Customer Reviews

Wearing Someone Elses Clothes

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Did Billy Joel and Joni Mitchell have a child and hire Stephen Sondheim as their nanny, or am I just listening to a Jason Robert Brown CD?

Jason is such a gifted tuneful storyteller. His music is rich and accessible, with just enough witty lyric twists to keep you gleefully guessing what he'll say next.

But the emotional moments on this disc are the ones that truly soar. They range from masterful anthems of longing and human connection as expressed by a full orchestra and choir, to quiet moments of introspection as told by a piano and a single vulnerable voice.

Yet there is no particular mood you need to be in to enjoy this CD. You can groove, laugh, feel slyly catty, reflect back, and look forward all in one play through.

And let me warn you, there won't be just one play through. Your friends and family will begin to wonder if you own any other CD's...and it doesn't matter if you do, this one is enough.

Jason Robert Brown is inarguably an incredibly talented musician and writer. His lyrics and tunes are beautiful and catchy, mesmorizing and witty. I love "Parade," "The Last 5 Years," and "Songs for a New World" but was a little anxious buying this CD, unsure of how he could sing although excited because when a writer sings his own pieces he does it the way he thinks it should go.

My first listen through I was unsure. It was good, nothing special. But I generally feel this way with most CDs the first time so I played through it again. Here are a few songs that need mention:

3. "Someone to Fall Back On" - One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, I often leave this on repeat. The melody is touching, the chorus is outstanding with an upbeat message in a slower song. Gorgeous.
7. "Nothing In Common" - Another song full of message, this swift ballad about his brother is charming but emotional. JRB manages to put a lot of emotion even into his faster numbers.
9. "I'm in Bizness" - Performed live JRB scats, plays the music, and freestyles his way through this one. It's a fun song to begin with, but his playing with it makes it even more enjoyable and really showcases his talent. This, like the title song "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes", "Long Long Road", "Getting Out", and "I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You" are fun, well-performed songs. But they are all so much more as they tell JRB's heartfelt stories through music.
11. "Grow Old With Me" - A fun ending to the album, this has a jazzy Sinatra-esque feel to it. This is pure fun.

Overall, I highly recommend this CD. If you're a JRB fan already there's no way this will disappoint. And if you don't know him this is a great way to get to know him. For people not into the musical theater scene, I'd recommend this to fans of Jason Mraz, Josh Kelley, Ari Hest, and even the likes of Billy Joel or Elton John.

In this offering Mr. Robert Brown has given us a piece of his amazing self. More than in any of his previous works do we see Jason the man expressed through his music. For fans of this superb composer, this album is a pleasure of pure, emotionally stimulating music. Spanning a wide mix of styles including Country, Bluegrass, Musical Theatre (of course), Gospel, and even a bit of eighties electric guitar thrown in, the audience is treated to the brilliant and varied skill of Broadway's greatest hope (if it can ever stop trying so damn hard to make money). As a singer, Mr. Robert Brown has a different sound than the well-trained Broadway stars many of us are used to, but it is a clear, passionate, tender, and always fiercely invested voice. This album would be ambitious for any singer with so many different styles of singing incorporated, but Jason handles his Gospel trills as solidly as he does his amazing piano skills. We are even treated to some excellent scatting in "I'm in Bizness," which was actually recorded live at a recent concert that he did. Indeed, the avid fan of Jason Robert Brown's music will recognize many of these songs from previous live performances, etc. A couple of songs on the album deserve special attention. The title song seems like a jam session for "The Caucasion Rhythm Kings," with an all out fun number that reminds one of a lazy Saturday afternoon. The song is about falling in love and growing comfortable with someone you love, a new role for the thoroughbred in any young
male. Actually, the higher pitched male background vocals and slightly bouyant feel to the song puts the author in mind of Adam Guettel (who recently won a very well-deserved Tony for his latest musical "The Light in the Piazza"), specifically his musical "Myths and Hymns." Mr. Robert Brown will surely forgive the comparison as he has been an open admirer of Adam Guettel for several years now. The song features some beautiful, intense, slightly dissonant harmonies and several extremely clever lyrics ("You said I don't have to be the king of idiosyncrasy). Other notables include "I Could Be in Love With Someone Like You" and "Music of Heaven." For all the fans of "The Last Five Years," the former is especially exciting. This song was actually in the original production of the show in Illinois; it featured Norbert Leo Butz and Lauren Kennedy, (who has recently put out her own solo album featuring music all written by Jason. She has a wonderful, beautiful voice and has often been described, along with Mr. Butz, as the ultimate avatars of Jason Robert Brown's music). The song was later cut and replaced by the popular "Shiksa Goddess" for personal and legal reasons. It is even more fun and...blithe than its replacement, with an extremely similar direction of melody. It successfully conveys the excitement of falling in love (with an Irish girl :-)). "Music of Heaven," on the other hand, is simply beautiful; it is a song to lose yourself in and is one Mr. Robert Brown thinks of as one of his best, according to a recent interview. It is deeply spiritual and moving to anyone who loves the art in music.

