Howard Ashman - Little Shop Of Horrors: Original Cast Album (1982 Off-Broadway Cast)
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.64 You Save: $5.34 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.71 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music Reviews of Little Shop Of Horrors: Original Cast Album (1982 Off-Broadway Cast)
Music Review: The Satisfied Shop of Horrors
Rating: 5 Stars
Funny enough I just got to see this musical a while ago. It was Excellent. At first it was funny but then it lost it's humour and warped to a sacrificing Love story in the end. Well anyway's here's my track by track review:
1. Prologue (Little Shop Of Horrors) (5/5) For a musical this is a great opening. Nice and Jazzy they bring the comody immediatly into the show.
2. Skid Row (Downdown) (5/5) EXCELLENT! I love this song. Very interesting. Seymours lines mix very well into the Narrator ladies lines. Very well done!
3. Da-doo (3/5) Nope no five this time. It doesn't have a point in here. I don't have a clue why it was included! All it's good for is opening the idea of Audrey II.
4. Grow for me (4/5) Not bad I suppose. The only thing I'm going to take a star off is because it Cuts into the next song which sucks!
5. Ya Never know (5/5) Nice Jazz and whatever this is! Wonderful adds to the jazz type or comedy of the film. The Narrarator Women are good singers. Nice Beet too!
6. Mushnik and Son (3/5) Not really my favorite. It's very short and odd. Again in my opinion it adds nothing but an intro to Mushnik.
7. Dentist (5/5) Well here comes Orin! I was wondering when he'd come in! He has a nice song here. Good Beat but inappropriate lyrics! 'Sooting Puppies with a BB gun' Not good. Deffinatly NOT for under sevens but i suppose it adds the dementing side of Orin!
8. Somewhere thats green (5/5) one word BEAUTIFUL! Even though Audrey sounds like she's what? Seven! Good song but Singer needs to aim for a TEENAGER!
9. Feed Me (5/5) Okay good song and obviously Audrey II is supposed to have a sort of Hip-Hop idea going here! Good opening to Audrey not being JUST a plant!
10. It's Just the Gas (5/5) WOW! One minute we just meet Orin and the next he's killed off. At least he's the bad guy! Funny song really! Oh and by the way, We're just wrapping up ACT I with this song!
11. Closed for Renevation (3/5) Sheesh another Useless Song! All this tells you is they're doing Really well! Okay but too useless it's just 1:10 long! Oh, this is the start of ACT II with this song!
12. Suddenly Seymour (5/5) BEAUTIFUL! Good song really good! I love this one and it widens the idea of Seymour and Audrey together.
13. Suppertime (5/5) And heres Audrey II. This is the second of three venomous songs sung by Audrey II, the first being 'Feed Me'. Good song.
14. Meek shell inherit (5/5) Nice song! Opens up the Conclusion of the CD / Production! It's here Seymour realizes that after feeding Orin and Mushnik to the plant, he can't do it! Definatly where Seymours Concious comes into reality play!
15. Suppertime II (5/5) Okay here's the here's the conclusion to this story! Audrey comes to the shop worried about Seymour and she meets the plant. She gives it water and she is caught in the plant. Seymour arrives and pulls her out. Then a MAJOR CUT HOLE appears as Seymour is ate and Audrey isn't. NOT TRUE they're missing A MAJOR CUT not including, 'Somewhere that's green Reprise'. BIG MISTAKE! Anyways seymour and Audrey are eaten. Good Conclusion!
16. Finale (5/5) And that wraps up the CD fokes. Now the Cast try to tell you its true. IM TELLING YOU ITS NOT! Nice Finale though!
And there you have it the end of the track by track review. Well before I end this im going to say that I love this CD. I'd have to say it's grade is:
80%. Not bad for a Incomplete CD. If you want good singers get this one. If you want a COMPLETE SCORE get the 2003 album.
