What annoys me most about SOME cast recordings...

[dramarama2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 5:47am

I hate it (I mean hate it!) when the dialogue within songs is not included on the recording. I was listening to BATB today and there was all these weird blank sections where they didn't put in the dialogue. It annoys me.
An exception to this is on LB's recording. I'm actually glad they didn't include the dialogue in some of the songs.
Does anyone else feel that way? Or am I alone along with my opinion on ACL...

[turquoisefish]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 6:23am

It is difficult to judge, even in your opinion you say they should include it, but some shouldn't.

If the song makes sense without it then it should be left out in my opinion, but i have never listened to a recording and thought that it needed more (or less) dialogue.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 6:50am

Yeah, just like the 1993 Showboat recording.

It's great in all other aspects, but they stupidly leave out all the dialouge. Ick.

Updated On: 8/12/07 at 06:50 AM

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 6:51am

What was your opinion about ACL?

And I think it really depends. I mean, if the cast recording doesn't tell much of a story just from the songs, then it'd be kinda weird to have the dialogue.

[dramarama2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 7:18am

"What was your opinion about ACL?"

Let's not go there. It made a lot of people on this board very angry...

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 8:26am

They hadrly ever put in a decent insert folder with full show info.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 8:38am

What annoys me most about SOME cast recordings...

Erratic and overemphasized volume levels. I hate it when they're all over the map, and I end up listening to a recording with one hand on my volume control at all times.

It's either way too soft or way too loud. As a result, I can't enjoy the music at all. I'm too busy "driving."

[Weez]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 10:21am

Hmmm. Sometimes, I get upset when the dialogue isn't there. But sometimes I just want to listen to the music, and the dialogue is a distraction. I guess it depends on the show too. I LOVE that they included tons of dialogue on 'Evil Dead: The Musical', but I could've done with less on 'Curtains'. It very much depends on my mood and the show.

[Boq101]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 10:33am

With the ACL revival I just hate it when Michael Beresse talks right before "What I Did For Love" and the dialogue in "Music and the Mirror". Those two songs are just such showstoppers without dialogue, unlike "Dance:Ten, Looks:Three" where I like he dialogue she starts with. The Montage is great complete with the dialogue unlike the original cast recording on LP, where it's a smaller version made up of splices of the long version that they actually recorded and then put into the later releases of the CD.

[RevolutionaryCostume]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 1:11pm

I like dialogue.

I was really upset that The Drowsy Chaperone recording didn't have the Man In Chair's dialogue in the songs

~Jacob.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 1:41pm

what annoys me is buying a CD and following along with the lyrics in the booklet only to find out the lyics don't match... arrrggh!

[simon_wilkie]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 1:48pm

What happened to the good old days of a full recording and a highlights CD?

ALW used to do them for all of his shows...Phantom, Cats, Sunset... and the Les Mis CSR had a highlights version released.

What really annoys me is not releasing different cast recordings. I'd love to have had a London Wicked, Spamalot and Producers CD and I'd also have loved to have listened to an OBC recording for The Woman in White. Saw Michael Ball in London and loved him! Was disappointed that Crawford was ill when I went, but came out being glad that I'd seen Ball's performance.

Also, I doubt they're going to release an OLC for Hairspray- with such a great cast it seems a pity!

S.

[Piercemn]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 1:53pm

What I hate is the poor diction. On 1776, it sounds like Virginia Vestoff calls William Daniels and eagletist, not an egotist. When I saw a community theatre production, that's exactly the way the Abigail pronounced it, too. I never understood the lyrics for You Gotta Have a Gimmick until I read the script for Gypsy and listened to the score along with it. I thought it was "revolution in town," not r"evolution in dance," the correct lyric.

I agree, too, that the volume control is terrible not just on OBC recordings, but on dvds as well. You have to turn the volume up so loud, and then, if you turn of the dvd to go and do something, you practically deafen yourself from the TV volume.

You can't win, can you?

[candydog2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 2:18pm

I completely agree with the volume thing, especially when you're listening with headphones. One minute there's someone screeching in only your left ear, then there's someone practically mumbling in your left, you turn the volume up to hear them and the song starts up again with a full chorus and blows the eardrums out of you head. Just listen to "Belle" on the BatB cast recording, it's quite a major culprit for that one, which is a shame. I love that song.

But yeah, there should be a bit more dialogue to explain the storyline. I listen to my Cast Recordings with people who don't know about the shows present. I always explain the story as it goes through so that they'll understand the songs better, even though they probably don't care.

