Worst cast album

[Theatre dweeb]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 7:22pm

What do you think is the worst cast album? Not the ones that have the worst music, but the ones that don't have the same energy as it does in the show?  I personally don't like the Matilda and spring awakening cast album, even though they are some of my favorite shows

[lillymcgrath]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 7:29pm

I agree with you on Matilda. Although my friend actually did played Violet for some time, but I have to say I agree. 

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 7:33pm

Most of the Jesus Christ Superstar cast recordings. The only one I actually like is the 1996 Studio Cast. I own all of them and I judge it by their Juda's version of "Heaven on Their Minds". I wish the last revival made a cast recording I love Josh Young's portrayal the most.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 7:48pm

I'm obsessed with the OBC Recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. Perfect orchestrations, fantastic cast, and great energy. If only it were a full recording, and not highlights, we could have the definitive album.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 7:50pm

I really like the remaster of JCS' original Broadway cast album, myself.  I just wish it was complete.  It's a nice complement to the concept album--containing most of the material added for Broadway (notably Could We Start Again Please.)

Dreamgirls comes to mind.  I get that Geffen was one of the big investors, and wanted an album that could play as a pop album (though I think he mostly fails there,) but given how successful the show seemed to be he could have done like he did with Cats and released a slightly different highlights album and a complete recording.

Follies obviously--not much needs to be said there about how poorly treated the original cast was (even Hal Prince regrets agreeing to Capitol's one disc restrictions and not using Columbia.)

Capitol's cast albums in general tended to have lesser sound quality in the 1960s, as did RCA's to Columbia's magic touch.  One of the early stereo Columbia cast albums--like the late 50s ones for West Side Story or Candide *still* sound terrific.  Only a few from the other studios up until the 1970s sound remotely as good in terms of just the album production.

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 8:02pm

#1 Really Rosie (The Broadway Cast Album). It's a off-broadway musical by Carole King and it only has been made for LP and casette. I got a hold of it somehow, and it sounds horrible. It came out in 1981 and I have cast recordings WAY older that sound better in quality. (even the ones only released in LP)

[hork]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 8:09pm

JoseLee_ said: "Most of the Jesus Christ Superstar cast recordings. The only one I actually like is the 1996 Studio Cast.

 

Same here. I haven't even listened to all of them. I heard the '96 one first and loved it immediately, then listened to the original concept album and didn't like it. It's just too '70s. Never bothered to listen to any others. I got the '96, so I'm good. It's perfection.

 

And I'm with Theatre Dweeb on Spring Awakening. I bought the CD, listened to it, didn't like it at all, and ended up selling it. Then I saw the show and liked it a lot. So then I downloaded the cast recording, thinking I would appreciate it more this time, but I still didn't like it.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 8:26pm

For Superstar the original concept album is the one I grew up on (it was an insanely popular album when it was released, even amongst those who were not typically theatre fans). My dad had the original 2 LP set and I put those onto cassette for myself.  Thus that's the way the show has always sounded to me, and I find a lot of later recordings, especially from the 90s onwards, tend to have performers who sound too clean and polished to my ears and lack the rough and raw power of that original recording. 

 

I do currently have it set up as a playlist to include "Could We Start Again, Please" from the movie soundtrack. It still flows just fine, since it is Yvonne Elliman playing Mary all the way through.

 

I will say I don't really care for the Original London Cast recording of Sunset Boulevard. The levels, especially between the scenes and the songs, are all over the place. If you want to hear half of what Patti is whispering in the dialogue tracks then you have to crank the volume up to high, but be ready to slam it right back down when she starts belting. It doesn't make for the most relaxing listening experience.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 9:27pm

AEA AGMA SM said: "I will say I don't really care for the Original London Cast recording of Sunset Boulevard. The levels, especially between the scenes and the songs, are all over the place. If you want to hear half of what Patti is whispering in the dialogue tracks then you have to crank the volume up to high, but be ready to slam it right back down when she starts belting. It doesn't make for the most relaxing listening experience."

 

I totally agree, it's SO JARRING!

 

Much as I love the score (an opinion held by few), the COCO cast album sounds atrocious. The original LP and the CD.

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 9:34pm

When I first played the Coco cast album, I thought it was a bootleg copy. 

