Customer Reviews

American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording Featuring Green Day

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw the show in NYC the other night and was simply blown away. I have always been a pretty good (but not huge) Green Day fan, but this show gave me huge new respect for them. These songs rock. Yes, it's different to hear someone other than BJA sing them, especially the female voices, but the arrangements fill the songs out really well, and there is a major depth of emotion in them. This CD is going to stay on repeat for a long time in my player!

As a huge Green Day fan, I wasn't sure if I would like the cast recording album, as it's not Billie Joe singing on it, but I've just listened to the sample tracks, and think its absolutely fabulous. The female voices and multi-vocal harmonies give a totally different dimension to what was/is one of the best (IF NOT THE BEST) albums released in the last 30 years, and the additional tracks (ie Favorite Son/Too Much Too Soon + the 21 CB tracks etc) just add the icing to the cake. Now all I have to do, is see if I can buy it, as it's not out in the UK yet !!!!!!!!

****UPDATE - MY IMPORT COPY CAME TODAY IN THE POST (6th May), AND IT'S JUST AS GOOD AS I HAD HOPED, ESPECIALLY WITH THE TRACK 22 - When its Time, WHICH IS ACTUALLY GREEN DAY/Billie Joe SINGING A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONG... [Not sure if the UK version due out next week is going to get this extra track, hence the reason for buying from the USA]
I really like the way they have mixed Last of the American Girls/She's A Rebel into a single song.

Would recommend this as a "must have item" to any Green Day collection.

Love the original album on which this show is based. I was very excited to hear the Cast Album was coming out so soon. I got it from iTunes that day it came out and it has been on repeat ever since. The vocal and orchestral arrangements are GORGEOUS! The vocal performers are all top notch! I can't find ANYTHING to complain about with this CD. The most beautiful song on the CD has got to be "21 Guns." The voices, the arrangements, the lyrics all wonderful. As a Green Day fan and a Broadway Fanatic, this is the perfect marriage of two very different genres. Plus the awesome review in the NY Times is nice too. This CD would be the perfect addition to ANY CD collection.

The inherent theatricality of Green Day's seminal modern rock opera "American Idiot" on disc meant it was only a matter of time until, like The Who's "Tommy," it wound up on stage. And here it is, represented by this brilliant cast recording--a thrilling listen that proves, like "Tommy, "that a mark of a great musical piece is that it holds up in various incarnations. Such is the power of the music that it does not falter a bit without Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong. John Gallagher Jr., Tony Vincent, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and the rest of the talented cast flesh out this story of disaffected youth, circa 2004, impressively (assisted by some added tracks from "21st Century Breakdown.") Congrats to Green Day and the creative team for holding to their vision and taking a risk with this show. This ranks immediately as one of the great rock musical cast recordings.

At first, I was a bit hesitant to buy the cast recording of American Idiot. I am a huge Broadway fan (and a big John Gallagher Jr. fan as well), but I already love the original American Idiot album, and I couldn't see how I would enjoy listening to different people singing Green Day's original songs. How wrong I was!

The original Broadway cast of American Idiot bring something so unique and engaging to an already incredible album. The new voices (and Tom Kitt's arrangements) only enhance the album's story, and this recording brings an entirely new energy to the original songs. A familiar album takes on a whole new life with the cast recording, and I just can't wait to see this show on Broadway.

Green Day is one of the last bands whose work I would expect to see with an original Broadway cast recording, but they have certainly found a home in this new territory.

If you're a Green Day fan: BUY THIS ALBUM!
If you're a Broadway fan: BUY THIS ALBUM!

ahhhhhhmazing. i was not really a green day fan before seeing this musical and buying this cd. the music on this cd certainly gave me an appreciation for green day that i never had. it is some of the most stunning reworking/cover of songs I have ever heard. 21 guns is breath taking, and alone is worth the cd. i highly recommend this cd, even to those not big on musicals.

Amazing cast recording from an incredible show! I don't usually like cast recordings of shows that are based around songs I already know from their original versions (Jersey Boys, Movin' Out, Footloose, etc.), but -- hard as it is to believe -- this is even better than the album upon which the show is based. With Green Day singing along with the very talented cast, how can you go wrong?! I loaded it up on my iPod and it got me through an entire half-marathon with ease. See the show. Get the two-disc CD. Enuf said.

Having seen the Broadway production of "American Idiot," I found the original cast recording to be excellent, capturing the raw, driving energy of the stage performance. The one caveat I give to anyone who hasn't seen the production (and this holds true for any original cast recording no matter the show) is the following: whether it will be as exciting or entertaining as it was for those who have seen it may very well depend on one's ability to visualize or imagine the story and action. Complete lyrics are provided with this recording, which should help those who haven't seen the show enjoy the recording all the more.

As for Green Day fans, they'll probably be very happy with this version regardless of whether or not they've seen or ever will see "American Idiot" on Broadway.

Great Album! This takes American Idiot to a whole new level. If you love Green Day and American Idiot, you can't hesitate to buy this.

Not since Spring Awakening has there been a Broadway score so accomplished as American Idiot. In fact it's up there with four star scores as Next to Normal, Ragtime, Captains Courageous, Burnt Part Boys, Capeman and Enter the Guardsman. I am just so thrilled that the reign of mediocrity on Broadway imposed by the Lloyd Webbers, Sondheims, Kander & Ebbs, etc. has ebbed forever.
Tragically if you're musing over whether to see American Idiot on Broadway, don't delay. The problem with the show is that there is no book. (Or, there is a book but only in the head of the composer.) Very few shows, apart from Cats survive without a book. Spring Awakening was viable because its indie rock had the benefit of Frank Wedekind's play. Green Day's music was never better performed, especially not by Green Day. This recording is essential.