HADESTOWN cast album - thoughts?

[jacobsnchz14]

Now that the whole thing has been released, I cant wait to give it a listen. I was lucky enough to catch the show again yesterday and I’m very glad we have our first full recording of the entire score between the concept album, the live NYTW recording, and the songs Anais recorded for her studio albums.

I may be biased because I am a fan of the show since I saw at New York Theater Workshop, but I really appreciated that they gave us the drops (as they were ready) to kind of get us ready for the full thing.

That reminded me of a recent cast album that we waited an awful long time for, and that was the Sunday in the Park recording with Gyllenhaal/Ashford. That was a solid six months of waiting for it, but upon first listen, it was beautifully mastered and crystal clear... making it definitely worth the wait. BUT, how I wish we had been able to have a few samples or first listens here and there in the months leading up to it.

Anyway, all of that aside, Im very curious to hear what everyone thinks of the recording. It appears to be the full show, and clocks in right over 2 hours.

[Olivia11]

On the west coast and was excited to get a notification that it had just automatically downloaded. Listening now.

[BwayinVan]

Me too. Listening to it now and happy with what I'm hearing so far. Eva sounds great.

[CATSNYrevival]

I’ve pretty much lost interest after the way this was released but I did give it a listen earlier and was able to enjoy it for the most part. I kind of miss the live audience from the original cast album though.

[uncageg]

Have been listening to a playlist that was shared on Google Play unlimited of the first two drops. Just deleted it and downloaded the entire thing.

I was not paying attention to when the whole thing would be available. Was not a fan of how this was released. Had I not been on here tonight, I would not have known.

Going to listen to it now.

[willep]

This latest drop really ties it together for me. I’m a long time fan of the show, since the concept album and I couldn’t wait for this album after seeing it back in April, but I wasn’t loving the character drops. There were some good songs, but it just didn’t work as well in chunks, but I’m loving listening through it now. That being said, I do miss the live aspect from the NYTW album. There are also some rewrites for Broadway that I don’t love.

[dramamama611]

Just saw it has been downloaded, which fixed all the weird formatting errors that had been occurring.

Listening now...but I'm sure I'll fall back asleep to it.

[steven22]

After seeing the show at NYTW, in London, and a few times on Broadway - the album is gorgeous.

[yankeefan7]

"On the west coast and was excited to get a notification that it had just automatically downloaded. Listening now.

In NC and just listening now.

[Miles2Go2]

I agree the piecemeal way they released the songs may have been a part of the marketing strategy, but if didn’t really captivate me. Listening to it now from the beginning (I’m 4 songs in) and I’m loving it. It sounds great. I’m even more excited to see it on September 27th now. I’m going to have to make myself not listen too much to this between now and then so as to not rob myself of all sense of discovery when I finally see it.

[Dave13]

Love it. Dying to get back to NYC to see it again. I guess this will hold me over in the meantime

[VotePeron]

I think it’s a pretty remarkable album. To those that have seen the show live, keep an ear out for the differences in some inflections and riffs to adapt the music to the album - my favorite is Eurydice calmly asking “anybody got a match?” in the final song, in a totally different tone than she does in the show.

I also just can’t get over how well Anais was able to streamline the story and make it much more coherent than it was at NYTW, and keep the music so high-brow and smart. The lyrics are true poetry, and it’s rare I find myself so moved by the music and lyrics in a show. I fall more in love with the material every time I listen, it just gets more and more layered.

[SporkGoddess]

Overall I like it, I just don't really like the lyric changes to "Epic II."

[willep]

The lyric changes that bother me the most are the ones in His Kiss, the Riot, which has been one of my favorite tracks since the concept album. Having listened to the whole thing through now, it really is a beautiful album and overall I love what they did to expand and flesh out the show. I listened with my nice headphones and two tiny complaints I had at the end were the abrupt jump from Doubt Comes In to Road to Hell II and then I just wish they had let the final note of We Raise Our Cups play out longer and fade away. Truly a gorgeous  album overall though, in my opinion, and I’m thrilled to be able to dive back into the world with a full recording.

[GeorgeandDot]

It's interesting to just hear the score now after seeing the show. The lyric changes aren't always great. I'm kind of surprised by some of them as they feel unnecessary. It's a great album, however, and the cast sounds great, except for the fates that don't really blend all that well and don't have the power that previous casts have had, vocally.

Overall, a great recording of a great score.

[Alba_rios01]

I love it so much! Is a great album with a great cast. 

Anyway, I´m sad they cut a part in If it´s true.

[Daniel M]

The transitions between Epic II & Chant and Doubt Comes In and Road to Hell II are messed up and I am reallllyyy bummed about it. I hope they fix them and reupload.

[CATSNYrevival]

Daniel M said: "The transitions between Epic II & Chant and Doubt Comes In and Road to Hell II are messed up and I am reallllyyy bummed about it. I hope they fix them and reupload."

Gaps you mean? I only had that issue with Epic II and Chant and just used an editing tool to edit out the gap so it plays back seamlessly. The other tracks seem to be formatted for gapless playback just fine for me. I figured this would happen with the drops.

[Daniel M]

CATSNYrevival said: "Daniel M said: "The transitions between Epic II & Chant and Doubt Comes In and Road to Hell II are messed up and I am reallllyyy bummed about it. I hope they fix them and reupload."

Gaps you mean? I only had that issue with Epic II and Chant and just used an editing tool to edit out the gap so it plays back seamlessly. The other tracks seemto be formatted for gapless playback just fine for me. I figured thiswould happen with the drops."

Yeah, the gaps! For me it’s unlistenable. Now that the drops are over I do hope they are made aware of them and fix it. 

[Miles2Go2]

That final reprise of Wait for Me made me tear up and I haven’t even seen the show yet! (Come on September 27th!)

[CATSNYrevival]

I'm liking it more and more with each listen. It was quite an adjustment at first being so used to the original cast recording.

[joevitus]

As someone who knows nothing beyond the basic premise, which recording will stand best on its own as an introduction to the work, the concept album or the new cast recording?

[Impossible2]

joevitus said: "As someone who knows nothing beyond the basic premise, which recording will stand best on its own as an introduction to the work, the concept album or the new cast recording?"

New x

[joevitus]

Impossible2 said: "New x"

Thanks!

[broadwayboy222]

Has there been no details released as to a physical CD release for this album? I noticed only the digital version was listed on Amazon and can’t seem to find a physical copy listed anywhere else.