Hair (The New Broadway Cast Recording) [Cast Recording]

Hair (Related Recordings) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Ghostlight
• ASIN: B0026OTQX0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,442 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Aquarius

2. Donna

3. Hashish

4. Sodomy

5. Colored Spade

6. Manchester England

7. I'm Black/Ain't Got No

8. Sheila Franklin/I Believe In Love

9. Ain't Got No Grass

10. Air

11. Kama Sutra/The Stone Age

12. I Got Life

13. Initials

14. Going Down

15. Hair

16. My Conviction

17. Easy To Be Hard

18. Don't Put It Down

19. Frank Mills

20. Hare Krishna/Be-In

See all 37 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

HAIR, featuring book and lyrics by the late Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot, opened to rave reviews on Broadway March 31, 2009 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Under the direction of Diane Paulus, Hair arrives on Broadway after a run as part of the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park 2008. The cast of the Broadway revival of Hair features Will Swenson as Berger, Tony nominee Gavin Creel as Claude, Sasha Allen as Dionne, Caissie Levy as Sheila, Allison Case as Crissy, Kacie Sheik as Jeanie, Bryce Ryness as Woof, Darius Nichols as Hud, Megan Lawrence as Mother and Andrew Kober as Margaret Mead/Dad. With a score including such enduring musical numbers as "Let the Sun Shine In," "Aquarius," "Hair" and "Good Morning Starshine," Hair depicts the birth of a cultural movement in the `60s and `70s that changed America forever: the musical follows a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free-love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War. As they explore sexual identity, challenge racism, experiment with drugs and burn draft cards, the "tribe" in Hair creates an irresistible message of hope, peace and change that continues to resonate with audiences 40 years later.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars **Hair** Re-Styled! June 24, 2009

By Alex Honda TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I didn't think they could successfully recreate the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical "Hair" or that it would catch my interest, but this revival deserves the attention its been getting.

The HAIR (THE NEW BROADWAY CAST RECORDING) soundtrack is phenomenal. It mixes the original music arrangements Hair (Deluxe Edition) (1968 Original Broadway Cast and 1967 off Broadway Cast) with some of the arrangements from the movie Hair: Original Soundtrack Recording - Special Anniversary Edition, into a fresh--but still "hair"--sound. It captures the excitement of the play and it's almost as good as being there.

The highly talented cast especially Gavin Creel, Sasha Allen, Caissie Levy, Kacie Sheik and Will Swenson will no doubt bring the soundtrack to a whole new generation of listeners.

I'm sure fans of the original and movie soundtracks of HAIR will enjoy this revival of it. I sure did, and I've got both previous soundtracks, plus the Deutsche Originalaufnahme Haare (Hair) - the German version of the Broadway show which features Donna Summer. Although I still like the movie vocal arrangement of "Black Boys" and "White Boys" with the duet between the male and female voices--and nobody can touch Cheryl Barnes's version of "Easy To Be Hard"--this new cast and revival of the musical is truly enjoyable.

HAIR comes with a small booklet with liner notes by Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director-The Public Theater and Diane Paulus, Hair's Director. Also included are color pictures of the cast and production history notes. I wish they included the lyrics, but no such luck.

The cover art is also a little boring compared to the previous releases and belies the fun and high energy that the soundtrack music conveys to the audience.

Let the sun shine in and get HAIR (THE NEW BROADWAY CAST RECORDING) today! It will put a smile on your face! :)

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE SUN STILL SHINES IN June 29, 2009

By Robert F. Powers

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Hair" opened on Broadway amidst the turmoil dividing the country in 1968 and knocked behind-the-times Broadway on its' ear. "Hair" was a breath of fresh air and it saved Broadway but it nearly destroyed it. Soon a flock of wanna-be Hairs traipsed into town and soon belly-flopped and traipsed out of town. The reason for the belly flop? "Hair" got there first.

Structurally "Hair" was an unwashed mess, more a party than theatre, but what a party it was and the party has started anew and shaken the town again. The wispy thin story, like a single strand of hair involves Claude a young hippie and somewhat leader of his bell-bottomed, love-beaded friends has received his draft notice and that's the story. Will he avoid the draft or will he join the army? Will he? Won't he? Will he? Won't he? He does and the result is tragic. The bulk of the show is ideas, social issues and attitude swirling around like a tornado gone beserk. None of the actors playing the hippies or tribe as their called here, stand-still for a moment and even spill out into the audience, frightening the blue-haired matrons who have strolled in to check out the latest rage.

Gavin Creel sings sweetly as Claude, the would be draft dodger and when you see his picture in the booklet you have to smile and say, "Someone should feed that boy a sandwich or three". Will Swenson as Berger sings well but he lacks the shaggy dog manginess of Gerome Ragni-the original Berger.

What other show could get away with a second act that is 90 percent an extended LSD trip. And come morning when the trip is over, Claude leaves his friends for the army. Soon Claude reappears, hair shaven dressed in army fatigues. The tribe cannot see or hear him even as he calls out to them. The tribe knows that somethig is horribly wrong but they sing a song of hope as they leave the stage and the only one left is Claude lying at rest draped in an American flag.

Anyone who may read this review will notice that up to now I have not mentioned the score. After all this is supposed to be about the CD and not the show.

To me the score is like a sandwich. The opening "Aquarius" and the ending "Let The Sunshine In" are like two slices of bread holding together the tasty filling in-between.

And don't think I have forgotten about Sasha Allen-with her powerhouse voice, she is the baker of those two slices of bread.

Galt MacDermots music and the lyrics of Gerome Ragni and James Rado still shines in 2009 as it did back in 1968 and just as we were back then when we were neck deep in war-in 2009 we are still at war. Some things never change and for better or worse-neither has "Hair" and at least for that we can rejoice.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Recording of a Fantastic Show June 23, 2009

By BobsViews

Format:Audio CD

The New Broadway Cast Recording of "Hair" captures the magic of the current smash
Broadway revival. The ground-breaking show about a tribe of hippies in New York's
East Village contains classics such as "Aquarius," "Good Morning Starshine," "Let
the Sun Shine In," and the title track. The current cast sounds as vibrant as they
do live on stage. Examples include, Sasha Allen's soaring "Black Boys," Will
Swenson's joyous "Donna," Caissie Levy's heartwrenching "Easy to Be Hard" and
Gavin Creel's outstanding "Where Do I Go?" Executive Producer, Bill Rosenfield
along with, Galt MacDermot, Hair's original musical composer, include songs that
weren't on the show's Original Cast Recording, some of the show's dialogue and
both of the show's encores. The current show's Musical Director, Nadia
DiGiallonardo, makes MacDermot's music sound fresher then ever by using top-of-the-
line musicians. Gerome Ragni's and James Rado's lyrics are as relevant as ever on
songs such as "Air"("Welcome, sulphar dioxide/Hello carbon monoxide/The air, the
air is everywhere.") and "I Believe in Love" ("I believe that now is the time/for
all good men/To believe in love.") Their songs are philosophical("What a Piece of
Work Is Man") and provocative ("Sodomy"), but also funny ("My Conviction") and
heartbreaking,("Frank Mills"). The New Broadway Cast Recording of "Hair" reminds
us that not only is this the right time to experience its latest revival but to
also hear its timeless songs.-BobsViews