The original King and I is pretty terrible as well

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 10:00pm

Dreamgirls...Dreamgirls...Dreamgirls.  I keep hoping against hope that somewhere there are full recordings of the songs and not the abbreviated fadein and fadeout songs on the LP.  

I'm also in the camp that the Spring Awakening cast recording does nothing to get me to see the show - or understand the show.  

George M! sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom.

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 10:05pm

For sheer awfulness of sound and pitch the Korean cast of Evita and the Hungarian cast of Cats take the cake for me. 

 

For me the recent revival of Assassins lacked the sinister energy and passion of the OCR

I completely agree on the OLC of Sunset and I'll add to that the wretched acting on the Whistle Down The Wind London album (A show that was fantastic in D.C) 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 3:27pm

Another vote for Spring Awakening. It sounds very flat for some reason.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 3:31pm

Next To Normal is one that comes to mind for me. While its one of my favorite shows, it comes off as so flat and lifeless on the recording. I feel the same way about the OBCR of Xanadu. 

Updated On: 10/18/15 at 03:31 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 7:32pm

Fantod said: "When I first played the Coco cast album, I thought it was a bootleg copy."

 

Most of the time the bootleg from that show makes a better listening experience!

 

Same can be said for DREAMGIRLS. FOLLIES as well.

Updated On: 10/17/15 at 07:32 PM

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 7:45pm

One of my favs but Beauty and the Beast (Original Broadway Cast Recording). WHY would they record the cast recording before Broadway, then change EVERYTHING? So annoying. The whole cast is AMAZING. Susan Egan & Terrance Mann <3 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 9:16pm

i agree with fantod re: The King and I. Generally, all the early Rodgers & Hammerstein original recordings are not very good (specifically poorly recorded). However I disagree with basically everyone here about Spring Awakening. As a teen of about 16 when I first heard the recording I thought it was absolutely terrific.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 9:54pm

Brooklyn. I saw it twice in Denver before it opened on Broadway and really liked most of the music. Didn't like the live recording.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 9:56pm

At least Coco was a minor score. In addition, Hepburn's voice was a tad on the bad side so messing the recording up did not impact on her voice or lack thereof.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 10:33pm

Second what someone said about about Brooklyn. I didn't mind the show much and a few of the songs are actually pretty enjoyable, but the live recording with like 5 or 6 people cheering and clapping behind songs is just a head scratching choice. You know, kinda like 99% of the other choices made on the whole show itself.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 10:41pm

Inner City

 

Another show that deserved 2 L P'S and RCA did the cheap act and only issued 1. What a lost opportunity.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 11:44pm

Cupid Boy2 said: "Next To Normal is one that kinds to mind for me. While its one of my favorite shows, it comes off as so flat and lifeless on the recording. I feel the same way about the OBCR of Xanadu."

I agree with your thoughts on the N2N album. Despite not completely understanding the language, I usually listen to the German cast recording whenever I get the urge to listen to the score simply because their cast recording was made during a live performance, so the raw emotions are all there. (Plus, Pia Douwes' "I Miss the Mountains" is one of the most gorgeous renditions of the song I've ever heard.)

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/18/15 at 1:20am

I wish the American Idiot cast album had more of the raw passion I witnessed in the theatre many nights. It's a little safe and sterile for my liking but I still love it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/18/15 at 1:31am

I'm going to go with The Wiz. About half the songs fade out at the end and another half of the score went completely unrecorded. It's another one where they wanted to make a pop album suitable for radio play instead of giving future generations a proper cast album. We may get a complete recording someday but it won't have that fantastic original cast.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 10/18/15 at 8:13am

Several minor shows from the 50's and 60's got recorded with poor sound quality. 

However the most recent major show I can think of is "Billy Elliot." I was shocked when I heard the album for the first time. Surely a show this successful can't have this weak a score I thought. Yes it's a dance show but imagine how much better it would be if someone had bothered to develop the central relationship between Billy and his teacher through... oh lets say... songs. Songs about how Billy feels in the dance class and why the teacher devotes her time to him? Perhaps he and his best friend could express their complicated relationship through a song that didn't sound like a bad out take from La Cage Aux Folles.

There's a reason "Electricity" was performed at all the promotional events. It's nearly the only section of the score interested in developing a character through music.