So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

#1

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 4:32pm

Listening to the Hedwig Revival Cast Recording? It's like a NPH cover album-no accent, no affect, no pathos, no subtlety. I haven't seen the show yet (going last weekend) so Im not knocking his performance, but the recording is disappointing. I don't love the new arrangements either.

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"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

#2

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 4:38pm

It really doesn't do the show or him any justice. He is very sleepy and very Neil on the CR. He is incredible live.

#3

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 4:44pm

I don't really think the accent drop is that big a deal- a lot of singers who have accents or even speech impediments when they talk- Lose them when they sing.

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Darreyl with an L!

#4

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 4:46pm

The thing with the recording is it showcases NPH'S voice- which is probably the weakest element he has. Just listening, you don't get to see the real feel or the acting that goes with it.

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Darreyl with an L!

#5

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 4:52pm

" a lot of singers who have accents or even speech impediments when they talk- Lose them when they sing."

Oh hon, you may have misunderstood. I think Bettyboy is asking is whether NPH drops the German accent that Hedwig is supposed to have, and not that NPH has an accent or speech impediment.

correct me if I'm wrong, Bettyboy

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<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES

Updated On: 7/8/14 at 04:52 PM

#6

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 4:55pm

Has anybody listened to the compact disc cast recording? I bought it yesterday and have listened to half of it and it is nowhere near as thin and watery as the compressed versions I heard presented on the streaming site or iTunes. Some parts work better than others, but I am psyched to have a new recording of these songs I love. Plus the love theme.

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Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

#7

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 5:06pm

I have the actual CD. It sounds like a demo to me. I hate to compare, but I never saw the original production and that recording pulled me into the story and JCM held the accent and facets of it when he sang. He stayed in character.

This is a very thin singing voice that sounds like some dude singing. If the goal was to preserve a Tony-winning performance, I'd say it failed. It just makes me want to listen to the original recording.

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"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

#8

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 5:09pm

I think Darryl is saying is that MANY people with accents often don't sing with an easily discernable accent, so it doesn't bother him that NPH doesn't have one when he sings as Hedwig.

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If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#9

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 5:29pm

The Beatles sang as if they were from the Southern US when they wanted to break in the American market.

"Mah baby don't care..."

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Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

#10

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 5:40pm

The new recording is worth it just for Lena Hall.
NPH does a good job and keeps a little bit of an accent while singing but he doesn't have a rock voice. He ssounds like a broadway singer trying to sing rock.

#11

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 7:10pm

@ dramamama611 - exactly.
Like i said, often times people who have noticeable accents when talking, sometimes are a lot less noticeable when they sing.

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Darreyl with an L!

#12

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 7:20pm

Yeah. Even if I think about the New York accent in Newsies. The only thing that sort of keeps it going is the pronunciation of words and speech here and there. Even in the recordings. You have to go into sing mode at some point

#13

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 7:52pm

Or maybe he's just not so great?

Sorry, just my opinion ... I'm not a fan.

#14

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 7:53pm

I've heard plenty of actors go into "sing mode" and not drop character, inflections and nuance. Those are usually exceptional actors (Lansbury, Ebersole, LuPone, Stokes-Mitchell, JCM, Murphy). Am I the only one who is deeply disappointed by this recording? It's a sleep walk in my opinion. Where the hell is Hedwig? I just saw the show in Toronto and the actor in the part has a dialect when he sings.

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"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

#15

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 7:55pm

A lot of people here have discussed disappointment with the new recording.

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If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#16

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 8:13pm

They needed to do a live recording. NPH sounds completely out of character.

#17

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 8:44pm

Neil has mentioned that he worked to sing in the idiom of the show. That is, he worked to unlearn vibrato and other musical comedy phrasings and to sing more simply on the note like a rock singer. Also, I understand, there was an attempt when recording the CR to duplicate a raw garage-like R&R sound.

So the qualities which you may find raw and flat (especially in comparison to many musical OCRs) - may be exactly what they intended.

Updated On: 7/8/14 at 08:44 PM

#18

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 9:51pm

I like the CD, but haven't seen the show. In my experience, however, Europeans tend to sing pop and rock with American accents because they grew up (like Hedwig) listening to American singers.

#19

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 10:48pm

Saw the show first. Later listened to the cast recording and was very disappointed. The show has an immense amount of energy that is simply not there in the CR. Does he drop his accent in the show? Sort of? But you notice it less when in the Belasco than you do at home with your ipod. In short: The 2014 CR is a massive disappointment, but the associated show is phenomenal.

#20

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 10:55pm

"They needed to do a live recording."

That would have been next to impossible since Neil is running all over the stage for a lot of it.

#21

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 11:00pm

It's really funny to me reading a bunch of musical theater nerds complaining that the Hedwig recording is not enough like a rock concert and that it sounds as if the lead is being sung by a musical theater nerd and not a rock star. I mean, one of your own is PLAYING a rock star!!! You do realize that a very common complaint in the history of rock music is that studio recordings don't capture the energy most touring bands put into their live shows, right? No? Of course you don't, you dear sweet babies.

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Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

Updated On: 7/8/14 at 11:00 PM

#22

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 11:09pm

Please, it's an EXTREMELY legitimate complaint about this recording. I think Hedwig is maybe the only rock musical in history that doesn't feel like it's pitifully trying to play dress-up. It's what I point to as an example of good gateway musical theatre for people who are generally into rock. So it is disheartening to hear this rather slapdash album with a distinctly neutered feel. I still enjoyed the album, especially Lena Hall, but it does little to capture the wonderful production or Neil's performance.

#23

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 11:12pm

^ yes

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<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES

#24

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 11:15pm

A lot of these complaints are exactly why I think this show would have been better served with A) a live recording and B) a filming. Trying to record this music, on a day off from such a TAXING show, without the character enveloping him... It's why I think ALL studio recordings of the show fall flat.

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<-- Tevye, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, March 2018

#25

So does Neil just drop the accent when he sings?

Posted: 7/8/14 at 11:20pm

A filming would have been exactly right for this show. It would have been a tremendous HBO special!