Upon first listening to this album, my first thought was...this is Jason, in the form of music. What an amazing person that man must be. The music of Jason Robert has evolved into a new, more mature, developed, and stylized character that is at once beautifully melodic and intelligently challenging to the mind. Jason Robert Brown has been my favorite composer of any kind of music for a number of years now; this album securely places him not only in the vanguard of Broadway's "new generation" of composers, but of those individual artists who are masters of their craft.

I liked Jason Robert Brown before (I knew his musicals and one or two of his many names), but I love him now. Here is someone working in the world of musical theatre who is doing it right. To new listeners - be warned that it takes a few times listening through a song to begin to appreciate it - I've found that I, at least, get easily bored with songs I like right away, so consider this a good thing. To old hats, if you loved one of his shows, you'll love this. No question. So, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes. There is some absolutely incredible stuff on this CD. Take for instance the title song, a funked-out tale of a common problem - what do you do when society doesn't like you as you are? Wear someone else's clothes, of course! This falsely cheerful song doesn't preach against this occurrence, as I think a lesser writer would have done, but gets his character in deep - "anyone can be a bland infatuated sellout," he says, but amends "I think you are gonna be impressed" (at how far he takes it). It feels good fitting in ("it's been highly recommended that I smile"), but if it's not who you are it does feel like someone else's life. Very clever.

Then there's the beautiful "Someone to Fall Back On" which I guess in one of his oldest songs on the album. Much like the last number I described (and many others on this CD), it tells of an insecure man who is unsure of what he has to offer the world - this time the woman he loves. As he lays out his faults and insists that having someone to come home to is a greater joy than a fast and furious flame, his assertions grow stronger until he becomes all the things he insisted he wasn't. Also - this song contains some of the best lyrical moments on the CD ("I've been alone, I'd rather be...the half of us, the least of you, the best of me").

"Over" is a beautiful ballad of an ugly subject, the narrative of a soldier recently killed in war, flying over the world as he leaves it. It pokes at patriotism but treats the human elements of war with much sympathy. "Nothing in Common" took me a few more listenings (I was distracted the first several times, so I missed important lyrics) - it's yet another beautiful song, this time about JRB and his relationship with his brother, beginning with the boy he knew several years back that lived in his house and looked like his mother and going through the different people that this constant in his life became as they grew up. "I Could Be in Love with Someone Like You," as I said, is the superior version of The Last Five Years' song (there was a lawsuit of sorts, so really he couldn't use it). This song is riddled with wonderful jokes, lines that jump out and surprise you, and a couple wonderfully driving moments that are very exciting and musically powerful.

Lastly, another fantastic song is the final, very jazzy "Grow Old With Me," in which he's finally offering himself as all he is and all that he'll become. Written very much in the style of cheesy-broadway love-me-forever songs, it includes lines like, "grow old with me, baby lets fossilize," and "don't leave me cold, don't leave me rusted and crusted with mold." It's adorable and it's funny in the same way as the Beatle's "When I'm Sixty-Four."

