bare The Complete Studio Recording — Page 29

So I finally got around to listening to the cd and watching the DVD. I have to say that I'm really very happy with how it turned out. I adored the DVD, and it was great to see "the making of Bare" and things like that. I though I knew all about the show, but I didn't at all and I found it to be very enlightening.

The CD was good as well. I understand what many people are saying about the "energy" not being there, and I think that Bare is just one of those shows that isn't able to capture the same energy and emotion on a recording that they do in the show no matter how hard they try. As for the people, standouts for me were easily James Snyder and Kaitlin Hopkins. I ADORED James as Jason and he's got a beautiful voice. And Kaitlin Hopkins is just brilliant. I also loved Jenna Leigh Green, Jim Price, Matt Doyle, and Keili Lefkowitz. Keili I felt was acting the most, and while her voice tended to be grating, I thought that her portrayal was the most real. The role of Ivy belongs to Jenna and my only hesitations were that her energy seemed very low. Jim Price was very good and I love his voice, but he just doesn't have a lot to do. Matt Doyle has a brilliant, brilliant voice but his spoken lines and even some songs (ex. See Me) lacked the needed emotion.

The weakest links for me were definitely Christopher Johnson as Matt and Stephanie Andersen as Sister Chantelle. Christopher did not make a very believable Matt. He was too sweet, and his voice was not strong enough. Out of everyone, I felt that he was acting the least. And while Stephanie Andersen seems to understand Sister Chantelle, I could not stand her voice. It was hard to understand what she was singing, and I just didn't like the sound.

Other things about the album. I didn't like how fast paced the dialogue was. It left even less room for emotion and just felt really rushed. The lyric changes weren't as big of a deal for me as I thought they were going to be, but I do miss the old beginning of Bare. I LOVED the new orchestrations at the end of One, that was great. I enjoyed Plain Jane Fat Ass a lot more than Love, Dad as well. Overall, I really really like it. Is it a perfect album? No. Could things be better? Definitely. But it's a great testament to the show and I'm so happy that it is now immortalized on this album.

Also, back to the LA vs. New York argument, I haven't listened to the LA recording enough to make a fair judgment, but one thing I do have to say is that I don't feel like the Bare team gives enough credit to the New York production. Maybe it wasn't how they wanted it to be exactly, but they would have never sold this many CDs if it hadn't happened. Yes the LA production did have a very big following, but New York helped that following to grow and I don't think it should be disregarded just because it didn't go the way they wanted it to. I'm not trying to make anything less of the LA production, or insult the creative team, but I feel like it's important to remember the NY production. They don't have to fully embrace it, but it still should be acknowledged and given credit. Like Kaitlin Hopkins said, you really can't compare the two productions. They were completely different and Bare wouldn't be where it is today without either one.

Thanks a lot.

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I also just have to say that I like Christopher Johnson. I don't think of him as a weak link. I really liked his Matt. It was different from LA or NY but I wouldn't call it weak.

Updated On: 12/16/07 at 05:32 PM

I agree with CATS. Whereas with Aaron Lohr, I got that he was just a genuine jerk, I get that Johnson is mostly a good guy, just loses a grip on his emotions at times. I enjoy his take on the role very much.

I also don't have a problem with Stephanie Anderson. To me, the weak link is Jenna, but even her "performance" has grown on me a bit.

So basically, if I were to have a burned copy of the CD, there wouldn't be this huge gap in between songs like there would for, say, Aida when Every Story Is A Love Story segues into Fortune Favors The Brave?

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Cool, thanks.

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I just got mine!!

I love how it's packaged! Never seen it packaged like that before!!!

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I liked the CD, but only because I love the show. It has some very beautiful music and melodies, and the store itself is very interesting. However, all the performances on the CD leave a lot to be desired in my eyes. It didn't feel like any of the actors were actors. It seems like they were just picked because they had pretty voices. I can't tell Matt Doyle apart from James Snyder, and that's confusing considering their duets together. I didn't care for a couple of the lyric changes, I felt like some of them just "watered" down the show a bit too much. I really hate the lyric change in "All Grown Up." I forget what it is now, but it use to be "Double dates in dark arcades" - is it "Shay's arcade" now? I don't get why they would change that to a "real" arcade name. Everyone just seems lifeless, and they don't seem to have any sort of "arc" to them. I felt like the girl playing Nadia was way too bitchy and not very insecure. Her "Yes, Sister Chantelle" was way too rude and mean-spirited to be targeted at a teacher/superior. And I didn't feel bad for her during "Plain Jane Fat Ass" - it just felt like she was complaining the whole time. And the one thing I missed is the music under the Ivy/Nadia scene right before "A Quiet Night At Home." It use to be this soft guitar vamp, but now it's just the piano.