Question for the people who think Shrek has an unmemorable score.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:27pm

I know a TON of people on here thought Young Frankenstein had a very weak score. I personally think it had one of the best scores I've ever heard. Is it "weak" in the same way you all thought "Young Frankenstein" was weak?

[Not_the_cool_table]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:30pm

Not to slam you in any way, but you should really listen to more scores.

[TimeSquare3]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:31pm

Brooks is a thief. A bad one at that.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:33pm

I've heard more scores than you can imagine. I just moved to NYC 5 months ago and have seen 15 Broadway shows in 2008 (and that doesn't count other scores that I have heard). So this has nothing to do with me not knowing anything.

Different tastes for different people.

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:48pm

HBBrock, I couldn't agree with you more. Young Frankenstein had an absolutely fantastic score. As for Shrek, not the best score ever, but most definitely beautiful!

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:50pm

I liked YF a lot actually, but Its def not the best... part of the reason why I think people remember it is because it all centers around the same motif and all sounds similar to songs within the show as well as those from The Producers

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 8:20pm

YF was a terrible show with a mediocre (at best) score. meh.

SHREK is a bad show with a potentially decent score (at best). meh. SHREK wins.

"I think people remember it is because it all centers around the same motif and all sounds similar to songs within the show"

Are you saying that's what made the YF score so bad?? It was just bad in general.

There was another show... with one of the best scores ever... and the entire thing was reoccuring motifs and repeating musical themes. it was called LES MISERABLES.

as long as the motifs are beautiful and brilliant, you could use them over and over again (and just play around the with structure of it a bit) and it wouldn't hurt the overall quality of a score.

YF was just bad all around.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 8:34pm

I am there with you! However, I haven't heard the Shrek score fully yet, I have a similar deal. I think the Legally Blonde score is actually really good, yet basically everyone else always hates on it.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 8:38pm

I liked probably 50% of the YF score, not counting "Putting on the Ritz" or "Transylavania Mania" (which is so blatantly plagiarizing the former mentioned song).

[HBBrock]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 8:39pm

Legally Blonde has a FANTASTIC score. It fits the show perfectly and is some of the catchiest music ever.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 8:39pm

the score from shrek is ok but not the best but it's catchy.

[rich.hanson59]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 8:41pm

I personally think that Young Frankenstein's score is MUCH better than the Producers, although it still isn't that great. And I agree CS, I love the Legally Blonde score.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:04pm

"Legally Blonde has a FANTASTIC score. It fits the show perfectly and is some of the catchiest music ever."

Are you speaking as an intelligent musican and/or theatre enthusiast with a BRAIN ?

Or is that comment directly from being a teeny bopper fangirl who thinks "catchy" music makes a score "fantastic" ???

Speaking musically, it's a terrible score...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:08pm

I thought the YOUNG FRANK score was horrid,
a bunch of jingles at best.

The SHREK score, in my opinion, is a lot better than most think.
Seeing it on the stage is another thing, the choreographer and/or director had no idea what to do with the group numbers, except for the tap number, which is just another tap number.
When the CD comes out I think a lot people who haven't seen the show, and some who have, are gonna be pleasantly suprised.

[heo1128]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:14pm

Blonde certainly isn't Sondheim, but it's fine for what it's worth: fun theater. It could have been A LOT worse, but I think the score (and LBB) makes the show watchable.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:20pm

But that's the problem....one shouldn't expect Sondheim for that type of show...look at the subject matter....the music was PERFECT for it.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:23pm

Young Frankenstein's score is a lot worse than Shrek's. Shrek had least has a FEW good, memorable songs.

The only number that stuck with me from YF was "Puttin' on the Ritz". I'm not a Brooks basher, and The Producers sits among some of my favorite shows, but YF just was a disappointment in almost every regard. It is just fortunate that it had an extremely strong original cast.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:35pm

I will never understand why people think the Legally Blonde score is fantastic. It's not atrocious, but it's no where near excellent quality. The melodies and lyrics are both very clunky and cliche, and certainly do not equal top notch quality. But that's what people like.

I think the problem is that many people say "I think [insert show here] has the best score EVER." I may be guilty of this, too, but wouldn't it be more sensible and humbling if we all said, "[Insert show here] has my favorite score"? That says something very different...

Updated On: 2/4/09 at 09:35 PM

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:53pm

To answer your question: yes.

The melodies in both shows were fine (though, In Young Frankenstein's case, inappropriately bouncy) and nice to listen to. However, leaving the theatre, I didn't remember a single song. In Shrek, the only song that stuck with me was "The Wall." (Perhaps because I'd listened to the demo.) In fact, the song that most impressed me in SHREK, the act one closer whose name I can't remember, is totally absent from my memory, except for the fact that it was good.

In Young Frankenstein, only one song stuck with me- "Together Again."

The problem with both is the number of throw away songs- songs that do very little for us as an audience member and essentially repeat the same idea time and time again. In Young Frankenstein, this was nearly every song. (Namely "Transylvania Mania", "Please Don't Touch Me", "The Brain", "Listen to Your Heart" and "The Happiest Town in Town.) These songs certainly fit in with the plot, but do not advance it- they simply state the same idea over and over in a way that makes an audience member go "So what?" The problem is that nothing changes by the song's end (and if it does, we could have accomplished that much more efficiently and enjoyably in a scene.)

SHREK has less throw away songs (and, accordingly, is a better musical), but still has some. The biggest culprit is "The Story of My Life"- its a snoozer with a semi-tuneful but ultimately forgettable melody that provides backstory but not plot movement. Good idea, bad execution. "Donkey Pot Pie" (in both of its incarnations) is another, though its failures come more from the poor execution of the puppet and the chase scene.

In the end, SHREK has a lot of great songs (most of its second act is stellar), but the clunkers really stand out and lessen the effect of the show.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 9:59pm

Yes, some of the lyrics in Legally Blonde were cheesy, however I actually think the overture and entr'acte for the show were very good musically.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 10:06pm

By today's standards, SHREK has an acceptable score, some numbers good, some numbers mediocre, and some just downright bad (the fart number comes to mind). I'll probably pick up the CD because some of the better numbers are quite catchy, but that's just for my own benefit. Unless someone asks, I won't be playing it at dinner parties.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 10:21pm

Actually, I'll argue that "I Think I Got You Beat" is a downright bad song. Aside from its regrettable digression into bodily noises, I think the song is alright. I feel "Donkey Pot Pie" is a much worse song, with poor execution, the unmemorable music, and the abrupt character shift of Dragon.

Despite not being a fan of Shrek, I have to say that "Morning Person", "What's Up, Duloc?", "Ballad of Farquaad", and "Who I'd Be" are all quite good songs.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 10:49pm

"I THINK I GOT YOU BEAT" is a very sweet number.
I mean it's about farts and burps, not genocide.
And the show is largely targeting young kids.
The delivery of D'Arcy and Foster is adorable.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 11:00pm

CSOnBroadway - there are soo many reasons those numbers do not, musically, work.

If you'd like to get into specifics we can but if not then we'll just agree to disagree because, frankly, none of the numbers are "very good musically" and the only DECENT ones (speaking musically) are bland and unoriginal...

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/5/09 at 12:38am

LB has IMO some catchy, decent songs and some terrible ones.

As for Shrek, I actually like the songs that I've heard from it. But it's not amazing.

Updated On: 2/5/09 at 12:38 AM