Recent cast album "must-haves"

I would go with 110 and LoveMusik (from what I hear the CD is better than the production).

And definitely at least get "Big Black Lady" from Fame Becomes Me.

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Out of those I'd pick 110 in the Shade, LoveMusik and The Pirate Queen. Fame Becomes Me and Curtains can suck it.

Of the 3 I'd Get

110 in the Shade
Victoria Clark
Emily and Alice


I found Pirate Queen to be a painful, labored listen. Hasn't left my shelf since I got it.

I guess it all comes back to personal taste. If you like Les Miz or "big" musicals with a "big" sound, then I'd go with Pirate Queen. If you like a more simple musical, go with 110 in the Shade or Lovemusik. If you like Victoria Clark's voice (which I don't) then go for her solo Cd. It's kind of hard to tell you what to get.

Is Xanadu not on iTunes yet? If so...you should definitely get that! I'm obsessed with my copy of the cast recording.

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Xanadu is not on itunes yet, but Young Frankenstein is! Get that one. I don't care what people say, I love the score, and I adore Megan singing the "Transylvania Mania Blues" which is itunes exclusive and a must have!

Pirate Queen or LoveMusik

I have Phantom, Saigon, and plenty of older ones and needed some new to even out my collection.

I ended up with 110 in the Shade, Victoria Clark: Fifteen Seconds of Grace, and The Pirate Queen.

The Pirate Queen is.... wow, not good. I'm usually really good at finding redeeming qualities and being generally positive, but its really just not good. I see miniscule hints of Boublil/Schoenberg magic in "Woman", "Here on This Night" "I'll Be There" and "She Who Has All", but that makes the effort even more disappointing. Though I'll give it a second listen because it takes me a while to warm to things,(I liked "Woman" more and more after re-listening to it) but I'm not too optimistic. Too bad, considering the talent involved.

Victoria's disc is very interesting. Low-key and contemplative kind of like Audra's "Build a Bridge" album. Some songs are beautiful and some I'm not sure about but I'll definitely need to re-listen to this one.

110 In The Shade instantly brought back vivid memories from seeing the show in may (And I saw the AMAZING performance that was the first one Audra did after her father's death). The music is fun and her numbers in particular are strikingly beautiful. I got chills like I've never had before listening to "Old Maid" for the first time since seeing the show. A really well done album and another breathtaking performance from Audra McDonald.

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The Xanadu recording is bland at best and captures none of the energy from the show

110 Is great as is Curtains also Legally Blonde

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bare and zanadu.

i thought the xanadu recording didnt come out until jan. 8th

I went to Barnes and Noble today, but I couldn't bring myself to buy the Young Frakenstein album. Nothing about it really captured me. I liked The Producers alright, but none of the cast members will made me want to get it. Who knows, maybe I'll eventually pick it up.

Pirate Queen really grew on me after a few listens on car trips. It's in no way a masterpiece, but it's a nice listen, and certain songs are beautiful. The worst part, however, is the horrible electric guitar. I understand what they were trying to do, but it just didn't work on any level.