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| Shout out: Will Van Dyke's music direction & orchestrations for LITTLE SHOP are freaking fantastic. | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 12:36 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 12:35 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
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| I spent my quarantine morning listening to the new Off-Bway cast recording. This music direction is spot on fantastic. The tempos are exactly where you want them to be and the new orchestrations are fabulous. All the vocal choices for the trio of Ronnette / Crystal / Chiffon are delicious -- super tight -- and that's what you might notice first, but there are a lot of new orchestrations here, too. I especially love the way he leans into the electric bass guitar on "Get It (Feed Me)," letting it really enjoy the FUNK. That one song alone relies on styles from James Brown ("Feed Me," ) to Elvis Presley (Seymour's "I don't know...") to Jerry Lee Lewis ("the guy sure looks like plant food to me") in a matter of measures, and Mr. Van Dyke pulls all the right stylistic choices from that music history. You hear direct references throughout. Same thing for the Motown sound on "Suppertime." Just listen to the bass guitar and the high hat on the drumset. That's classic Berry Gordy. So well done. This guy just seems to really know his music history, and he's unafraid to throw that knowledge into the tiniest touches. Listen to the Caribbean island rock sounds that he sneaks into the background guitar of "Ya Never Know" -- that's just absolutely perfect. (Compare it to the last B'way revival for a comparison of what's great versus what's generic and bland). I don't know Mr. Van Dyke -- but I REALLY appreciate someone who knows their stuff and adds all that knowledge into their work. Had to mention my appreciation. - GMB |
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| Link | Spotify link for LITTLE SHOP OF HORROS (The New Off-Broadway Cast Album) |
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| I've got to disagree... | |
| Posted by: Pashacar 03:55 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
| In reply to: Shout out: Will Van Dyke's music direction & orchestrations for LITTLE SHOP are freaking fantastic. - GrumpyMorningBoy 12:35 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
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| Funny you mention this, because I meant to post about it a few weeks back, and then forgot as things got crazy. The orchestrations happened to be the thing I liked the least about this revival. I understand they were going for a lower-budget feel, but to me they sounded thin at a lot of moments (worse in person than on the recording), and those references you mention didn't feel sufficiently subtle – like they were there more to show off than to augment the story. Maybe that's just my comfort with the source material speaking. Also, I know the Broadway revival's isn't the authoritative recording, but I do love its Act I Finale and was dismayed to see it shortened to something that felt like a sitcom button. Same goes for its Entre'acte. Of course, I respect the talent here and see where you're coming from. But the direction they took was not my cup of tea, to the point where it massively stood out to me while watching. To each their own.... |
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| A B movie score *should* sound cheap and subversive. It shouldn't sound like a MGM Hollywood movie musical orchestra. | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 05:09 pm EDT 04/24/20 | |
| In reply to: I've got to disagree... - Pashacar 03:55 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
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| It's a B movie. It really SHOULD sound like a creature feature at the drive in. And it should feel a wee bit subversive. Menken and Ashman absolutely understood this when they wrote it. - GMB, who cannot listen to LITTLE SHOP without being aghast at how not-meant-for-this-world talented Howard Ashman was |
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| re: I've got to disagree... | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 09:52 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 09:50 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
| In reply to: I've got to disagree... - Pashacar 03:55 pm EDT 04/23/20 | |
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| Also, I know the Broadway revival's isn't the authoritative recording, but I do love its Act I Finale and was dismayed to see it shortened to something that felt like a sitcom button. Same goes for its Entre'acte. Indeed it's not authoritative. The original off-Broadway score had a much more abrupt, vaudeville-esqe Act I button, and there was no Entr'acte at all. :-) |
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