x close

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

This final chapter of Peter Jackson's sprawling adaptation of Tolkien's "Ring" trilogy closes out one of the most accomplished cycles in cinema--and film music--history. As he's done for the saga's first two installments, composer Howard Shore has honed a mature, brooding orchestral masterpiece that's long on subtle shadings of mood and nuance, while eschewing the hollow bombast that's characterized all too many mainstream action and adventure films for three decades. If anything, he's pared this chapter of his music for Middle Earth even closer to the bone, the trilogy's familiar themes repeated with a sparing hand that only heightens their dramatic power. Like Herrmann before him, Shore has a preternatural understanding of orchestral timbres and their almost mystical connections with human emotions, and he's used it here to close out this remarkable trilogy with Wagnerian dramatic sweep, yet one with a distinctly modern, understated melodic sense that is Shore's alone. James Galway and Renee Fleming make key instrumental and vocal contributions, respectively, while Annie Lennox's soulful "Into the West" makes the expected, if unobtrusive, bow to the theatrical pop song conventions. --Jerry McCulley

---

Futures

Enhanced;

Soundtrack;

---

Customer Review:

LOTR:ROTK - as awesome as the others

I may be prejudice, but I love EVERYTHING about the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. This CD of the soundtrack is no exception. Howard Shore's music is so evocative of the action in the films that I can relive the action just by listening to it. And the vocal piece which won the Academy Award is as deserving as all of the other 10 awards the movie won (and we all know the clean sweep was for the mamouth effort of the entire series and not just for ROTK, for heaven's sake!)

The end to some of the best soundtracks ever composed

With The Return of the King soundtrack, Howard Shore delivers a stunning masterpiece of a finale. There is great, epic music on the CD that almost makes you a part of the movie.

There is plenty of new music here in addition to some new variations. Most notably, is the Minas Mourgal music which is played at a blaringly fast pace that is quite creepy. The best epic track is "The Fields of the Pelennor." Included is the amazing music from the charge of the Rohirrim that is sure to send a shiver down you back. The final tracks do a great job of conveying the sadness of the Fellowship breaking up and Frodo leaving. The final track performed by Annie Lennox is a very nice way to end the final score to the great trilogy.

Howard Shore has composed three amazing, unique scores that are sure to be some of the best soundtracks you have ever heard.

Is all this music in the movie?

I enjoy this soundtrack, but I wonder whether it has different orchestral versions of various pieces than those that are in the movie. I especially love the strong beautiful theme (maybe the Gondor theme but I don't know) that comes in at 2:36 on Track 4, The White Tree. I figure from its placement that that music must occur when Gandalf and Pippin enter Gondor. I've watched that scene several times, and it has only a softer, weaker version of that theme. So my question is, does that specific 30 seconds or so appear in the movie, and if so, where? Thanks for any help.

---

Keywords: Film; Film Music; Original Score; Pop; Soundtrack; Soundtracks & Film Scores;

---

---

x close

Hairspray (2002 Original Broadway Cast)

The cast recording for the Broadway musical of John Waters's 1988 paean to dance, music, big beautiful women, and integration is a sheer delight. It's wonderfully upbeat all the way through, with a classic feel that's in keeping with the story's setting in the early 1960s. The characters come alive in these songs, from Marissa Jaret Winokur's (Tracy Turnblad) opening lines in "Good Morning Baltimore" to the stunningly upbeat finale, "You Can't Stop the Beat." The music is by Marc Shaiman, whose recent projects include South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, as well as a number of film soundtracks, and his compositions are simultaneously solid and exuberant. Shaiman and Scott Wittman's lyrics brim over with the unreserved passions and primary-color emotions that made the film so successful. Regardless of one's familiarity with the story or the stage production, it's hard to avoid the appeal of this recording; even the less cheerful songs are awash in bright colors, without disrespect for their subjects. --Genevieve Williams

---

Futures

Cast Recording;

---

Customer Review:

Very Good, Definitely Deserves It's Tony's

A very upbeat, happy musical! A bit bubblegum pop but hey, what do you get when the show's named Hairspray? Very good, Harvey Fierstein definitely does a good job as Edna and Marissa Winokur does a great job playing a teenage girl

Five Best Tracks

Good Morning Baltimore
Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now
I Can Hear The Bells
Run And Tell That!
Timeless To Me

A real hit!

After seeing this musical at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Fransisco I knew that I just HAD to get the CD. Seeing Matthew Morrison (Link Larkin) on stage is one thing, but getting to listen to him day after day on a CD is AMAZING! This musical is a way of attacking racial stereotypes, but in a way so that it is humerous. I love to be able to listen to this CD day after day and hear such wonderful singers. It's a great CD geared towards teenagers and adults alike!

Exactly what it's supposed to be.

I don't get it. Are all these "Fantasia" references coming from the same reviewer using different accounts? You're supposed to use this space to review this CD, not to comment on American Idol. That aside, I'm not sure what kind of problem these people have. "Hairspray" accomplished exactly what it set out to do. It's fun, funny, clever, and not meant to be taken seriously. If you're looking for a vocal showcase, then this isn't the show for you. If you have a sense of humor, though, and don't mind just kicking back and enjoying yourself once in a while, then give "Hairspray" a try. The actors were cast for their parts precisely because of how they sound. And they're also playing roles that call for a certain kind of irony. If the producers had wanted traditional big Broadway-style voices, they would have picked a different cast. It's a character-driven musical, too, and in any case, it's intended as popular entertainment, not high art. It may not appeal to everyone, but unless you're this one guy who seems to be posting lots of suspiciously similar bad reviews, then you'll probably enjoy it.

