In their transfers from stage to screen, Broadway musicals usually suffer from extensive cast changes and sometimes from major alterations in their scores. Rent, the rock-oriented update of La Vie Boheme with book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, was taken to film by director Chris Columbus with much of the cast and all of the score intact. The only caveat may be time; the show opened in 1996, the film in 2005, and that means, for instance, that when Roger (Adam Pascal) guesses that Mimi (Rosario Dawson) is 16 years old and she admits to being 19 in the song "Light My Candle," it's not quite believable. But that's a problem only onscreen, not on the soundtrack album. Arranger and album producer Rob Cavallo has been faithful to Larson's writing, so here the real question is how the new recording measures up to the original Broadway cast album. In his liner notes, Columbus makes a case for the new one by stating, "This time around, the songs were recorded over several months, with much time and care." He is referring to the tendency to record Broadway shows in a rush, shortly after opening, usually in a single day, in fact, with only as much care as can be achieved in that time. Of course, it's also true that a cast fresh from the theater has an immediacy that's hard to reproduce nearly a decade (and hundreds of performances) later. The veteran cast members do a good job here, with Pascal, Dawson, Anthony Rapp, and Idina Menzel in particular working hard to re-create the passion that infused their initial performances. Still, this version takes a close second to the first one. (One extra song has been added at the end, the excellent "Love Heals," which Larson wrote for an AIDS benefit, not for the show.) ~ William Ruhlmann
Lyricist: Jonathan Larson.
Personnel: Wayne Wilcox, Tim Davis , Tracie Thoms, Jesse L. Martin , Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia , Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp , Rosario Dawson, Wayne Wilcox (vocals); Greg Curtis, Gregory Curtis (organ); Paul Bushnell (bass guitar); Aaron Lohr (vocals); Tim Pierce, Greg Suran (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Suzie Katayama (cello, accordion); Jamie Muhoberac (piano, organ, keyboards); Tim Weil (piano); Dorian Crozier (drums, percussion, programming).
Audio Mixers: Doug McKean; Andrew Scheps.
Liner Note Author: Chris Columbus.
Recording information: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; El Dorado Studios; Ocean Way Recording; Right Track Recording; Skywalker Sound; Track record.
SAVE YOUR MONEY DISAPPOINTING, ONE GOOD SONG ON CD Submitted by kdj2246 (ATLANTA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 2 found this helpful.
RENT..a must hear! Music is EXCELLENT! Submitted by gram2tam (Waterford, PA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
great soundtrack Having seen the original off broadway cast ,I think they have been faithful to the original style of the show.Hair was the important to the sixties,as Rocky Horror was to the seventies and this is as important to the youth of the nineties.So be it. Submitted by mikeychiz (melbourne australia) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Not Broadway, but still great I'd like to start by saying - Do listen to Mike! The cast for the movie is almost completely the same as the original Broadway show (there are only 2 different), which is what makes it great. The comfort level that goes with the performances bring the fire of Broadway to the screen. The score was carefully adjusted for the movie without losing the feel of the original. Great!!! Submitted by Mark (Broomfield, CO) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
THE GREATEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK! Submitted by Shawn2002200120002002 (Atlanta, GA, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
SAVE YOUR MONEY
RENT..a must hear!
Share this Product