Customer Reviews

Hair: Original Soundtrack Recording - Special Anniversary Edition

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you have never seen the musical or the movie or heard the soundtrack in its entirety, you have missed one of the great musical and theatrical experiences. Hair is the the greatest of all American musicals. The quality of the music and the vibrant originality of the concept are as startling today as they were when the show debuted more than 30 years ago.

Hair is often imitated (see Rent) but its indescribable magic has never been duplicated. There is not a single bad song in the set. "Aquarius," "Black Boys," "Easy to be Hard," "Walking in Space" and so many other of the show's songs are absolute masterpieces. The overwhelming impact of the title track approaches that of the Hallelujah Chorus.

I have owned the Broadway soundtrack for years, and I have seen the stage version and the movie. However, I had never heard the movie soundtrack. It is an extraordinary effort, arguably superior to the exceptionally fine Original Broadway Cast recording. The song treatments depart significantly from those of the stage and movie productions. The performers are the same, but the soundtrack powers the songs with a gloriously funky, driving, quasi-disco beat that isn't as pronounced in the movie.

Nell Carter is at her finest, as are Treat Williams, Cheryl Barnes, Melba Moore, Charlayne Woodard, and host of other musical stars. Indeed, with only a couple of minor exceptions, the voices are excellent. And I simply cannot overstate the effect of the penetrating beat. Groovy, man.

If anyone is at all familiar with the show, you will realize that this version of the soundtrack takes the original songs and funks them up! I love their versions of Aquarius and Let The Sunshine in - especially if you've seen the movie, it makes the songs all more powerful. I have both the play soundtrack and this one, if you've got some extra do-re-mi it's a very good addition to your collection! One thing I'm not too impressed with is their version of "Colored Spade" - it's slower than the play version and the singer (don't know his name) doesn't have the right voice for it - it works though.

A stellar cast

Although the movie was nothing compared to the stage production, this recording stands out as the quintessential recording of this musical production. Cheryl Barnes' rendition of "Easy to be Hard" as the jilted fiancee of Hud, puts all the ones who have attempted to belt this song out to shame. It is because of her rendition that this song remains one of my all-time Broadway favorite tunes. I love this version so much that I bought the original release in 2CDs and this one which was compressed into one CD. There's really no difference between the 2 and 1 CD version, just that this one is easier to carry around and store. Fact is, this recording goes far beyond the five star maximum rating!

I'm not completely sure why some people hate this soundtrack so much. I've actually been in Hair the musical twice now (once playing Claude and once playing Woof... both are noticebly different in the script) it doesn't seem like it should recieve only 1 or 2 stars from anyone considering the quality of musicianship, voices and feeling put into these performances. It could be that those who are loyal to the original (which is great in itself) aren't too keen on the commercial sound and high production quality of this version. The original sounds far more raw. It's possible they are hearing the funk and soul influence and interpereting it as disco, which was also influenced by funk and soul.
For me personally, this version is preferable to the others. The rhythm section on this cd kicks and grooves. I'm not much for dancing, but when this album moves i can't help but be swept away with it. Treat Williams performances embody the youthful vigor and cockiness that the songs need, without sacrificing intonation (this is the only Hair soundtrack i've heard where that is accomplished). On his rendition of Donna, Manchester and impressive bit parts here and there (notably his climactic and sincere rendition of the manchester reprise heard in Flesh Failures... sends a shiver up my spine) he delivers everytime. John Savage is adequate, but overshadowed by Treat Williams stellar performances. Sodomy is sung quite well as are the rest of Woof's cameos in Hair and I'm Black. Hud's Colored Spade is sung with just the right amount of venom and humor.
The gal who sings Aquarius sings it like no other. for me this is the definitive version of Aquarius. Easy to be hard is an amazing vocal performance as well. An exceedingly cool version of Abie Baby is rewritten for Nel Carter's unique and powerful voice (you can hear Nel consistantly ripping it up throughout all of the group numbers.. props to the producers of this cd for using her where they did). Black Boys/White Boys, besides having kickass vocal performances, takes an interesting spin on interracial relationships adding a homesexual componant. A very cool way of pushing the envelope in my opinion (that's a big part of what Hair's about after all!). Group numbers like 3500, Electric Blues, Ain't Got No and Walking in Space get lots of play time on my cd player. On these epics, the soul, delivery of lyrics and harmony are top notch. It's great when the chorus are as capable as the leads.
Amidst all the great renditions and variations of these classic songs there are a few that leave me with more to be desired. Air is adequate at best (I like the vocal, but the music arrangement doesn't do much for me... I guess you can't win them all), the version of Where Do I Go is ok, but I'd prefer it without the cheesy horn arrangements (it's still uplifting despite this). I'm not a fan of the version of What Piece of Work is Man either simply because it doesn't have any lift. The irritatingly out of place Somebody To Love and filler version of Don't Put It Down (which bares very little resemblence to the original) serves little purpose without the little comedic chase sequence in the film and the previous bar scene. One wonders why I Believe in Love, Dead End, Oh Great God Of Power, the Bed (which I can live without) and Going Down aren't accounted for on this soundtrack. I gave it a 5 star rating anyway because the rest of the CD is so good that these little shortcomings seem menial.
For me this album is the perfect blend of cynical humor, political commentary and ripping funk rock. My only advice is that you know your biases when purchasing.

