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I mean, it's a show about a guy who wants to open up a roller disco after meeting a girl with an Australian accent who skates around. She is playfully mocking her in this musical and certainly has a voice of her own if you've seen her in anything else.
What I would like to point out is that Xanadu is a PARODY on a movie that did absolutely horrible at the box office. Lots of others have already reviewed this album on its voicing talents.
This is the BROADWAY musical, not the Xanadu movie on stage. It does not matter if you loved or hated the movie -- Broadway cast albums serve as a way to relive a musical after one has seen it.
Stop saying Kerry Butler is bad "replacement" for Olivia Newton-John. And anyone who says that Cheyenne Jackson can't sing obviously has no ear for music at all.So please, do not take Xanadu seriously.
It doesn't even take itself seriously.For the record Cheyenne Jackson and Kerry Butler are amazing.
My only disappointment with the book was that it did not contain more pictures from the period. They do contain a wealth of minutiae.
I enjoyed reading it; however, I agree with the previous reviewers. Because New York City's Gilded Age is one of my favorite interests, I wanted to add this book to my collection.
However, I found myself skimming over many of the chapters such as "Clothing", "Jewelry" and "Transportation". It is an excellent source for those who are being introduced to this period.
It is extremely detailed. For fans of the Gilded Age who have read much about it and are unsure whether they want to add another book to their collection, I would advise them not to buy it.
Nonetheless, I am glad I bought it.
I cannot see any other actor topping his voice when the musical tours. Any version of Xanadu can get you dancing so I don't have much to complain about here. I love how much of a disco song this sounds like in this version. Well, being a huge fan of the film and it's amazingly produced score, I was a little let down and shouldn't have expected a second coming. Great production.
I saw rehearsal videos before the play officially came out where the music sounded much better. It's a beautiful song. I'm glad to hear that [somehow] the voices aren't quite as overdone here. I love every single song so I can make an exception.12.Suspended in time - Oh boy.
2.Magic - One of my favorite songs. It's not a well known song from the film but I love that that much attention to detail was put into researching for this play. Sped up again. The vocal arrangements are great. Hell, they're ALL classics. but I have to say again I'm thankful the play was produced at all and that it's become so successful. Not much to say about this one.
Funny that the last 40 seconds of this song are probably the most emotional to me throughout the play. 13.Have you never been mellow. I never like when plays do this. Interrupting the song to speak is also a little annoying but I understand it's for the story. Another showing off of Cheyenne's talent. Impressive recreation of the original on this track.
I'm surprised they were able to do such a good job. I love this Olivia song and I'm glad it was added. Actually I don't even know if that was her, but kudos to whoever it was. Cheyenne Jackson has an AMAZING voice. I'm glad they included.
The ending from 3:20 on though is beautiful and brings a tear to my eye. It's always been my favorite part of the song and it was the part I was most looking forward to in the song. I feel the speeding up and kind of flippant karaoke production didn't suit the song very well. I know other fans will probably think I'm crazy with my views on this play so far, but I haven't seen it live. Finally. The only unfortunate thing again is the mixing.
I've only heard the soundtrack and I'm waiting for it to come to San Francisco. Whatever it's ok, this is an amazing version of the song. As great of a voice that Kerry has, when the play comes to San Francisco I'd like to hope the new actress/singer doesn't have such a nasally grating voice. A lot of songs that I considered to have a lot of meaning and emotion behind have been dulled down in this play, mainly due to being sped up.
It's beautiful on its own, does it really need that. And the whispering thing [displayed in suddenly, magic, and this] makes me cringe. 11.The Fall - I am very impressed with the attention to trying to recreate the original here. Very nice guitar and keyboard work.
I'm a musician so I really appreciate these kinds of things. Great to hear a couple other songs added to the soundtrack, that relate to the story. - What's this I hear. At the beginning when the guitar kicks in it sounded a little "Sesame Street does rock music" if that makes sense, but I understand the play is very campy. Obviously this is their own take on all the songs and it works well in that respect.Before I give comments on each song, I'd like to point out that although these are great, fun, and beautiful arrangements of each song, the mixing is TERRIBLE. I think I'd like this a lot more if Kira wasn't made so annoying in this play.
The "better never stray" always emotionally gets me. I'm a big Xanadu fan so it was super exciting to find out about. Dial it back a freaking notch on Kerry's grating voice though. This is one of the better mixed songs I can actually hear the keyboard and other instruments. Subtlety obviously does not exist in the Xanadu universe that's been created for this play.5.Whenever you're away from me - Nice arrangement at the beginning but as it drifts off into a weird scatting contest with flashy drum fills and an even jazzier tune it loses the feeling of the song. Even in the music, there's no free-form bass with slide or pop or interesting embellishments, so at times the music sounds a little robotic/karaoke.
