Yazbek's Here I Am

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:22pm

On the Dirty Rotten Scounrels CD(not the Dirty Rotten Edition however) there is a bonus track which features composer David Yazbek singing Here I Am. Although I enjoy Sherie's way of vocalizing it better, Yazbek's voice also has a catchy tune to it as well. Which do you enjoy more or do they both have their good qualities?
Updated On: 5/30/05 at 04:22 PM

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:23pm

Sherie does more acting....

For the record, his name has no C. That really bothers me!

Updated On: 5/30/05 at 04:23 PM

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:26pm

changed

[lovettespies]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:27pm

Well, I'd have to go with Sherie, but I was very impressed by his voice. The bonus tracks are excellent.

[thawikedclown]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:38pm

i cannot stand yazbeck. i do not think he is at all a musical theatre writer. he does not write musical theatre songs. im not a purist but his stuff is crap! butz and scott carry that shows aweful music to something semi withstandable. they are amazing and yazbeck should stick to bars. it is insulting that he is held in the same regards as a composer as adam guettel and william finn. these are amazing and talented people while yazbeck is BORING!!!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:41pm

Boring my a$$...
Have you heard the Full Monty score? I love DRS music. Some songs are okay, but others I love. I love both versions of Here I am. I like how it stops in the middle and you think its over, but its not. David Yazbek has a surprisingly good voice. Does anyone know the last note he hits at the end of Here I Am? Just wondering.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 4:41pm

Bump Updated On: 5/30/05 at 04:41 PM

[JbaraFan1]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 5:12pm

I like both. Sherie has a great voice. The main reason I also like Yazbek's version is that I thought it was nice to be given a bit of a glimpse into the creative process and hear the composer singing his own material. That's cool. He can sing pretty well too.

[riv]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 5:30pm

The two Yazbek bonus tracks at the end of the disc are great fun. I wish they'd put out an album of David demos!

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 5:44pm

The note at the end is an A

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 9:02pm

i really enjoy sheries but david's does have a certain catchy way about it. but in the end id say sheries is better. i really enjoy the bonus tracks.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/30/05 at 9:44pm

Thanks Shu, i was singing along and could hit the end note and was proud of myself hah, thanks.

[Labashier]

Posted: 5/31/05 at 12:43am

I obviously prefer Sherie's, but I like Yazbek's voice. His voice sounds... well, it sounds exactly like he should be the sort of person putting out CDs of comedic songs. What do ya know?

I don't know what's with all you people who don't like him, but I LOVE Yazbek's work. His music is fresh and very stylistic; Full Monty is far from a generic rock score. And his lyrics, especially in DRS, are so witty. He knows how to keep you laughing throughout a song because of its cleverness.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/31/05 at 12:57am

First, to stay on-topic, I will chime in to say that I really enjoy Yazbek's work. His renditions are fun and you can see why producers were willing and eager to finance this show.

Based on his theatrical work I went out and bought his Yazbek albums, and I enjoy them quite a bit too, though the context of a show seems to provide him more consistent inspiration lyrically than his studio albums do.

As for those doubting the quality of his work, I'd say that The Full Monty score is loads of fun and has some absolutely, genuinely theatrical moments. "Breeze Off the River" for example, is one of the most touching songs about fatherhood I know, and it embues Jerry's character with a tremendous amount of humanity, which is necessary to hold the plot together as something other than outrageous and silly. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels score is also fun, and the music is great. My only regret is that there isn't a similarly touching moment in it, though "Love Sneaks In" is a good attempt at it.

As for the thought that he ought not be composing for the same audience as Adam Guettel...I would just point out that David Yazbek got The Full Monty because none other than Adam Guettel turned down the job and recommended him for it.

Posted: 5/31/05 at 11:16am

Adam Guettel recommended Yazbek? Intereting... sort of random too. How did they know each other? Seems like such different circles...

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/31/05 at 12:39pm

they played together at one time. Guettel played bass in a band they were in together.

I learned about Guettel recommending Yazbek in a very early article about Full Monty on Yazbek's website (he's since edited it down to almost nothing). The producers came to Guettel first and he was already involved in early drafts of Piazza (with Alfred Uhry at the time). He also felt that it wasn't the right project for him. Incidentally, Yazbek had spoken to him recently before that because he was getting sick of the grind of trying to make popular music and wanted to try his hand at writing for the theater. He asked Guettel if he would recommend any of the workshop programs, and Guettel told him basically, "you won't learn much in them. I suggest just sitting down and trying to write something and learn from the experience." When the Full Monty team contacted Guettel he recalled their conversation and thought the project might be a good fit for Yazbek and put them in touch. They had him write a few songs on spec ("Scrap" and "You Rule My World" as I recall) and McNally and O'Brien were sold.

I've linked some articles I found that mention it below:

http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/onthescene/200012/dyazbek.asp
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-drury12.html

By the way, Gil, love your site.

Posted: 5/31/05 at 1:12pm

Thanks for the comment. :)

Interesting on the association. I'm liking Yazbek more and more lately. He's got such a fresh look at Musical Theatre... I find it so funny when people think he's not a musical theatre writer. He's entertaining. In a way, he's one of the very few going back to Musical Theatre's roots.

[cserannie]

Posted: 5/31/05 at 1:15pm

I think the Yazbek songs are good but Sherie's number is a little bit slow to me.

[Kevo711]

Posted: 5/31/05 at 3:34pm

is this bonus track included on the CD that you can purchase on amazon.com or on the limited edition that was handed out in theatres?

Posted: 5/31/05 at 4:32pm

I'm actually not a big fan of "Here I Am". In the theatre, it comes across as a song that's supposed to be funny and isn't.

Kevo, it's on the regular not-limited-edition CD. If you have the limited edition CD, consider buying the 3 other tracks on iTunes. :)

[CMoney3]

Posted: 5/31/05 at 5:15pm

yeah i also own yazbek's "Laughing Man". not too bad.

[thawikedclown]

Posted: 6/3/05 at 1:11am

that is very interesting that Guettel recommended Yazbek for monty. thats it... interesting. that really doesnt convince me that yazbek is a true talent in the world of musical theatre. breeze off the river is a sweet song. i love it and its a great theatre song. but writing one theatre song that is fantastic does not amount to a composer. to go back to scoundrels... can anyone tell me how oklahoma? even comes close to a well placed, motivated, logical song? how is it that this woman all of a sudden is surrounded by a group of cowboys, toting guns and singing in this guys dining room in france. maybe that has something to do with the direction, but i really feel as if instead of going back to the roots of theatre. he pokes fun of the whole aspect because of his lack of talent in the field.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 6/3/05 at 1:25am

Don't get me wrong. Yazbek is no Guettel. He has nowhere near the understanding of the form or the aspiration to push it forward. On the other hand, I had a great time at both of his shows and find his scores infinitely more listenable than, say, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sweet Smell of Success, or the Producers. He's the go-to guy when I want to snap my fingers and chuckle along with a lyric, and that validates him in my mind as a perfectly suitable composer. Not the brightest star among his contemporaries, but a talented guy I admire nonetheless.

Some of the weakness in Yazbek's shows, DRS in particular, can probably be attributed to conceptualization and direction. When I saw DRS in San Diego it was particularly clear that the show was going to poke fun at itself all night, not unlike the kind of skits Yazbek wrote for Letterman. At the same time, I think Jeffrey Lane, Jack O'Brien, and even the worshipped-on-this-board Jerry Mitchell deserve some of the blame for creating what is, to you, an absurd scene.

Then again, both times I saw the show, the audience ate it up. And honestly, is that such a crime?