bare The Complete Studio Recording- Page 19

[RyToast1]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 10:33am

It's pretty sad, but I'm just about over this CD.

[outovfashion07]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:49am

Still no e-mail here. I am pretty bummed.

[Cutielyricist]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 12:17pm

I waited for the fed ex truck in the cold...the show is amazing..

im halfway through a second listen..
OMG the rap...

Im not doing anything else today.

[Up In One]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 12:22pm

Is there no other way to get the CD than thru their website?

[DrTheatre]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 12:54pm

I am a little bummed too, I actually live in California and I have not gotten an e-mail yet either. I ordered mine in the first batch, I know that. Oh well!

[brainlessorwise]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 1:05pm

Still nothing here. Maybe they got tired of me complaining and decided not to send it to me. Kidding, hopefully.

[DrTheatre]

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

You are probably right....wow that CD package looks amazing...wow...amazing...still can not wait!

[Cages or Wings]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 3:05pm

Let me start by saying that I love "bare." It is one of my favorite shows, and I feel like it never really got the shot that it deserved. So clearly I've been eagerly anticipating this album. The verdict...

Wow am I disappointed. There are certainly a few parts of the score that have been improved (the rap, some of the new incedentals between songs, The new lyrics in the song "Bare," and the new arrangement of "God Don't Make Trash" for instance ), but I dislike almost every single lyric change. And not in a, "I'm just not used to it yet" way. It's simply not as good as what I saw at Dodger stages or hear in that nearly ubiquitous bootleg from May of '04. I love Damon, but I feel like this is a case of overcomplicating. I think he messed with something that was working fine. Even songs which could have been polished ("Love Dad" comes to mind) are far superior to the songs or lyrics that replaced them ("Plain Jane Fat Ass" is very disappointing). While other songs ("Birthday Bitch," "Best Kept Secret," parts of "Epiphany," parts of "You and I" among many, many others), that worked, more or less, are now very lyrically awkward. Many of the changes were simply not needed.

My other issue is that this recording has no energy to it. It feels so flat. The music feels very overproduced. Too polished.Don't get me wrong, the score still sounds beautiful, but this show, like Spring Awakening (though I've always thought "bare" was a much better, all-around, piece) gets so much of its energy from the band. From the spirit of live performance. Though, obviously. that energy can't be completely replicated on an album, it can be done far better than this. It's just so flat. So pedestrian.

Speaking of flat, the performances do nothing for me. Now, I have never been someone to believe that only one person (or group of people) can do a role (or roles)justice. So I was more than happy to look at all performers on this record with a completely open mind. And to be honest they are almost all vocally impressive. The problem is that they disappoint on almost all other fronts. For one thing there is no subtlety to anyone's performance (except maybe Jenna's and certainly Kaitlin's). Again, I love the voices for the most part, but so much of the emotion has been sucked from the show (In "Absolution" for example, though it's certainly not limited to that song). I feel like no one is acting (A perfect example is the exchange between Peter and Jason when stepping outside at the rave. There is just no acting occurring here. It's just words. This happens throughout the entire album). Needless to say, I am appreciating what Michael Arden, Jon Hill, Natalie Joy Johnson, and Aaron Lohr brought to this piece so much more right now.

Bottom line, I'm glad that this score got recorded in any form. But the lyrics no longer feel natural, and this recording is a shadow of what this show is, and what it can do. I'm disappointed that this will be many people's first exposure to the whole score. The simplest way to put it is this. The studio album feels like an early demo of what eventually was produced at Dodgers in 2004. After two listens, I think I'm going to go back to that other recording of the full score when I need my "bare" fix.


Edited to add some things and fix grammar.

I also wanted to add that I still love the show, and greatly appreciate what Damon and Co. were doing here. I am just disappointed that it will be on this that many will judge "bare," and it is so much more than this album.





Updated On: 11/12/07 at 03:05 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 3:21pm

Damn. Just . . . damn! I thought the same thing with the clips on their myspace page. It is just them singing with no emotion. I thought that it was just an early take or something. Damn!