Music Review: OH MY ..., PLEASE KEEP FEEDING THE PLANTS
Rating: 5 Stars
Well, at school we're just starting to get off the ground with 'Little Shop... and to break us in we got to watch the film. I can honestly say this has topped my favourite film/musical list. Anyway, we were given the opportunity to buy a copy of the stage soundtrack and it hasn't yet left my CD plyer... Right my favourite song on the soundtrack is the excellently catchy Finale(Don't Feed The Plants) which I think is great with it's different levels. I also like The Meek Shall Inherit also for the catchy factor. My least favourite song is Now(Just the Gas)I get sick of it easily. Here is my full track rating:
Prologue/Title Track-starts off a bit dull but picks up, maybe a bit high even for the performers 7.5/10
Skid Row(Downtown)is a great song to kick start the musical wears a bit thin as it drags on for quite a while. 7/10
Da-doo isn't great I'm afraid, I'd sooner replace this with a song from an updated version called Call Back In The Morning 4/10
Grow For Me is a popular track and is the point of finding out what Audrey II eats 8/10
Ya Never Know to me on many levels showcases the catchiness if what's in store, I love it 9.5/10
Mushnik & Son you'd expect me to like because it's my song in the school production, and although the CD version is different to my script I do like it. It is up there with the best 9/10
Dentist is very funny. I love the bit at the start of the song and the doowop girls compliment the song greatly 7.5/10
Somewhere That's Green is a popular one but I don't really like it. It's too soppy for me but it is sung very heartstring pulling 5/10
Feed Me/Git It is the best song that the plant features heavily on it is very rap orientated and is popular among me and my friends 9/10
Now(Just The Gas)in my eyes spoil what is an outstanding soundtrack I've just never warmed to it 3/10
Closed For Renovation is a bit average but it has it's moments when the singers build up from 1 character to 3 6/10
Suddenly Seymour at the start I liked this but as you rehearse you discover many of the other songs are actually better than the song that the audience is supposed to like best 7/10
Suppertime is excellent and is very mellow considering that my character dies in this song I prefer Feed Me but this is up there with the best 8/10
The Meek Shall Inherit this is one of the best songs it starts off a bit creepy when the agencies sing but the chorus is catchy and Seymour's solo bit is hypnotic let down slightly when it goes in to 'But then there's Audrey'etc 10/10
Sominex/Suppertime is not an obvious one to like but I do what dissappoints me is that it hasen't got the Somewhere that's Green Reprise at the end because I find that that part is quite lighthearted to a very serious death scene but still I give this 7/10
Finale(Don't Feed The Plants) the is one of if not the best song on the show it starts off trying to display a message and then it gets all rocky a very toe-tapping if you don't leave the theatre with a smile on your face at the end of this song then I'm afraid you're a bit of a robot 11/10
I hope this review was helpful. Buy the disc you won't be disappointed. The show is set to entertain. SUCCESS
Music Review: Quaint, but Enjoyable!
Rating: 4 Stars
I really like this show. I must say that it is better live and with all of the tracks. This version doesn't include all of the material included in say the newer (less pleasing) Broadway version.
Ellen Greene shines as Audrey, but I must say that the girl I saw, Tari Kelly, in the national tour is superior. She has a funny way of saying her words which adds to the character, but then she gets into this weird little kind of soultry, kind of soprano, and kind of belty voice. She did this more in the movie version, but in the song SUDDENLY SEYMOUR, she gets into it and it detracts from the song. But I do give her an A because, I mean, she made the role. Every actress sculpts themselves based on her performance. She's got to be good.
Ron Taylor is much less satisfying. He sings beautifully with ease and flare. That's a bad thing! Seymour can have a good voice, but it has to be character fitting. Mr. Taylor just sings too prety. GROW FOR ME lacks the nerdiness. SUDDENLY SEYMOUR is weak until Audrey comes in, and even then, it is lacking something. Because of that this is my least favorite version of SUDDENLY SEYMOUR. I give Mr Taylor a C, just because I feel his MEEK SHALL INHERIT is haunting.
Lee Wilkoff is good, but forgettable. Some of his funnier lines are left out, which detracts from his character. The guy who plays Mushnik is okay, but also forgettable. The three girls are okay, but one of them sings like she wants to be a soprano but can't get up there like she wants. MEEK SHALL INHERIT is done well by the three, but the title song is lacking.
