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The Original Broadway Cast Recording. This was my first exposure to this show, and, as I knew nothing about it at all, I was a little surprised at first. But the story and the characters got to me, and the music, though quite different from the “traditional” show music I listen to, was still really beautiful and a lot of fun to listen to! Highlights are “One Song Glory” (still my favourite song in the show), “Will I…?”, “La Vie Boheme”, “Halloween” (gorgeous music!), and “What You Own”. I haven’t met a person yet who hasn’t liked at least some of the music on this recording, and it’s got a lot of people interested in other musical theatre. I think it’s an essential part of any theatre music collection. |
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The Italian Cast Recording. This CD has the distinction of being the first cast recording I’ve owned in Italian. 🙂 It’s a highlights recording, just 15 tracks, but what is there is really good. The cast is excellent for the most part, although it’s hard not to expect them to sound a bit like their Broadway counterparts. I particularly like Michele Carfora as Roger (he does a great “One Song Glory”!). However, I really miss a lot of the stuff they’ve left out, especially “Will I…?” and “Tango Maureen”. If you are a fan of the show, you will definitely enjoy this recording, but if you haven’t heard the Broadway cast yet, don’t even look at this CD until you listen to that one! 🙂 |
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The Dutch Cast Recording. Apparently the Dutch production of Rent was quite different from the Broadway one (especially the ending!), but you don’t really get that impression from listening to the CD. Some of the arrangements are a little different, but not so much as to be jarring. And some of them I actually kind of prefer, like “What You Own”. This is another highlights recording, just 20 tracks, so again I miss the songs which aren’t here, but the cast does a really good job, and I especially like Nurlaila Karim as Mimi. As with the Italian recording, if you like this show, you’ll probably like this recording, but the Broadway cast remains the definitive version. |