Frank Wildhorn seems to like the idea of concept albums. 🙂 They’re interesting, at least, because you get to see the show
in different stages of development. Here’s a few thoughts on the various Scarlet Pimpernel recordings:
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The Concept Recording. Thanks to Melanie, I finally got this CD! 🙂 And I really enjoy it. I ADORE Into the Fire…the orchestration for that song are so great!! Linda Eder is fabulous of course…I think that Christine Andreas sounds quite a bit like her at times. 🙂 Many of the songs that never made it to the show are very nice, and it’s always interesting to see the stages of development. Almost all the songs are arranged in a pop style, though, which is not ideal for me. However, I really like There Never Was a Time, and Marguerite, and if you like the show, this is worth a listen! |
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The Original Broadway Cast. As much as I love the CD now, I have to admit that I was not immediately enamoured with it. My biggest complaint was that most of the music sounded like something I’d heard before — particularly “Madame Guillotine”, which reminded me of Disney’s Hunchback, and many of the ballads sounded like pop music from a few years ago (which, of course, is exactly what “You Are My Home” is. :-). Two songs stood out for me though…”Into the Fire”, of course, and “Falcon in the Dive”. Also, I really enjoyed all the performances immediately. However, despite my problems with it, I found myself listening to it over and over again. Why? Simple enough…the songs are catchy. 🙂 |
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The “Encore” CD. This is basically the Broadway cast, but with new versions of Chauvelin and Marguerite’s solos, done by Rex Smith and Rachel York. Unfortunately, there’s no chorus on “Storybook” though, so it sounds a little weak. Only Love has been dropped and I’ll Forget You added instead. It also includes Linda Eder and Peabo Bryson’s “You Are My Home” from the concept recording. So is it worth buying? If you’re a big fan, yes. If you only saw the second version of the show, yes. But overall, I know I’ll still listen to the original Broadway recording much more often. |
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Original German Cast. The first foreign-language recording of the show comes in the form of this CD with the cast of the Halle production. The CD contains 22 tracks, with one major change – “Where’s the Girl?” follows immediately after “Storybook”. Otherwise, the production is a mix of the first and second versions with a couple of other little things thrown in … for example, it has “Believe” at the wedding, but no “Only Love”, and a reprise of “She Was There” at the end. The cast is quite good, but to be honest, no one really stood out for me. The orchestrations struck me as rather poor overall – “Madame Guillotine” and “Falcon in the Dive” just don’t have the power they need, and even some of the ballads seem weak. Still, it is quite interesting for anyone who’s been following the show, and, of course, for any German-speakers. |