BWW CD REVIEW: Kerrigan-Lowdermilk LIVE

Kerrigan-Lowdermilk LIVE brings us the innovative tracks composed and written by the duo Kerrigan and Lowdermilk. The album is a live recording of a concert that features music written by Kait Kerrigan and composed by Brian Lowdermilk, and performed by recognizable Broadway performers.

This album gives some of Broadways most underrated performers a voice. Brilliant performers like Andy Mientus, Matt Doyle, Mandy Gonzalez, and Lindsay Mendez can be heard on the album performing songs written by the talented team, and performing them live to boot.

Laura Osnes (Roger + Hammerstein's Cinderella) can be heard on the album singing the track "The Girl Who Drove Away," one of Kerrigan and Lowdermilk's many passionate and intense pieces. Matt Doyle (Bare, The Book of Mormon) can be heard singing the equally intense and passionate "Sadie." The performers lined up on this album are truly incredible. No wrong is done with this album that features a very talented bunch singing the tunes of an equally talented composing team.

The music of Kerrigan and Lowdermilk can only be described as fun and intense. While some of the tracks on the album like "Run Away With Me," performed by Carrie Manalakos, are beautiful and emotionally charged ballads, other songs are funny, and quirky. A perfect example of the latter is the track "Vegas," performed by Stephen Booth and Andy Mientus. Mientus on the track actually belts the lyric "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless it's an STD you got from two hookers." Enough said, "Vegas" is one of the albums most colourful and entertaining tracks.

If you miss Mientus on your screen on Smash as Kyle, this album is definitely for you. He shines in the tracks "Vegas," and "Shut Up and Listen." This is plain to see as you can hear how the audience receives Mientus' performances as they are recorded live. One could say that Mientus performs the two greatest tracks off the album, as both are angsty, passionate, fun, and ridiculously catchy. While "Vegas," is edgy and perfect for a rock musical, "Shut Up and Listen" is passionate and perfect for a contemporary musical. Basically, Kerrigan and Lowdermilk should write a musical and cast Mientus. Mientus' voice is beautiful and smooth, and unlike on Smash, is utilized to it's utmost potential on the album.

Lindsay Mendez (Dogfight, Wicked) is yet another Broadway voice that has gone unnoticed in the past. On this album however, she does not go unnoticed in the least - in fact she performs one of the albums most intense and powerful tracks, "Hand In Hand." The track has a jazzy and upbeat feel to it, and is tons of fun for lack of a better phrase. The song is cute, flirty, and totally owned by Mendez who is surprisingly an expert scatter.

Kerrigan and Lowdermilk are pro's at what they do. They are up there in the ranks with the likes of Scott Alan and Pasek and Paul, as up and coming young songwriters. Not one song sounds the same. The pair proves that they can write in all styles popular in musical theatre, they can write classic show tune ballads, and modern rock tunes.

The album is brilliant on the vocal and lyric front, but the live element of the albums production adds to the experience of the listener. The album is recorded e, but the audio quality does not suffer. Audience reaction is included in the tracks, which is not annoying in the least. In fact, the live component makes the album that much more interesting, as listeners feel like they are attending this concert featuring Broadway favourites. Listeners still get a little bit of the "live" feeling.

This album is for anyone who loves the music of theater, or who is a fan of any of the incredible performers featured on the album. If you are a fan of one featured performer, after listening you will have more actors and actresses to Google, Wikipedia, and fall completely and utterly in love with.

Kerrigan-Lowdermilk LIVE can be purchased on iTunes.

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