Assassins (2004 Broadway Revival Cast)
Various Artists
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| Total: 15 Songs |
Customer Reviews
Excellent... and a comparison
Having taught classes on the work of Steven Sondheim, I have long considered Assassins to be my favorite of his works - not his best work, but definitely my favorite. I have had a long and wonderful love affair with the Original Cast Recording of Assassins, and with Victor Garbor and Terrance Mann heading that incredible cast, I was apprehensive when I received my Broadway Cast Recording. In the final analysis, it is easy to say that they both have their strengths and weaknesses, but here they are: 1. The Orchestrations on this new Broadway Cast Recording are definitive. They are rich, full, and flesh out one of my favorite aspects of this work of Sondheims; the music that accompanies each Assassin is written in the style of their background and/or time period. 2. The Cast on this new recording is very good. Niel Patrick Harris, who I saw in Sweeney Todd, rises to new levels of excellence. His clarity of tone, diction, feeling, and comprehension make his recordings superior to those of Patrick Cassidy which I did not expect. For those in the fold, the Ballad of Czolgosz is worth the price of the CD alone. I found that this Guiteau gives us far less vocal flourish and characterization than did the original; but strangely, this does not weaken the character. The Fromme here is very good, and is "squeaky" only in name, unlike the original. The only two characters here who are not either better or just as good as the originals are Booth and Moore. With Booth, I felt that he has a deep, rich, and beautiful voice, but he has decided that his acting should occasionally take place outside of the notes of the score. In The Ballad of Booth, he should have let the music be the source of the drama, not his characterization. With Moore... well, I hate to say this, but she ruins the Gun Song, which is a little out of groove to begin with. Oh, and Zangara doesn't sell me at the end of "How I Saved Roosevelt" 3. The Songs - Yes, Unworthy of Your Love is great here, and the brass give it that extra something that it needs towards the end. Fromme goes slightly flat at one obvious point, but as a whole, a great recording (ESPECIALLY THE TAG WITH REAGAN). Everybody's Got the Right is just as haunting and beautiful as it has ever been. Another National Anthem and The Ballad of Guiteau are definitive recordings. There are also some magnificent tags and dialogue on this recording. With the song Something Just Broke, which was added to Assassins later, I have always heard said was "out of place" in Assassins, and I now know why this criticism is common. It is not that the sentiment is out of place - the music is. This sounds just like Passion, not Assassins. (Passion was Sondheim's next show, which he was probably writing when he wrote Something Just Broke). This doesn't make it a bad song - actually, it's amazingly beautiful. Overall, buy this one, love this one, and then buy the Original Cast Recording. (Or vice versa)
Another one well done.
I stumbled upon the original soundtrack one day while searching for a song with the word "ballad" in the title (which I never found, and have since forgotten.) I was so intrigued by the title "The Ballad of Booth" that I bought the soundtrack and listened to it until I thought it couldn't be listened to any more. I purchased the revival cast recording because I wanted a slight change of pace, particularly with Barbour's deep voice. Once again, an excellent recording. Both soundtracks have their finer points, and I would recommend if you haven't heard the first, it's a must. These tracks actually taught me to enjoy musical theater (I was a senior in highschool when I first heard the Assassins recording), especially the work of Sondheim.
Simply brilliant
an exquisite cast for an exquisite musical. i have the privelige of co-directing and acting in this amazing show this year at my school, and i can't wait. in terms of the soundtrack, Marc kudisch does a brilliant job as the proprietor, cerveris is a riveting booth, o'hare is a wildly entertaining guiteau, cantone's accent is spot on for byck, and, of course, neil patrick harris is the perfect balladeer.
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