---

Keywords: Cast Recordings; Music Theater; Musical Theater; Musicals; Pop; Showtunes / B'way;

---

---

x close

The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem and More - 25th Anniversary

Those who spent (or are spending) their formative years watching Kermit and Miss Piggy dance their special interspecies dance will revel in this spectacular, positively historic new Muppets CD, released just in time for the 25th anniversary of Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. A 20-page insert booklet, complete with color photos, details the fascinating history of Muppet music. Remember when Sesame Street's rendition of Jeff Moss's "Rubber Duckie" hit the kiddie pop charts? This 27-song CD harvests favorite and lesser-known recordings from feature films and from the original The Muppet Show, stringing songs ranging from Piero Umiliani's "Mahna Mahna" to Tony Burrello's "There's a New Sound" (the sound that's made by worms) together with skits and grand pronouncements and goofy sound effects like an old-time vaudeville show. A stunning variety of musical styles are showcased in this witty, wonderful collection that reminds us that a world without Fozzie Bear and Gonzo and Kermit and Miss Piggy would be less fuzzy indeed. --Karin Snelson

---

Customer Review:

could do without it

It was great to see this release, however, less than half of the songs are worth while. The dialog bits throughout the CD are more annoying than entertaining. This is more worthwhile to just download and pay for the individual songs you like rather than paying for the whole CD.

This is what we call the Muppet Show!

And it's awesome! Like so many, I am part of the Sesame Street/Muppet Show generation. So, of course, I wouldn't want my own kids to miss out. It became such a hit with my (now) six year old that I have to buy the CD because my tape wore out!

Good for me, Kid couldn't care less.

I bought this thinking it would make my car rides better with my 17 month old. Truth be known, its made them better for me, but she still is a pain.
I loved almost every track and the lyrics to most all of them came right back to me when the songs started. Its too bad that she won't enjoy them for a few more years.

---

Keywords: Childrens; Pop; Soundtrack;

---

---

x close

Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)

Into Broadway's creative vacuum of revivals, movie adaptations, and Hollywood star vehicles comes Rent, the story of squatters, junkies, performance artists, struggling musicians, drag queens, aspiring filmmakers, and HIV-positives (and you thought Miss Saigon's helicopter landing was cool). Undoubtedly among the defining pop cultural events of 1996, Rent has already won four Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. More importantly, it threatens to bring substance back to the Great White Way.

Transposing Puccini's 100-year-old opera La Bohème into modern day Bohemia (19th-century Paris's Left Bank becomes late-20th-century New York's East Village where the scourge of tuberculosis becomes the plague of AIDS) Rent celebrates life among the young, sick, and unconventional. While Broadway shows are hardly the place for authentic portrayals of the latest marginalized hipsters, composer Jonathan Larson (who died at age 36, days before his musical opened) managed to sculpt vivid characters and scenes that bring Avenue A as close as it will ever come to 42nd Street. And by telling a socially relevant story of living without the guarantee of a future (renting, that is), Larson does his own little bit to define an X'ed generation. At worst, Rent is the Hair of the '90s.

For the majority of us who won't be seeing Rent anytime soon, the Original Cast Recording is more than just an after-show souvenir. Well-packaged with a complete libretto, the two-CD set is a worthwhile album separate of live performance. Full of songs that are funny and catchy, inspiring and touching, smart and hip and not overly sentimental, Rent mixes showtune pop with elements of rock, R&B, dance, gospel, and tango to make one of the best albums of the year--certainly the best rock opera in decades. La vie bohème, indeed. --Roni Sarig

---

Futures

Cast Recording;

---

Customer Review:

Soundtrack - next best thing to a front row seat

Beautifully packaged, great soundtrack. My 9 year old and I love this - we play it and play it. Brings back great memories of seeing it on stage at the Fox in St. Louis.

Perfect before or after the show...

Unbelievable

This soundtrack has some great songs on it, and the show itself is a masterpiece and deserves its Pulitzer. The music in this soundtrack is very touching, and the singers themselves are perfect for the parts that they sing.

The Five Best Tracks In My Opinion

Without You
I'll Cover You
Take Me Or Leave Me
Seasons Of Love
One Song Glory

"RENT" Overated

Don't get me worng I think RENT is a good piece of musical theatre but I mean come on there are only a few stand out songs in the show and the rest are just ok and some songs are just plain awful! I have seen RENT and yes it was worth the time and money but what some people say about this show blows my mind... This Show is not amazing! It is just good. I really dont understand how people love every track on the CD because some you couldnt pay me to listen to! Don't buy the CD unless you have seen the show and know that you will like majority of the music! All in All RENT tries but comes up a tad short.

---

Keywords: Cast Recordings; Music Theater; Musical Theater; Pop; Showtunes / B'way;

---

---