Has anyone ever done this though: Imagine how a scene is staged just from hearing the recording having never seen the show or any video clips of it? I know that the staging of Defying Gravity was very different in my head to what it is in the actual musical.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 2:27pm

Legally Blonde has to the worst for messed up sound in decades

Updated On: 8/12/07 at 02:27 PM

[cvrenthead]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 3:17pm

I would like to politely disagree with everyone who is "annoyed" about volume inconsistencies. In music, there are these things called... dynamics. Loud, soft, and everything in between. Now, we've come a long way from the terraced dynamics from the Baroque era, but still. Music has to have a range of volume and intensity in order to make sense, to mean something, to have a reason. And in the case of, say, a musical theatre piece, this usually goes hand in hand with the dramatic aspect of the song.

For example, a triumphant, glorious moment should be loud and full. A tender, heart-wrenching moment would be paid a great disservice if it were not quiet and poignant. Emotions, people, emotions.

The thing is, when recordings get mixed, so much emphasis is placed on the vocal aspect (both lyrics and dialogue) that everything else is ignored completely. When is the last time a cast recording accurately portrayed the balance experienced in the actual theatre?

And furthermore, why is the music so often slighted in this mixing process? The job of the orchestrator is to tell a story with the instrumentation, often with a lot of text-painting. No one seems to really care if, say, the second flute needs to be brought out more to balance the chord, or if a cello line needs to be toned down a little bit for subtlety.

Orchestrations withstanding, do you realize how boring music would be if everything were set at a single level? Imagine if you were seeing a straight play and all of the actors delivered their lines with absolutely no inflection, in a complete monotone. Nothing would make any sense, because there would be no differences, no contrast.

I blame this on the volume condensation of pop music, where everything IS skewed toward the middle for exactly the same reason: so that you can listen to an album at one level, and never have to "bother" with the volume dial. Musical theatre, as a dramatic genre, should not have to be subjected to being watered down like this.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 3:20pm

What annoys me is posers who think that Cast Recordings replace the actual show.

I'm sick of all the poeple on here wanting Videos and Cast Recordings without having to pay for the live show. I thin Cast Recordings should highlight the score.

[simon_wilkie]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 3:34pm

You forget that most people on here who want shows have very often paid (numerous times) to see their favourite shows.

You also don't take into consideration the fact that many shows close and fans like to retain the magic. My favourite shows are The Woman in White, Sunset Blvd and By Jeeves (I am a slight ALW junkie), and it is a sad fact that none of these shows are now open professionally.

It seems sad that fans such as myself, who paid to see the show (except Jeeves) and for Sunset esp have paid numerous time. It seems sad that we cannot have a momento.

Very often people don't want recordings and videos INSTEAD of a show- they have seen the show and want to watch it again and again.

I don't think anyone would argue that a bootleg video is equal in appreciating either the show or performances or visceral thrill of live theatre. However it seems to be on this premise that your argument is based. If you believe that a video is the same as live theatre and people are replacing live theatre with bootleg videos then you are very sadly mistaken. If you appreciate that the two experiences are different; surely you can accept that videos are not all bad and simply allow fans to keep the show (or even particular cast) forever.

My own view is that shows should should make their own videos and make money off them rather than loosing out on what I believe would be a lucrative idea (providing of course that they were only available in theatres for example so that live theatre would not suffer).

Simon

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 3:34pm

"Erratic and overemphasized volume levels. I hate it when they're all over the map, and I end up listening to a recording with one hand on my volume control at all times."

I found that to be the problem with the revival cast recording of Company.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 4:27pm

There arnt that many people who would want live recordings of shows they havent seen. Most people want a live recording after seeinfg the shows many many times. There is nothing like a live performance but its also nice to have a recording of that show to treasure for the future. Some recorded shows are just not nice to watch on a television.

Posted: 8/12/07 at 4:31pm

What really annoyed me about my Cats recording was that during the Gumbie Cat piece, the tapping wasn't included. I absolutely love my Billy Elliot recording's included tapping in some numbers. It makes it so much more fun to listen to!

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 4:39pm

'Get out your tap shoes Francis!'

[bk]

Posted: 8/12/07 at 8:25pm

As someone who has done his fair share of cast recordings, I can only tell you that having to adjust volume levels during the listening experience is all due to inept mastering (the final phase after the mix). It is the JOB of the mastering engineer to smooth out the levels and make them consistent, without losing the dynamics of the recording. Since most mastering engineers are guys without ears it's perfectly understandable why so many recordings (especially recently) have these problems. Mastering is an ART, just like recording and mixing - it's just a different art.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/15/07 at 10:48pm

When reviews are put on the front cover!!! aaaaaaagh! the London CD of The Witches Of Eastwick is a classic example.

[i.heart.link]

Posted: 8/15/07 at 10:56pm

I don't really care if they include dialogue is included or not, but it annoys me when the dialouge is off. During "Word of Your Body (Reprise)" i love the diaglogue! But there's like 12 minutes of pausing in between each sentence. When i saw the scene, it was nothing like the cast recording. I don't really understand why they change it.