I'm 15 years old, so I was never involved in the whole 60's thing (child of the late 80's), but my mom is a hippie and showed me this movie once I was 7 or 8, and I really liked it, and I just *finally* bought this soundtrack, it is so good, it's always in my CD changer, before my popular music CDs, it's just that good! The voices are excellent, and it's fun to be able to relate to my mom and her teenage years when this took place, it's fun. Anyone can enjoy this!

I don't understand why so many disgruntled customers are complaining that this HAIR is musically different from the Original Broadway Cast. What's the point of doubling up by making the film sound exactly like the Broadway Cast? If you want to hear the Broadway sound, GET the Broadway cast recording. Yes, the orchestrations on this HAIR sound VERY different to the Broadway version -- it took me one listen to figure that out. But I haven't stopped playing it since I got it and after 20 playings on my iPod, I still can't get enough of it. If nothing else, it's worth owning just to hear Nell Carter belt out her numbers! And who would have thought Charlotte "Mrs Garrett" Rae could sing like that? Now I have TWO fantastic HAIR recordings to enjoy!

I think that this soundtack is wonderful and amazingly well made and well done. I've looked at other people's reviews, and a lot of people are saying that this soundtrack is not the one for them and are warning other people not to get it. I disagree and feel that the musical soundtrack is good too, but that this soundtrack is still as amazing and well preformed as ever. Mabye some of the artists could have put a little more energy into making this soundtrack, but that fact still would not prevent me from listening to this sountrack and still thinking it is truly amazing.......

This is from the GREAT movie that has songs from the stage play. In its own right, this HAIR is both different and outstanding. TREAT WILLIAMS is spectacular--- and in my opinion, this could not have been so successful except for the judicious use of NELL CARTER in the group numbers. Her voice is so distinctive and yet--- it blends. The muscial director uses her for emphasis at each critical moment of each song. Buy it, listen to it--- love it. No, it's not the stage version, but what's wrong with a different head of HAIR anyway?

Okay, when a CD is released commemorating an anniversary, and part of the sales pitch is "Special Anniversary Edition," don't you expect some cool previously unreleased tracks or somehing?
As much as I love Hair soundtracks, including the movie soundtrack, I think it's odd they put out an anniversary edition commemorated by doing......nothing?

The weak sales pitch aside, this CD has some great hits and some great misses. I always found it strange that the movie soundtrack included songs like "Air" and "Frank Mills" that were not used in the movie. In addition, both these tunes are the worst renditions I have ever heard, and in my opinion, should have been left out of the final cut. I bought the LP in '79, back when I was a huge mark for "HAIR!" and even then, it seemed like the folks who produced this album scrambled to put out the soundtrack without paying much attention to the overall finished product.

On the plus side, the rendition of Aquarius is absolutely beautiful (although Ronnie Dyson's take is still the best), and "Ain't Got No" and "White Boys" are superb, thanks largely to the sassy & passionate voice of the late Nell Carter. The title track is good, and "Where Do I Go?" is an admirable take. Cheryl Barnes does the best version of "Easy To Be Hard" that I've ever heard, and the finale "Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In" is quite moving.

The movie soundtrack's takes on "Donna," "I Got Life," and "Manchester, England" are nothing special, but they don't butcher these classic Hair pieces either.

Good soundtrack for Hair fans, but I personally would not pay full price.

The Broadway version is wonderful, but the film version blows it away with fantastic orchestrations and boundless energy. Very few CDs have the depth and range of these recordings. The sound lierally jumps out of the speakers and dances around the room. The vocal performances are tops, and every song is a classic. Many of the songs on this soundtrack were deleted from the final film version unfortunately, and some were shortened, so it is a blessing that they are all on this disc. I just can't say enough about how wonderful it is to put this on, sit back and enjoy an hour of sheer bliss. There is nothing else quite like it.