The Dying Days of the CD

 Les Solomon laments the dying days of the inside CD leaflet, and reviews several recent cast recordings of Broadway musicals – all of which he proudly owns in hard copy!

 Les Solomon laments the dying days of the inside CD leaflet, and reviews several recent cast recordings of Broadway musicals – all of which he proudly owns in hard copy! 
I wanted to talk about some new cast recordings this week, a few of which are shows we are certain to see in Australia before too long, but first I wanted to bemoan the loss of the CD. Yes, they are still around – for now – but for how much longer? Cds and now DVDs are slowly being edged out of the marketplace as the internet with its iTunes and fast downloading are taking over.  How many CD and DVD stores have you counted closing in the last 2 years? A better question is, how many are left? When the mighty Virgin Megastore closed its doors in Times Square in NYC, it sent a very strong signal: these big stores featuring thousands upon thousands of CDs and DVDs are dying. There is now only one record store left in New York that deals exclusively in CDs and DVDs  – and it’s buried deep in the downtown area. 
Locally we have seen so many of the smaller stores close, and we must be thankful for J&B Hi Fi, a store that also specializes in sound, camera and computer equipment and it is these things that will help keep that chain alive as less and less people buy Cds and Dvds.
It’s all very sad. I have always enjoyed thumbing through covers of CDs and DVDs, looking for the odd unexpected surprise or the cheap specials, and I will miss it when they are phased out completely.
So to the cast albums I want to review, all of which ARE available on CD in beautifully packaged jewel cases complete with lyrics to all the shows, colour shots from the productions and other significant information about the creation of the show. No amount of downloading of the albums or individual songs will ever replace holding all that music and information in one’s hot little hand. As we gleefully download and praise the immediacy of the internet, spare a thought for the art form of the CD that we are so happy to throw out the back door.  The Addams Family  As Australian actors prepare for auditions, the most interesting new cast album around at the moment has to be THE ADDAMS FAMILY. I must admit I purchased this cast album a few months ago and have left it idly sitting on my shelf as I had heard so many bad things about this show. But the show IS coming to Australia and with auditions about to begin I felt it necessary to have a listen to the album and have been very pleasantly surprised. 
The score by Andrew Lippa, (one of America’s most promising new music theatre composers) is very much “old school”. That is: catchy  tunes, harmless, comic rhyming lyrics and plenty of rousing comic moments. The clear show stopper of the show is Wednesday’s song ‘Pulled in a New Direction’ a sharp pop style ballad, it sets the scene for a mix of fair to good songs to follow. Essentially the central theme of the show is found within this number… which is, in itself, a reworking of the same plot as La Cage Aux Folles), The show is topped off by the Eleven O’clock number ‘Lets Not Talk About Anything but Love’, which sounds like a thousand show tunes you have heard before, but its all good fun and makes me much more warm toward the show than I have been. buy the Addams Family here:  
Catch Me If You Can   A  show that arrived with all the expectation of a world wide international hit is CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, based on the hit movie of the same name and with a score by the HAIRSPRAY team, this show had all the ear marks of success. Yet, even in previews jokes began about a nickname for the musical: Catch Me Before I Close.  The show is in fact closing in two weeks after only six months, a disaster for a high profile Tony award winning musical that was expected to run for many years and tour all over the world, which is a living proof that nothing is ever certain in show business.
The cast album is OK. The style of the music is very swing, middle of the road Sinatra pastiches in the vein of many of the original standards used in the film (Fly me to the Moon etc) and it is this sly, laid back style which virtually sinks the score. The cast album lacks any stand out musical moments and several of the songs float around in a mire of middle-of-the-road impersonation and mediocrity A great moment in the show for star Norbert Leo Butz (as performed on the Tonys) is the song ‘Don’t Break the Rules’.There is a charming love ballad between the young star of the show (the immensely talented Aaron Tveit and young Broadway stalwart Kerry Butler) called ‘Seven Wonders’. But the absolute standout in the score is the penultimate ‘Goodbye’, full of fire, anger and some of the build and excitement the rest of the score sadly lacks. 
The Book of Mormon  Finally to a show destined for Australia, some time in the next year or two, the multi award winning Tony colossus THE BOOK OF MORMON, the sharp, satirical jab at the Mormon religion from the South Park team and the writer of Avenue Q.
The most anticipated score of the last few years, this is the sort of Broadway score you just want to play over and over, each time relishing more of the comic asides that can only be fully appreciated when you have the sleeve of the CD to help you gape in wonder at the outrageous, provocative nature of the show. Even in this day and age, The Book of Mormon leaves you a little aghast asking: “How can they get away with that?”
Even with the language and the shocking nature of some of the ideas, they get away with it, because the show essentially has a big heart and a pure one at that. It celebrates the Mormon religion at the same time as mocking it. The real gems of the score are the two opening numbers (‘hello’ and ‘Two by Two’) and the joyous, hilarious celebration of homophobia ‘Turn It Off’ . Some of the numbers don’t fully work without having seen the show, most notably the big show within a show pastiche of ‘Small House of Uncle Thomas’ (from The king And I)  This is definitely a CD you want to keep out of the reach of anyone under 15, but it’s a rich treasure. To think when I was growing up the score of Stop the World I Want to Get Off  used to shock me! How times have changed!  If you are into digital music, and not the CD alternative, you may choose to download these albums online! Catch Me If You Can (Original Broadway Cast Recording) – Original Broadway Cast of Catch Me If You Can  The Book of Mormon (Original Broadway Cast Recording) – The Book of Mormon – Original Broadway Cast  The Addams Family (Soundtrack from the Musical) [Bonus Track Version] – Various Artists   
Photo: Courtesy of Dave Morris (daveybot) on flickr