Hair - Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording
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CD Details
Brand: HairEdition: Music CD
Format: Cast Recording
CD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Music Label: Ghostlight
Soundtracks:
- Aquarius - Lillias White
- Donna - Lea DeLaria
- Hashish - Paul Castree, Darius de Haas
- Sodomy - Chuck Cooper
- Colored Spade - Euan Morton
- Manchester, England - Ana Gasteyer
- Dead End - Shoshana Bean
- Sheila Franklin/I Believe in Love
- I'm Black/Ain't Got No
- Air - Harvey Fierstein
- Initials - Laura Benanti
- I Got Life - Adam Pascal
- Going Down - Gavin Creel
- Hair
- My Conviction - Charles Bush
- Easy to Be Hard - Jennifer Hudson
- Don't Put It Down! - Christopher Sieber, John Tartaglia
- Frank Mills - Annie Golden
- Be-In (Hare Krishna)
- Where Do I Go? - Julia K. Murney
- Hippie Life - Eden Espinosa
- Electric Blues - Toxic Audio
- Black Boys - Kathy Brier, Ann Harada, Orfeh
- White Boys - Ledisi, , Shayna Steele
- Walking in Space
- Yes I's Finished on Y'All's Farmlands
- Four Score/Abie, Baby - Billy Porter
- Good Morning Starshine - Liz Callaway
- Three-Five-Zero-Zero
- What a Piece of Work Is Man - Norm Lewis
- Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In) - Jai Rodriguez
Music reviews of Hair - Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording
Music Review: Should Be Retitled "Who Can Belt the Highest?"
Rating: 2 Stars
I love "Hair." I think the musical is absolutely brilliant in its use of the rock sound, its unbridled heart, and its deep-felt political convictions. None of that is on display here, lost instead in a (admittedly impressive) line-up of Broadway heavy hitters trying to prove who can sing the highest with the most riffs.
As other reviewers have pointed out, you are much more likely to enjoy this album if you consider it a "greatest hits" type event of songs from the show, rather than a cast recording. Each song is sung by a different soloist, with several of the songs being given to people of the opposite gender. And there is some truly impressive singing to be heard. However, more often than not, the need to pack as many vocal pyrotechnics into songs that rarely run longer than 3 minutes gets in the way of being able to hear the songs' message or even melody.
Some examples of the many missteps on this CD:
-Lillias White's "Aquarius." I *love* her, think she has a fantastic voice, and can riff up a storm, but she goes overboard here, distracting from what is truly a great opening number.
-Harvey Fierstein's "Air." The man's hysterical, and if ever there was a song fit for his distinct gravelly voice, one about pollution should be it. But by the end it's virtually unlistenable.
-Laura Benanti's "Initials." Turning a song that was never meant to be a solo into one is dubious enough, but what really kills this track for me is the misguided attempt at humor when she takes a "lozenge" and begins singing operatic ornamentations over the melody. I don't care how good she sounds doing it (and she does sound *very* good), it is just inappropriate for this song and this score.
-Jennifer Hudson's "Easy to Be Hard." Again, absolutely *love* her. She has proven time and again she is one of the best singers to ever come out of American Idol, and I would probably pay to hear her sing the phonebook. But like Liillias White, Hudson takes the riffing too far and loses the sense of musicality present in a fabulous melody.
-Julia Murney's "Where Do I Go?" Her belt is ridiculous and seemingly has no end, but this song really sounds better in a male vocal register. She would have been better utilized on a different song.
Now, the CD does do some things right. Raul Esperaza sounds fantastic singing the title tune, with a rock-influenced tenor that sounds tailor made for this type of score. Shoshona Bean milks her minute and twenty seconds of "I Believe in Love" for all it is worth. Gavin Creel's silky-smooth tenor is simply delectable on "Going Down." Although largely unintelligble when it comes to what they're actually saying, the "White Boys" trio sounds amazing belting out that particular song, modulating up until they're belting high As without any problem. And I'll be damned if Norm Lewis' vocal on "The Flesh Failures" isn't the best recorded rendition of that song available.
Overall, your enjoyment of this CD will depend on whether you are looking for vocal gymnastics {of which there are plenty, and most of them are solid), or musically intelligent and heartful renditions of the show's songs (this is where most of the tracks fail). Personally, I think the performers loose too much of the show's heart and soul to make this recording worth buying, even if they do belt their faces off.
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