[Cages or Wings]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 3:29pm

Just wanted to add another example I forgot: "Ever After." It was a simple beautiful song (and in fairness it still is), but what was wrong with "When did we lose ever after?" Now it's "So much for our ever after." Now I feel like that does not improve the lyric in the slightest. In fact, I feel like it's far more emotional when Peter is on the verge of tears asking it as a question. That is how so many of the changes feel. Unnecessary and detrimental.

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 3:34pm

Le sigh.

As my business day draws to a close, I have no e-mail and shall await tomorrows mail with baited breath.

[Cages or Wings]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 3:38pm

Hey I got my email at 1 am on a Sunday. If they sent it today, you could get an email at, literally, any time.
Updated On: 11/12/07 at 03:38 PM

[BillFinn]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 3:52pm

That's SO awful!

It's so funny. All of my friends in college are waiting for me to get the CD, because they heard of the shipping problems. They don't want to drop $30 and wait months upon receiving it. So they want to burn the CDs from me when I finally get it. I'm like, "NO WAY!!!!!!!! I bought mine the first day it came out. You go through the Hell I'm going through, just like everyone else!"

[outovfashion07]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 6:41pm

The worst part of the score not being as good is that this is the version of the show they are liscensing. So now the world at large will know the shiw like this and not the baeuty that first played in NY. Too bad but I will still wait for my copy to judge for myself.

And still there is no word from Damon about my CD. Day 10 is almost gone and I'm less and less happy as the day draws to a close.

[Cutielyricist]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 10:19pm

This version of the cd is much closer to the original production. One of the many reasons I like it more, is that they went back to basics, and took what good changes they made in the NY production (portait of a girl, 911 emergency and so on) and changed back what didnt work (returning plain jane fat ass, in place of love dad) and returned the show to its roots. Bare was an intimate and amazing affair. The Ny production seemed a bit bloated, convoluted, and overproduced. The 2004 sampler, while pretty musically, seemed a bit much for bare.

Keep in mind that this is their show. They had a vision, and they produced that vision. I, for one, was incredibly moved by it.

[Cutielyricist]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 10:19pm

dont know how the double post got there. Updated On: 11/12/07 at 10:19 PM

[perfectliar]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 10:26pm

Well, tomorrow is the day by which Damon promised I'd have my CD. And I have not received a confirmation email, so I'm not holding my breath.

This whole experience has been extremely disappointing.

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 8:18am

"Daniel,

I was just looking for a status update.

Per e-mails sent from the site, my CD was supposed to arrive in the mail today, yet I have still not received any confirmation that my package has even been shipped.

I’m just looking to see how much longer I will have to wait til my $30 is put to good use.


Best Regards,

Christopher "

Angry.

I understand they're a mom and pop, yada yada.

Any other organization would be having their doors knocked down right now.

[brainlessorwise]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 3:02pm

I still have no shipping email. I ordered it 15 minutes after it went on sale, the only delay was a computer glitch. I received the paypal confirmation at 3:24 EST. I've had to deal with a psycho sending me personal attacks about it via PM, and then finally an email from Damon saying it would be here by the 13th. Its the 13th and not even a shipping confirmation? My emails to "customer service" have gone unanswered. They not only dropped the ball on this but it fell through a hole in the earth and is being kicked around by kids in China.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 6:00pm

Still no shipping e-mail as well and I ordered it about 5 minutes after it went on sale.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 6:44pm

No shipping confirmation and I ordered it 30 mins after it went on sale. Alas.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 7:52pm

This is ass, you guys.

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 8:13pm

Maybe you guys should send an email inquiring about the status of your order. I did so early this morning and recieved a shipping confirmation this afternoon and I ordered mine a few hours after it went on sale.

[DesperatelySeekingStranger]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 8:55pm

By my third angry email, I shortly thereafter received my shipping confirmation. I should receive it tomorrow.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 10:04pm

I definitely agree about sending e-mails. I sent an angry e-mail or two, and mine is coming tomorrow morning.