Hadestown Cast Recording Problems?

[CynicalCharmer]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 5:08pm

I adore Hadestown, and I think the original cast album sounds impeccable, but why does everything they've released on this studio album for the Broadway cast sound so poor? I saw the main cast in London, and Reeve needed work for sure, but the band, De Shields, The Fates etc. They all sound so low energy. Is anyone else noticing this? Me and my partner are genuinely struggling to listen to it. Eva, Patrick and Amber all sound great, but everything else just sounds mediocre and makes them sound lethargic.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 5:24pm

I’ll let you know when they release the full album.

[getupngo]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 7:52pm

CynicalCharmer said: "I adore Hadestown, and I think the original cast album sounds impeccable, but why does everything they've released on this studio album for the Broadway cast sound so poor? I saw the main cast in London, and Reeve needed work for sure, but the band, De Shields, The Fates etc. They all sound so low energy. Is anyone else noticing this? Me and my partner are genuinely struggling to listen to it. Eva, Patrick and Amber all sound great, but everything else just sounds mediocre and makes them sound lethargic."

 

I actually think the cast recording sounds amazing and CRYSTAL clear. The TOOTSIE cast recording however is recorded at such a LOW volume its annoying

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 8:14pm

The songs they released sounded incredible to me, so not sure what issue you're describing...

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 8:58pm

I have to agree with OP here.  To be honest I didn't love Hadestown when I saw it, though I do agree that it's a great show and deserved the Best Musical win.  But when I was watching it, certain numbers (especially in the first half) just seemed to drag when I felt like they should've been high energy (Livin' It Up On Top comes to mind), but I figured it could've just been an off night with the cast, especially after listening to the live recording off-Broadway.  But with the new recording, I feel like it does retain that sort of "plodding along" feeling that I got when I saw the show in person, so I do think they've reworked some of the numbers from before.

I'm assuming this was done deliberately for some reason, but to me it seems like it sucks the life out of the show.  But I suppose we'll get a fuller picture once the whole album comes out because my memory can only serve me so far.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 9:55pm

^ hm it's an interesting observation. I agree that the song's energy overall has changed since the 2016 production, but it suits the current iteration a lot more. I don't think we're meant to blindly root for Persephone anymore. She has evolved into someone who is very much complicit in Hades' world, she's sat back and watched him (to take the metaphors a bit literally) destroy Earth. She's been drugging and numbing herself, so we're not watching a person full of life - it's a shell of person who is trying to re-"living it up". Girl needs a rehab, not more wine.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 2:03am

I succumned and downloaded the available tracks.

My thought is that it is a very good recording but what it lacks in soumd is an "openess". It has a very "tight" studio sound. And while you can appreciate the music and the vocals, it takes away from the impact the show has live. Almost soumds "sterile". JMO

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 3:07am

Part of the problem might be that we’ve all been listening to the live Off-Broadway cast recording and this studio album simply sounds less exciting and energetic by comparison.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 10:01am

uncageg said: "I succumned and downloaded the available tracks.

My thought is that it is a very good recording but what it lacks in soumd is an "openess". It has a very "tight" studio sound. And while you can appreciate the music and the vocals, it takes away from the impact the show has live. Almost sounds "sterile". JMO"

Hello, Dolly! revival cast album got the same criticism. That's kind of a general problem with these electrifying ensemble numbers, the energy of a live performance will not compare to a studio recording*. Hello Dolly title track sometimes sounds like a lullaby on the album compared to watching Bette/Donna do it in person, where you instinctively want to get up and stay up the entire time.

Having said all of this, I think Hadestown album is still pretty fantastic. I wouldn't change a thing on the songs they've released so far.

* there are definitely some non-live performance albums which have gotten this right. I don't know what they're doing. Some experts on the board who work in the recording industry will have better insight.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 12:14pm

Valentina3 said: "Hello, Dolly!revival cast album got the same criticism. That's kind of a general problem with these electrifying ensemble numbers, the energy of a live performance will not compare to a studio recording*. Hello Dolly title track sometimes sounds like a lullaby on the album compared to watching Bette/Donna do it in person, where you instinctively want to get up and stay up the entire time.

* there are definitely some non-live performance albums which have gotten this right. I don't know what they're doing. Some experts on the board who work in the recording industry will have better insight."

The original Broadway cast recording of Hello, Dolly! is a good example of the energy of the performance being captured in the studio. Carol Channing says on one of the bonus tracks it's because they couldn't contain themselves in front of the microphones and were doing the dance and all the steps right there in the recording studio as if they were performing to the last row of the house. That probably helps. Albums aren't recorded like that anymore.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 12:42pm

Sterile cast albums are pretty common these days - people want that super-clean, super-scrubbed pop CD sound, which means the vocals are very close and tight (and autotuned, I'm sure), because that's what pop music sounds like. It's part of what turned me off of DEH for so long - the actual sound of the show was rejected in favor of something more radio-friendly, which obviously worked in terms of album sales, but I'm not here to listen to someone's vocal chords be plugged directly into a mixing booth. I want that big, open sound!

