Customer Reviews

Hair (Original London Cast Recording + Extras)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The London recording of "Hair" is unquestionably the most complete and listenable version of the great grand daddy of "rock" musicals. "Hair" was originally produced in London only months after the Broadway opening, and this new Decca recording combines the two separate London recordings to approximate the full score. The re-recording and re-mastering is brilliant. RCA tried to do this with the American versions with dismal results: a flat sound, a lot of discordant music and absolutely no excitement. But this cast album is bouncy, breezy and completely recreates the excitement of the original Broadway production. This recording even has little Elaine Page somewhere in the chorus! So get out the love beads, the bong and bellbottoms, and tune in, turn on and let your hair down.  (Submitted by staff member Stephen J. Finn)

"Hair" in general is a brilliant thesis on the peace, love, and freedom movement of the 60's. The original Broadway cast recording is outstanding. This recording unfortunately fails to do justice to the great music that is "Hair". The songs are poorly mixed, with overpowering background vocals, which in retrospect are probably a blessing, as the lead vocals are poor at best. The lead singers are unable to cover the range the songs require, and on some of the pieces their voices crack, screech, and change octaves like teens going through puberty. Ultimately it's the director who is at fault though, since apparently they believed they could arrange these pieces better than the songs' creators. They couldn't, and we the listeners suffer.

Get the Broadway recording, the limeys sound like vocalizing robots. It's still good because the material rocks, but every listen I can't help but compare it to the NYC crew, and they come up lacking every time. This is definitely not a quintessential Hair recording.

You can read about the history of this recording in the other posts... my only "two cents" is that there were some tracks on the "FRESH HAIR" release that topped their American counterpart "DisinHAIRited" that I wished had been included on this cut. Also, I'll put in another cry that "The Flesh Failures"(to me, the whole soul of this musical) wasn't included- that is a true crime!
Otherwise, the performers ALL are lacking in charisma and voice to the OBC. I never really cared for Paul Nicholas(Claude)- he's especially lacking in vocal talent as "Jesus" in J C SUPERSTAR from the start. If you only want ONE recording of the show, stick with the Original Broadway Cast...for the most part, they are unmatched on ANY recording of HAIR (and I've got about 40 cast recordings of the show!).

This CD combines the original London cast album with the follow-up LP of songs that didn't fit onto the cast album. The arrangements differ in some cases from the more familiar US recordings, sometimes to the song's benefit, although "Frank Mills" actually loses a little something with the London actress's more sophisticated singing. All in all, though, I prefer this recording to the US cast CD. Great sound and terrific notes, too.

The seller came through. I got my cd in the condition advertised and on time. I would highly recommend this person.

This musical stands as one of the most original ones to come to Broadway in the late 60's. In many aspects, it is an authentic landmark, because the musicals became more and more distant from past models. It seemed as if the days of Rogers and Hammerstein were gone for good and the Age of Aquarius was at our doors. Many of the unprecedented songs have become classics, and its theatrical influence became world wide. Even here in Chile they came out with a musical quite similar in form although the concept was totally different: EL DEGENERESIS (1970) talked about social climbing and social injustice instead of the Vietnam War. I saw a stunning production of HAIR in London back in 1971, and I was really impressed by the spectacular staging: it was so beautifully done, in a time when digital visual effects hadn't come out. I often listen to this CD and wonder if there ever will be such an original and innovating musical as this one.