe only if done poorly). Since the cast recording process is so expensive, using that if appropriate/possible makes sense to me.

[MarsBars]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 1:12pm

Re: Tyne Daly, if people say that she sounded in the theater like she does on the recording, then they saw her around the time they made the recording (or some other time she was sick).  It was common knowledge that she barely made it through that session, and even in an article covering the recording session (can't find it now or remember where) someone stated "She's clearly indisposed, but she's gonna make it through".

She was never Merman, but the two times I saw the show she sounded more than twice as good as she does on the album.  It was never some astonishing instrument, but just compare her on that to her recordings of On the Town or Call Me Madam and it's clear she was really suffering and struggling in the Gypsy studio.

Re: Grind, which someone mentioned way back, Leilani Jones was in fact sick and made it through the best she could... Ben Vereen and Timothy Nolen were both even more under the weather, if memory serves.  Nolen I believe tried to get through one or two songs and went home early, with the remainder of his vocals being looped in later.  Vereen, on the other hand, was so sick he didn't even make it to the studio, and they had to plan the entire album so that his entire performance could be overdubbed to the orchestra and other vocals after he got better.  There's a trio between Vereen, Nolen and Jones and I'm pretty sure she sang it alone in the studio that day, and that all 3 of them actually recorded their performances at different times.  Whoever produced the album did a pretty valiant job, especially considering technology at the time, all things considered.

[leefowler]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 1:40pm

For me, the best example of this is the OBC for Anyone Can Whistle, where almost everyone sounds pretty sick. Still a great record, though.

[The Other One]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 2:18pm

"She was never Merman, but the two times I saw the show she sounded more than twice as good as she does on the album.  It was never some astonishing instrument, but just compare her on that to her recordings of On the Town or Call Me Madam and it's clear she was really suffering and struggling in the Gypsy studio."

 

Well put.  She was terrific when I saw her, nowhere near a Merman but much, much better than she sounds on the album.

 

Liza Minnelli recorded her vocals on the OBCR of "The Rink" a few weeks after the rest of the album was recorded.  She was not at her best just after the opening and chose to wait until she was better.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 4:00pm

I'm sure she was sick on the recording, but there are bootleg videos of Daly on YouTube. Not sure when they were filmed but she sounds almost identical to how she did on the recording. 

Updated On: 9/10/15 at 04:00 PM

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 7:07pm

Weren't both leading ladies a little ill at the Wicked recording?

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 7:11pm

Patti was going through horrible vocal stain and trouble while recording "Evita" in California.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 9/10/15 at 8:15pm

I'm not sure if it's just his voice, but Peter Gallagher sounded like he had a cold on the recent On the Twentieth Century cast recording.  I can't remember when they actually recorded it though and if it was during his weeks of illness.