What does everyone think? They broke my number one cast album rule pet peeve. I absolutely HATE tracks that fade out at the end, but other than that it sounds fantastic. The harmonies sound great and it's neat to see all the names of the people that helped fund the album in the digital booklet.
I'm in love and have had it on repeat the whole day. I cried on the bus while listening to "Golden Palace". Bravo [tos] gang. You've done it again.
"You have two kinds of shows on Broadway – revivals and the same kind of musicals over and over again, all spectacles. You get your tickets for The Lion King a year in advance, and essentially a family... pass on to their children the idea that that's what the theater is – a spectacular musical you see once a year, a stage version of a movie. It has nothing to do with theater at all. It has to do with seeing what is familiar.... I don't think the theatre will die per se, but it's never going to be what it was.... It's a tourist attraction." Stephen Sondheim
Just got my signed copy. Glad they got it made. Sounds really nice and brings back memories of the show. Heidi, especially, knocks her solos out of the park. The photos of the cast when they were kids inside the booklet was a cute addition.
I know a lot of people who really loved the show, so maybe you had to see it, but I'm listening to the album now and it's kind of precious. Annoyingly so.
Been listening to it daily since I got it last week. I identified with TOS a lot and a signficant portion of this as well. Hunter's songs I would define as a little on the "precious" side and probably the most minor of the CD, but I found "Golden Palace" deeply moving and several other songs hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.
If you're looking for it on Spotify, you have to search Now.Here.This. and click on the Finale track. That's the only way to the album. Took me much longer than it should have to find it. They haven't cataloged it in search as an album title and only labeled the actors "Original Cast."
The recording is really good. The mix is great. I didn't miss a lyric on the first playthrough.
The material itself is interesting. I knew it was a show of vignettes, but I still didn't quite pick up on all the little stories and how they start to link together the first time through. It makes more sense now--even some of the songs that left me cold the first time around. I really love the demo That'll Never Be Me. Such a sweet song.