A Chorus Line - The New Broadway Cast Recording (2006 Broadway Revival Cast) [Extra tracks]

Marvin Hamlisch (Artist), Edward Kleban (Artist), Charlotte d'Amboise (Artist), Michael Berresse (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000HEZF8Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,547 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In the fall of 2006, A Chorus Line came back on Broadway 16 years after its original run closed, and it felt as if it had never left. The new production, put together by alums from the first one, is a carbon copy of Michael Bennett's groundbreaking staging, and the cast recording follows suit. The good news is that Marvin Hamlisch's energetic, pop-inflected score sounds as great as ever; the bad news: well, you might quibble with the staging but when it comes to the CD, there isn't really any bad news. This time around, the songs are performed in the order in which they are performed live, and the recording includes more of the incidental music and the dialogue. Among the highlights are Natalie Cortez's fabulous "Nothing" (check out the Bacharachian trumpet-and-piano arrangements, which aren't all that surprising since co-orchestrator Jonathan Tunick had worked on Bacharach's sole musical, Promises, Promises) and Jessica Lee Goldyn's uproarious "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three." And then there's "One," which remains one of the most memorable songs in the musical-theater catalogue—-lucky for us, we get it twice since it's reprised at the end. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Admirable, But Doesn't Approach Original, November 7, 2006

By 

AJK (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Chorus Line - The New Broadway Cast Recording (2006 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

It's nice to see such a great show back on Broadway, but this recording just can't escape the shadow of the orginal (and far superior) production. Most everything feels slowed down - too slowed down. I gave it a couple of listens, but it just didn't have the magic. Best tracks:

At The Ballet
The Music And The Mirror
What I Did For Love
One/Finale

Worth the ticket? - Absolutely!, but pick up the landmark 1975 recording instead of this merely "passable" version.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ineffective Revival,, March 2, 2007

By 

Tom George (Wash. DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Chorus Line - The New Broadway Cast Recording (2006 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

Having seen the original in 1975 shortly after it opened, and subseqeuntly, different casts over the years, I was hugely disappointed in this production. While it would be unfair to expect the current revival to have the same impact as the original (they were, after all, playing their own lives), this is oddly unmoving. Every performer seems to be "acting", whereas the original, they all came aross as natural and real.
Charlotte D'Amboise is talented but her performance is forced. Though she is constantly at work in NY, she lacks that something that would make her a megawatt Broadway star. Donna MacKechnie had that quality. In ACL she was heartbreaking, her dancing was pure passion and desperation, and you totally understood why she could not blend into the chorus, she was such a standout, so amazingly talented with such star quality it was sometimes difficult to stop watching her when the other cast members were performing. D'Amboise comes across as just another member of the ensemble, and in The Music and The Mirror, is really emoting, and dancing really, really hard. In her singing she punches every word and every lyric as if to say " I am an actress!!!" Her song is difficult to listen to.
While there is a little more music on this cast album, stick to the OBC to get what it was all about.
I thought to the novice who'd never seen ACL, that this production would seem wonderful, but I have a sister and her husband who recently saw this (and had never seen any production before) and they found it rather dull and ineffective. The original simply overwhelmed with it's brilliance...not here. BTW avoid the dismal mess of a movie at all costs.
Still, when a musical such as ACL chnges the face of musical theater, I say "Bravo" to any production available!!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some really curious musical choices hamstring this recording., November 6, 2006

By 

Musical Lover (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Chorus Line - The New Broadway Cast Recording (2006 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

There are several questions I have after listening to this CD.

Why are the tempos so crazy? The opening number plods along like a funeral march, while At The Ballet zips past as if the performers are on crank. Part of me suspects that cast is performing against a pre-recorded accompaniment track.

Why does everything sound so thin? These orchestrations were created to achieve maximum resonance in live acoustic settings. On this CD, it's like every single instrument is separately mic'ed and mixed to within an inch of its life, sometimes to the detriment of the overall sound. Sometimes, obviously live instruments sound like MIDI. Usually it's the sound engineer's job to make the opposite happen!

Why are the vocals so "hot"? In the OBC, there were occasions when the entire chorus would get overwhelmed by reverb and full-sounding orchestra. Now it's the vocals that tear at the balance.

Who cast this show? I'm not going to single any one cast member out because it would rude, but -- oh screw it. You deserve to know. This Cassie is some serious vocal ugly. I didn't once wonder along with Zach why she was stuck auditioning on the line, like I did with Ms. Donna McKechnie's fabulous triple threat.

Why not update some of the orchestrations? I have a deep and abiding respect for Jonathan Tunick (who is among my top three favorite Broadway creative types), but it's 2006. Wah wah pedals are out.

Overall, although this CD is good for completists, it's not going to knock the OBC recording out of it's slot as the definitive A CHORUS LINE recording. If you don't have a Chorus Line CD and are trying to decide which one to buy, track down the re-mastered version of the original broadway cast. It's vintage, but it has a raw warmth that is missing from the revival cast.