CJRochester said: "Recording of "He Wanted To Say" in the studio. This gaveme chills.
https://youtu.be/cmVb9CYWVRo?si=aBn0YB9cQsKb3kN_"
The voices are so good, I wish I could hear this cast sing the original longer version of this song that's on the very first pre-Broadway studio album. I always loved the "We are comrades in the struggle that goes on across the earth..." section for Emma Goldman, I appreciated the larger political context for the song and for Coalhouse and Mother's Younger Brother. In the final song it's more just implied by Goldman's presence, the original draft brings Goldman up to the full bombast of the show at its biggest. I thought the show was kind of putting its money where its mouth is with those original lyrics.
On the subject, I also always miss the slightly longer "Coalhouse's Soliloquy" ("Sarah, my life has changed/ Sarah the world has changed," the kind of broken funhouse mirror arrangement of that beautiful moment). Other than that (and even understandings these) the cuts and changes by Broadway were great. Just an interesting artifact, that album.
Updated On: 2/7/26 at 11:08 PM