Customer Reviews

Striking 12: The New GrooveLily Musical (2004 New York Cast)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Have you ever had to work on New Years Eve? I have and apparently the members of GrooveLily and co-writer Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) have as well. The sixth track of the original cast recording of "Striking 12", entitled "Last Day of the Year", captures the frustration of working on a holiday compounded with the self-reflection caused by the coming of the New Year. In this case "The Last Day of the Year" has found a "grump guy" with regrets about everything. As the story unfolds it reveals that he is smarting over a break-up and does not want to expose himself to the revelry of New Year's Eve. While brooding he is visited by a light-bulb-sales-woman who promises that her wares can improve his mood. He is not having any but is prompted to read Han's Christian Anderson's "The Little Match Girl".

The "Striking 12" live recording includes the narration and sound effects of the stage show and captures the bands performance energy and their fans' enthusiasm. GrooveLily's three members really shine. Valerie Vigoda shreds on the violin, plays six roles, and uses the full power of her voice to sing many of the signature numbers including the poignant anthem "Caution to the Wind". Brendan Milburn delivers witty dialog, attacks the keyboards with verve, and shows-off his own strong voice on several songs including, the call to action, "It's Not Alright". Drummer, Gene Lewin serves-up a good deal of wry humor with dialog and songs like "Give the Drummer Some" all without missing a beat.

Masterful songwriting and dynamic dialog make "Striking 12: The New GrooveLily Musical" a delightful CD. While it will never replace the "Striking 12" live show; it is a worthy tide-me-over and a great mood elevator for musical theater aficionados and anyone bogged down in grey-weather blahs. Treat yourself to a copy today then sit back and relax with cup of hot coco.

Striking Twelve, a modern musical built around "The Little Match Girl", is a beautiful melding of musical craft and sharp story-telling. The lyrics, like the between-song dialogue that propels the story line, are, by turns, smart, touching, and hilarious. The story is immediately appealing, and feels richer and more comfortable with each listen. Highly recommended!

Knowing it was holiday-oriented, I put off buying "Striking 12," the musical by the band Groovelily, until this past holiday season. Essentially it's a New Year's Eve story, with the three Groovelily members telling the story of a "Grumpy Guy" who reads "The Little Match Girl" on New Year's Eve and is affected by it. That's really about it. And it's enough. Good enough, in fact, that I'm quite sure I'll listen to it off season.

The three band members-- Valerie Vigoda, Brendan Milburn, and Gene Lewin-- perform their own music and act as the characters of the story (and the story-within-a story). So this is not a typical musical. On one hand, you could say there's not a whole lot to it, at least plot-wise. On the other, it's hard to deny the quality of the music-- the show contains some really great songs. Reminiscent of the best of Jonathan Larson and Jason Robert Brown, songs like "Last Day of the Year," "Matches for Sale," and "Caution to the Wind" are witty, emotionally resonant, and written in a catchy contemporary style. Song after song works-- there's really not a bad one in the bunch. The dialogue between songs is a little cutesy, but never too cloying, and the result is an enjoyably unique show containing a simple humanity I found surprisingly touching.

This album is just amazing. It's an amazing blend of beautiful instrumentals and vocals, with a generous touch of humor. My favorites? Um well, every track with music! Since purchasing this cd, it has left my car cd player once, to play in the house, and went straight back into the car! I just love it!

During my first time seeing Groovelily perform, they won not only my heart, but touched my soul. They are all such amazingly talented musicians. The energy and interaction amongst them makes it impossible for you to do anything but ENJOY!
Their combination of music, theatre, and their own 'style
' come together for a profound experience. You can't help but love them! They are mexmerazing and at times you just want to join them on stage...but their energy flows so strongly, it seems you are up therre with them.
No matter what venue you see them in, nor how many of their CD's you have, you just can't get enough and always want more. Listening or seeing them is an a musical experience unlike any other.
They do not fit inside any conventional box, they make you look outside the box , and instead of being a scary adventure it is delightful, awesome, fun and touching.
They are all well versed musicians with many accomplishments under their belt, yet still like to mix with us "ordinary folk"! I have seen them in person numerous times and they are agracious and wonderful. Their albums keep the atmosphere flowing at home. There aren't words to describe them, so buy a CD, any CD and find out for yourself how talented and amazing they are. It will truly be an adventure for your heart and soul. One you cannot experience from any other musician or group.

After falling in love with Groovelilly with their recordings of A Midsummer's Night Dream (I think the recording is actually called A Midsummer's Night Music) and their latest - Sleeping Beauty Wakes - it was nice to round out my collection with this recording. Beautiful, meaningful, funny, and haunting. Yes, I too wish that Groovelily would tour to the Denver area to perform so much of their work. The talent of the three members of ..Lily is so vast - I'm constantly blown away by their creative strengths. What more can I say... Listen... fall in love... and enjoy... Thanks.
- Chris.

I've owned this CD for several years now, and recently listened to it again during a drive from Delaware to Florida. I simply love it, and I'm willing to bet that you will too.

After years of shopping on Amazon, this is the first review I've ever written ... and I got here from a Google search --- I was looking to see if there were any performances of this show coming up that I could see.

I think the title pretty much sums up my feelings. I purchased this because I heard a track on Yahoo!Music while listening to the Broadway channel and thought this sounded great. Well, it is.

This was my first GrooveLily CD, and I was amazed at their talent. The words and lyrics are really delightful. I'll be checking out more of their work soon. Makes me wish I lived closer to New York.

I cannot stop listening to this CD. Months have gone by, and I am still mesmerized by its beauty.