The guy who plays Orin and all the others is good. His DENTIST is plain, patly because of the blah orchestrations and partly because of the weaker lyrics. *I feel DENTIST is one of the most lacking songs in the show, the worst is CLOSED FOR RENOVATION!* But the guy is eally good in MEEK SHALL INHERIT. I love those lyrics! His voice does sound a little bit the same for every part, but that is understandable knowing that he doesn't have his costumes.
The writers of this play eally did a great job. There are many standouts on this CD such as:
SKID ROW
GROW FOR ME
YA NEVER KNOW
SOMEWHERE THAT'S GREEN
NOW
SUDDENLY SEYMOUR (just because it's good)
MEEK SHALL INHERIT
SOMINEX
DON'T FEED THE PLANTS
This CD is a great listen. I highly suggest it. I feel it is the bets recording of the show. The movie version takes second place, while the new version takes third. I fel original is best. However, the larger number of tracks on hte other CD's are really a great thing.
Thanks for Ellen Greene and some really great writers, this CD is must buy!
4 stars?
2 stars for Ellen Greene
1 star for the writing
1 star for the guy who plays Orin, Lee Wilkoff, and MEEK SHALL INHERIT
Music Review: Fun
Rating: 5 Stars
I'm a sucker for the whole "This is where it all began" aspect of original cast albums, not matter how simple or rough around the edges they be (The 1973 London cast of The Rocky Horror Show is a perfect example), and it's these humble recordings that are usually, if not always my favorite. That being said, Little Shop of Horrors is quite possible my favorite musical. Of every show that grace smy stereo, this is probably the only show that I truely feel is absolutly perfect. I have no gripes what so ever with this show. Since as far back as I could remember I've always felt that it balanced humor and heart with more then just a dash of coolness like no other show avant or apres has ever been able to do.
But I digress, getting back to the matter of cast recordings. The biggest gripe I could have with a cast recording is that it's incomplete. Anything less then the entire score recorded in it's entirety is painful for me. That's this recordings major flaw. It's pretty sparse. It's more of a highlight recording if anything, as it includes most of the best tracks, with the exception of a few add ons.
The main tracks it does include (Suddenly Seymour, Feed me, Dentist, Somehwere That's Green, Grow for Me...You know the ones) are fortunatly either diffinitve or pretty damn good. The Feed me here is, at least in my oppinion, the best ever recorded. Ron Taylor as Audrey II is amazing. Probably only second best to Levi Stubbs in the movie (although the Feed Me there isn't nearly as good). We also have the Amazing Ellen Greene here, and that NEVER hurts. She's heartbreaking.
You couldn't ay this is the definitive recording - the 2003 Broadway cast probably takes that honor, if only because it's complete - but this album is a wonderful light into how it all began. Highly recomennded.
Music Review: An Excellent Play with Excellent Music
Rating: 5 Stars
I don't think "Little Shop of Horrors" would be my favorite musical if it weren't for its songs. While listening to this CD, I actually found myself wanting to get up and dance and sing to the tune(s).The CD of the original cast, which includes Lee Wilkof as Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey, Hy Anzell as Mushnick, Ron Taylor as the voice of Audrey II/the plant, and Frank Luz as Orin/the Dentist and everyone else such as the Customer, Skip Snip, and Bernstein, was, in my opinion, far better than the movie soundtrack. It includes songs that the movie soundtrack doesn't have, such as "Mushnick and Son," "We're Closed for Renovations," and "Now (It's Just the Gas)." The CD of the original cast includes a large variety of songs, while the movie soundtrack only includes about half of those songs.
The only real disappointment I found with this CD was the fact that Howard Ashman (who directed the stage production, wrote the script and the lyrics to the songs) and Alan Menken (the writer of the music) didn't include the song "Mean, Green Mother from Outer Space" in the stage production. No matter how many times I hear that song, I always find myself rockin' out, if ya know what I mean. It's a real enjoyable song, and it's just a shame that it couldn't have been written earlier so that it could have been included in the soundtrack of the stage production. Instead, the CD of the stage production ends with the finale "Don't Feed the Plants," which I found to fit better with the mood of the story of "Little Shop of Horrors."
Overall, I found myself to be liking this CD quite a bit. At least enough to give it a 5 out of 5.