Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

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Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 7:28pm

Call me nuts but I think it would work. I keep hearing the score in my head reorchestrated as a rock musical.

You may proceed to bash me.

Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you. --Cartman: South Park ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 7:36pm

*kicks Mattbrain hard*

Actually, when I first heard it, I wanted a "cool jazz" treatment of it, nicely orchestrated with an ensemble, with Mel Torme as Sweeney and Sarah Vaughan as Mrs. Lovett. The melody lines are ripe for vocalese interpretation, and I would have LOVED that!

The closest we have is the Trotter Trio, but that's not nearly close enough to what I mean.

Can you imagine "Little Priest" by Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughan?

It would have been Heaven In Hell On Earth!

"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."

blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 8:19pm

I really like the idea... I actually think that many musicals/showtunes would sound really cool with rock orchastrations...

What a night! I was in more laps than a napkin!

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:00pm

Ehhhh... I do think some heavy drums could work interestingly in some scenes, and the occasional steel guitar, but a full-blown rock version... nah.

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:01pm

When I first read the thread title, I thought you meant Sweeney Todd with pet rocks playing the characters. I assumed there would be a YouTube video involved.

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:13pm

I would hate to see a production staged as a rock musical, but I would love to hear a rock recording. I have a punk recording of West Side Story witch is really interesting.

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:16pm

It would be interesting to hear...there's a version of Jekyll and Hyde that they redid with rock re-arrangements and I some parts of it

Please, don't let me be normal!

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:18pm

careful what you wish for

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

....but the world goes 'round

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:28pm

Oh dear

Please, don't let me be normal!

#10

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:34pm

It's not really the Sonhdeim show. He used to front a band called Sweeney Todd.
But it's a hilarious thougt.

....but the world goes 'round

#11

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 10:49pm

Can you imagine "Little Priest" by Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughan?

Oh Lord, I love that idea.

I'm such a big fan of all of Vaughn's musical theatre covers.

Theatre is a safe place to do the unsafe things that need to be done. -John Patrick Shanley

#12

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/25/07 at 11:01pm

Kind of along the same lines, I always thought that "Unworthy of Your Love" from Assassins would make a great rock song if you sped it up a bit.

#13

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:24am

You're twenty-five years too late. A disco version of THE BALLAD OF SWEENEY TOOD was released on a red vinyl LP in the early 1980s. complete with grisly sound effects.

Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-MA-ku-sa
South of the Border

#14

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 1:09am

"When I first read the thread title, I thought you meant Sweeney Todd with pet rocks playing the characters. I assumed there would be a YouTube video involved."

OMG, I completely and literally laughed out loud at this.

"This ocean runs more dark and deep than you may think you know...I'll be the fear of the fire at sea." -Marie Christine

#15

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 1:40am

Some orchestrations are pretty kick ass with the random electric guitar stuff thrown in. Les Miserables, for example, during that scene before "Stars" when the electric guitar chimes in. I love that. Jekyll & Hyde could have really benefit too though the newest CD took it a little too far for my taste. And I swear the original London cast recording of Marry Poppins has an electric guitar in the final chord of the act one finale. Check that sh*t out.

#16

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 5:47am

Lea DeLaria's album Play It Cool kicks off with a jazzy version of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd". It's great.

#17

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 11:09am

I can just imagine some arranger somewhere going a little too crazy on the electric guitar. It would sound like Trans-Siberian Orchestra meets Phantom of the Opera movie in the deepest circle of hell.

Hear the words I sing: war's a horrid thing. So, I sing sing sing... Ding a ling a ling.

#18

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:12pm

I think that Trans Siberian Orchestra could do it...

Actually if you gave it to Jim Steinman do arrange it might actually be really cool

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

#19

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 4:33pm

"Ehhhh... I do think some heavy drums could work interestingly in some scenes, and the occasional steel guitar, but a full-blown rock version... nah."

Even though I started this thread, I agree with ya. I have my iPod on shuffle and God That's Good came up and I knew that that would never work.

Neither would Anthony's Johanna. Or Parlor Songs.

#20

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 5:58pm

I actually have that red disco album of Sweeney. Much more frightening than the show itself...

"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx

#21

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 9:46pm

It's that bad, huh?

Ok, so we're all pretty much agreed that the entire score wouldn't work with a rock rearrangement. But select songs would, right?

#22

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/26/07 at 9:51pm

Anything is possible and anything can be good in the right hands. You can knock Brian Adams all you want but we like almost everything he has put out there. Is he right for Sweeney? Not sure but it should have a good variety of singers.

I've heard Rock Songs turned into Country and not too badly. Some I just cringe over. If it was good and the music didn't over power the singing or the mood. It might be an interesting change as opposed to having the performers play their own instruments during a show not about a band?

I like Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughn. I never imagined them singing anything from Sweeney but the actress singing Johanna's part in the Movie version of Sweeney made me fall in love with my fast forward button all over again.

#23

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/27/07 at 6:05am

Prior to John Doyle's re-staging at Newbury, I knew of a production company that wanted to update the show- rock guitars and leather jackets etc. They got a big no. Pity, sounded like a nice experiment to me.

#24

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/27/07 at 7:52am

I arranged a very modern, jazzy interpretation of "By The Sea"...

So, I can picture the show with really jazzy orchestrations.

A little known fact is that in the original screenplay, Pan's Labyrinth was Pan's FLAByrinth. Hmmmmmmm...glad they changed it.

#25

re: Sweeney Todd with a rock re-arrangement

Posted: 10/27/07 at 4:32pm

The story is just so filled with drama and intrigue. I think even a camp version of the show would be fun to see. It already has some very humorous moments in it. But what do you expect from people who have gone mad, from greed, lust and revenge?

Perhaps it just needs to be something newer. The characters more embellished? I don't know but it would fun to see how it could turn out. I love both jazz and rock so both version all of you have mentioned seem interesting to me.

I wonder how many Movies have been made using Sweeney Todd as their framework? I'm afraid, I haven't heard much of it before coming here. I was happy to find it on video but I would like to see it live with a cast that I feel can stir it up and make it into something really entertaining. Very sorry I missed Patti and Michael's take on the roles. The clip I saw really was great.

I know I will enjoy Johnny, Helena and Alan's take on it very much. I don't though expect it to sound as great as Patti and Michael's so I plan on buying their CD as soon as I can.

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