Hair (Original London Cast Recording + Extras) [Cast Recording, Original recording remastered]

Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Hair (Related Recordings), Galt MacDermot | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 6, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording, Original recording remastered
• Label: Decca Broadway
• ASIN: B000008131
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,665 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Fortunate Mistake!, August 17, 2001

By 

Ramon Grupe Cacho "oligodermie" (Makati, Metro Manila, The Philippines) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hair (Original London Cast Recording + Extras) (Audio CD)

Foremost, this is not the soundtrack, as the caption says, but the 1968 Original London Cast Recording reissued along with the 1970 additional songs previosly released as "Fresh Hair." The caption is deceiving, because I really liked the way the movie soundtrack was recorded, and I thought that this was an expanded version of that particular recording, so I ordered it. I was disappointed to find out that it was not the soundtrack when I received it, but it's a great compilation. Granted, these are not fabulous singers, but, more importantly, they do capture the spirit of this great musical, which makes it a gem of a recording. If you like "Hair" you must have this. It's rather rough on the edges, somewhat annoying and shrill, but an interesting listen.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, However....., May 23, 2004

By 

K. Brown "El Rudo Lucky Pierre!" (Walnut, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hair (Original London Cast Recording + Extras) (Audio CD)

If you are an avid collector of Ragni & Rado's Hair items, this is a definite item for your collection. Several disappointments though: the exclusion of "Flesh Failures/Let The Sun Shine In" that was on the LP version of The London Cast. Granted, the Original London Cast did an unusually weak job of that number, which may be why they left it off the CD release. In its place is a somber but beautiful combo of "Ain't Got No/Let the Sun Shine In," which was taken from a lesser known LP called "Fresh Hair," which featured songs for the musical that did not make the final edit.

Which brings me to my second disappointment... with the material from "Fresh Hair" in their hands, it would have been fun to include more tracks from that album like "2000 Year Old Man," "Washing the World," and "Mess Of Dirt." Not all the lyrics in these songs were the sharpest (and a few were really bad!), but the music was great; it would be a shame to see these lesser known pieces of "Hair History" vanish completely.

These personal Guajardian gripes aside, this is a really good soundtrack, with occasional dialogue from the play. The rendition of Aquarius is even more exotic than the Broadway Cast. Their spin on "Hare Krishna/Be In" includes verbal assaults from Hippie Haters thrown in, which is a nice touch. And the title track rendition is right up there with that of The Broadway Cast.

I won't go as far to say I like The London Cast as much as The Broadway Cast, but it is very good, and comes in a comfortable second. If you are a casual "Hair" fan, I would say go for the Broadway soundtrack. If you are even just a tad more than just a casual fan, this is definitely a soundtrack you should add to your CD rack.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glad to have it back in print, August 31, 2003

By 

Tom (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hair (Original London Cast Recording + Extras) (Audio CD)

I have both the 1968 London cast record as well as the 1970 Fresh Hair record. I was glad when I heard they combined the two recordings to make a more accurate recording of the musical.

My compaint with this CD is that they leave off the "Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In" from the 1968 version and replace it with an improvisation on the theme from the 1970 Fresh Hair. The 1968 version was much better and actually represented what was performed on the Shaftsbury stage. There was room on the disc to include this number as well as a couple more of the shorter Freash Hair songs. It would have been nice to hear Elaine Paige sing "Wash the World" on CD.