6.Dancin' - A classic Xanadu song. The mixing isn't too bad here but of course, it could have been adjusted. I really like this version. Very nice arrangement here. That is the voice of an angel. Some more disco "wah" guitar and a slightly slower version would have helped. I notice in Broadway everything is very pronounced and precise and campy. Kerry Butler has a beautiful voice live but it sounds so nasally and grating here.
I'd like to see this in San Francisco and see what the new actors bring to it. And the keyboard could have been vamped up like I saw it was during "Broadway in the park". It really ruins the mood for me. This, Evil Woman, and Strange Magic were clever additions. I think it would have come off funnier if the actors actually took their parts seriously and tried to be dramatic and not overly campy. I am still a little put off at how much of a comedy the play is. It's just a big pile of glittery disco magic. The voices are over all too loud on the entire album.
I give the mixing a 2 out of 10 On to each song:1.I'm Alive - Great tribute to the original. She was more ethereal and soft spoken and mysterious in the film. 3.Evil Woman - Campy Broadway at its best I suppose. It's only because of the music though, I have no clue what goes on in the story.
I'm disappointed that Kerry couldn't pull off Olivia's high note here. I took the movie as an actual love story with some amazing music even though most people consider it cheesy. I had to keep turning down my speaker to try and avoid her voice, and in the process the music kept getting quieter. Certain instruments are not prominent enough and the voices are WAY too loud. 4.Suddenly - Well, one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
Never been one of my favorite Xanadu songs but maybe I'll change my mind. I LOVE the guitar solo. This song alone may give me a little of an opinion on the show. They would totally stand alone as successful songs even if there was no movie.
At 1:15 there is a drum skip which I think shows bad editing and possibly that the drums weren't even real in the recording. Seriously I've said it 2 million times and I'll say it again. Honestly. And sometimes I want to smack my head at how much Kerry Butler exaggerates her voice.
I am still very disappointed at how some of the synthesizer and keyboard detail is lost in the background because it's simply not loud enough. 10.Fool - What an odd addition. Simply put. One of my favorites from this soundtrack. This is an example where a crazy ending works.9.Don't walk away - Amazing version of a beautiful song. Even more so than the character calls for. I'm just an honest Xanadu fan and I'm giving my feelings on this soundtrack.
-Phew-. It wasn't quite as disco in the original but I love it here. 14.Xanadu - I've pretty much put enough energy into this review. 8.All over the world - Cheyenne Jackson's voice freaking shines on this song.
I love the guitarist's parts here and everything is very tight. What can you say about the title track. Xanadu has the best songs ever produced for a musical film. Even professional studio headphones [which I switched out for my crappy ones halfway through the song] didn't improve the quality.7.Strange Magic - What can I say.
Mary Testa not overacting at the beginning. Overall, I give this soundtrack a 7 out of 10.
is the original Broadway cast recording featuring Kerry Butler and Cheyenne Jackson. Broadway play: 4.5 Stars; Original cast recording: 3.5 StarsLet me state upfront that I absolutely loved the 1980 original movie soundtrack, featuring 5 John Farrar-penned Olivia Newton-John on Side 1 and 5 ELO tracks on Side 2 including the ELO/Olivia title track on Side 2. Fast forward to 2007 when the news came that Xanadu was being worked into a Broadway musical. "Xanadu on Broadway" (14 tracks; 43 min). and that gives you an idea how they had to stretch it out to make this into a Broadway musical (which is 90 min). Well, I was skeptical, but no more.
In all, this is a terrific cast recording, with the best songs for me being "Suddenly", "Evil Woman" and, best of all, "Suspended in Time". The movie was horrible, but the music was great. This features the 10 songs of the original album, plus 4 added tracks, 2 ELO songs worked into the story line ("Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic") and 2 John Farrar songs, including the oldie but goodie Olivia hit "Have You Ever Been Mellow". I was in New York recently on a business trip, and jumped on the chance to see it. Somehow the play works great where the movie didn't and it was a guilty pleasure all over for me. The running time of this album is just 43 min.
But in all, this recording is a great memento to the fabulous experience that "Xanadu on Broadway" was.
Cheyenne Jackson is the greatest singing star on Broadway since Barbra Streisand and this album captures the beauty of his incredible voice. XANADU, the original Broadway cast album, captures the spirit in song of the best musical on Broadway. Funny, fabulous, loving, it will make you laugh and cry. Jackie Hoffman and Mary Testa are a riot as the evil sisters and Kerry Butler will break your heart when she sings "Suspended in Time." The supporting cast are just incredible and I wish you could see their spectacular dancing as well as hear their beautiful voices. First rate.
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