Thomas Z Shepard knew what he was doing! I want to hear the cast in the room, I want to hear a little reverberation, I want that sense of energy that comes from a group of passionate people exploding with the energy of a musical number. The Tootsie cast album is another great example of how a show can be deflated by recording style - in the theater, it was such a fun, gleeful rush of joy, and then the cast album is so low-key that all of that power is just gone.

[fiscus1]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 3:21pm

 The TOOTSIE cast recording however is recorded at such a LOW volume its annoying"

Does your copy of the Tootsie cast album cut off the last notes for "Jeff Sums It Up"? My digital download of it does. The YouTube clip does also.

 

[copskid949]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 4:37pm

fiscus1 said: "The TOOTSIE cast recording however is recorded at such a LOW volume its annoying"

Does your copy of the Tootsie cast album cut off the last notes for "Jeff Sums It Up"? My digital download of it does. The YouTube clip does also.

"

It’s a lead-in for the next song on the album, “Gone, Gone, Gone.” Try listening to them back to back.

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 5:41pm

Charley Kringas Inc said: "Sterile cast albums are pretty common these days - people want that super-clean, super-scrubbed pop CD sound, which means the vocals are very close and tight (and autotuned, I'm sure), because that's what pop music sounds like. It's part of what turned me off of DEH for so long - the actual sound of the show was rejected in favor of something more radio-friendly, which obviously worked in terms of album sales, but I'm not here to listen to someone's vocal chords be plugged directly into a mixing booth. I want that big, open sound!

Thomas Z Shepard knew what he was doing!I want to hear the cast in the room, I want to hear a little reverberation, I want that sense of energy that comes from a group of passionate people exploding with the energy of a musical number. The Tootsie cast album is another great example of how a show can be deflated by recording style - in the theater, it was such a fun, gleeful rush of joy, and then the cast album is so low-key that all of that power is just gone."

Shepard cannot be overpraised, but it's a shame that on CD, the sound levels way too low for the HGO Porgy and Bess and Follies in Concert. Drives me nuts.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 9:47pm

Charley Kringas Inc said: "Sterile cast albums are pretty common these days - people want that super-clean, super-scrubbed pop CD sound, which means the vocals are very close and tight (and autotuned, I'm sure), because that's what pop music sounds like. It's part of what turned me off of DEH for so long - the actual sound of the show was rejected in favor of something more radio-friendly, which obviously worked in terms of album sales, but I'm not here to listen to someone's vocal chords be plugged directly into a mixing booth. I want that big, open sound!

Thomas Z Shepard knew what he was doing!I want to hear the cast in the room, I want to hear a little reverberation, I want that sense of energy that comes from a group of passionate people exploding with the energy of a musical number. The Tootsie cast album is another great example of how a show can be deflated by recording style - in the theater, it was such a fun, gleeful rush of joy, and then the cast album is so low-key that all of that power is just gone."

I am not sure that is the issue.  In the theatre the book was so god that you were more tolerant of the awful music, orchestrations, et al.  On the OCR, without benefit of the book, you are forced to focus solely on the music and orchestrations, which are as bad a score as I have listened to in years (and years?).

[openstage2]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 11:23pm

CATSNYrevival said: "Part of the problem might be that we’ve all been listening to the live Off-Broadway cast recording and this studio album simply sounds less exciting and energetic by comparison."

Absolutely correct.  In fact many people have been listening to versions from video clips in Toronto and London, plus Mitchell’s original studio album.  There’s a lot to compare.  I love every variation.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 8/9/19 at 4:41pm

Was there a reason we never got the complete NYTW album? I'd really love to compare it with the new one.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 8/9/19 at 5:46pm

broadwayboy223 said: "Was there a reason we never got the complete NYTW album? I'd really love to compare it with the new one. "

Good question. I’m not sure there is an official answer. Keep in mind, that even though that album was recorded live, it took 18 months (EIGHTEEN MONTHS) for the NYTW album to be released. 

My theory is they didn’t want to pay to produce it as they knew a broadway album would be coming, and then ultimately ended up just producing a handful of tracks to release. I’m sure the full recording is sitting on some hard drive somewhere, but I doubt we’ll ever get it. 

Having seen both productions, that’s a shame. I have never seen a show evolve and grow as much as Hadestown did, and the way Anaïs was able to further develop and perfect the story and lyrics is mind boggling to me. 

[hak5]

Posted: 8/10/19 at 11:29am

my main issue with the cast album is that it's not on CD [yet]  and they have not announced when it will be !

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/10/19 at 11:56am

Anyone know if they’re selling it at the theatre, yet?

[bear88]

Posted: 11/17/19 at 8:27pm

I got the CD a couple of weeks ago. With one minor exception (the conclusion of Eva's part on the "Wait for Me (Reprise)", I didn't notice anything that felt inferior to performances I've seen (different yes, but not worse). And even that only felt a little disappointing because I'd seen it live. What's gained is a crystalline, layered sound and a reminder of how many terrific songs there are in the cast recording.

The other reminder: Reeve Carney is really terrific.