All tagged Cast Albums

Broadway Blip: Cast Albums are NOT Soundtracks

Broadway Blip: Cast Albums are NOT Soundtracks

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

It has been a battle going on for years: making sure that musical theatre fans know the difference between a “cast album” and a “soundtrack”. One might think this is an easy thing to sort out, but those who have devoted their lives to listening to theatre music know that “soundtrack” is used interchangeably with “cast album” to designate Broadway and Off-Broadway) musicals that have been preserved on vinyl (and CD and for download). Retailers haven’t exactly helped the situation, often bundling both soundtracks and cast albums into the same sections and bins in stores.

The Gods Be Praised! Reviewing the New Cast Recording of Once On This Island

The Gods Be Praised! Reviewing the New Cast Recording of Once On This Island

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

I thought it would be impossible for Broadway Records to top the sensational job they did recording the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, an album that was so alive with energy and pristine clarity that it made its way to a Grammy Award win. Well, hold onto your hats because a new hurricane is blowing in the Caribbean with the new cast recording of Once On This Island, and the gods be praised: Broadway Records has outdone itself. 

The Band’s Visit: Cast Album Review

The Band’s Visit: Cast Album Review

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Any score by David Yazbek is an exciting event. We have witnessed his ever-evolving talents for years, reveling in the delicious character development brought forth in musicals such as The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Women in the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. It is then, that I have eagerly anticipated Yazbek’s score for the newly opened The Band’s Visit. Proving that his musical styles vary and he can incorporate and blend a wide range of musical styles, I am thrilled to report that the original cast album for The Band’s Visit is an account of a sublimely unique score that reveals a whole new side of Yazbek. The new recording from Ghostlight Records is a haunting revelation of musical complexity that Broadway fans will want to own and absorb over repeated listenings. 

Kid Victory – Cast Album Review

Kid Victory – Cast Album Review

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

As I sit here listening to the recently produced cast recording of the John Kander and Greg Pierce musical Kid Victory, I am of two minds about how to approach this review. Do I simply look at the technicalities of this album and report back that Broadway Records has dutifully captured this hard-to-digest little musical for posterity with their usual high standards and aplomb for preserving musical theatre with verve and precision? Or do I dig a little deeper and share my reactions to a musical that is both compelling and unsettling, a challenging piece of theatre that ultimately leaves me unsatisfied, if intrigued by the choice to tell this story to begin with?

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