So, if you have any interest in musical-type numbers and aren't afraid of songs that tell a meaningful story that you have to work a little bit to uncover, then you will love this album. This isn't music to have quietly playing in the background - it's stick-it-in-your-ears-and-let-the-rest-of-the-world-slide-away stuff. You won't be sorry.

After several wonderful Broadway soundtrack albums, we finally have the opportunity to hear songs sung by the master himself!

I've been fortunate enough to hear Jason Robert Brown perform most of these songs live on stage so I was thrilled to be able to purchase this CD and have these gems to play at home, over and over again (and believe me, I do!). His lyrics are so personal, truthful, witty, funny, heartbreaking and most of all, genuine and real. And although JRB might not be starring in any of his own Broadway shows anytime soon, his voice is an absolute pleasure to listen to as he hits on all the right highs and lows at all the right times.

Do yourself a favor and not only buy this album, but make sure to catch JRB performing live next time he's in your town!!

I program computers. I present papers at conferences about medieval literature. I am, in the eloquently-stated and nearly unanimous opinion of my junior high classmates, "a huge freakin' nerd." Jason Robert Brown's album Someone Else's Clothes is a collection of music for those of us who know we don't exactly fit into the popular culture, who aren't terribly depressed or bitter about the fact, and who love melodies and surprising and intelligent lyrics.

Its hard to really categorize the music. Mr. Brown's previously published work has mostly been in theatre music and his work has the dramatic story-telling quality of the best of contemporary musical theatre (think "Rent" instead of "The Producers," though). Most professional reviewers seem obligated to compare him to Billy Joel, which is probably fair, but Brown writes far better melodies and his lyrics are more intelligent. ITunes labels the genre "Miscellanous" which is probably the best description for a set of songs that range from caucassian hip-hop to rock-protest to gospel to jazz.

My wife (who will usually turn to top 20 stations when driving) loves the title track (available as a free sample download on the Sh-K-Boom label's website). My favorites are "The Music of Heaven" (an inspirational piece about playing the role of cynical outsider when visiting a church) and "I Could Be in Love With Someone Like You" (cut from the Last Five Years and which perfectly captures first date anxiety in the opening lyric:
"My first crush on a Irish girl,/I was ten years old/And her name was Elaine./Little red-haired girl/Well, she looked like you,/But if you were ten./Which you're clearly not./Not that you look old,/But you get my.../I'll just stop now.")

I want to hear some more of this guy's songs, and the best way for that to happen is if this CD sells really well and he makes another...And I think this CD WOULD sell really well if people, smart people, would listen to it. And I know you're a smart person. You're still reading this review, after all. So go ahead and add this to your cart.

I'm enjoying introducing this music to friends who aren't particularly musical theater fans, and watching and listening to their amazement. You don't have to have heard anything from, or know anything about Jason Robert Brown to flip over this music. If you're already a fan or just casual admirer, you'll drink this up in a big, greedy gulp and then go back again and again to savour more thoughtfully.

Amazing talent, delivering great, heartfelt stuff that should stay fresh a good, long time. Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that JRB is so fantastic performing his own songs, but what a treat to experience it! And check out the names in the other vocal personnel for "Music of Heaven" and "Coming Together"--a mini who's who of up-and-coming (some very much already up and here) musical theater stars. And they're not wasted. Don't miss the incredible, crazy piano solo and scatting on "I'm In Bizness" (as if you could). The last song, "Grow Old With Me," is a marvelous, retro/modern big-band instant classic. Buy this for your friends and enjoy spreading it around. (But make sure to drop a line to Mr. Brown, encouraging him to keep working on theater scores too--we mustn't lose that.)

P.S.--If you're a singer or musician, buy Mr. Brown's sheet music, legally. Make him and you happy.

I love the last Five Years so much and so when this came out I got it immeadiately. The song Over is so great I listened to it Over and Over (no pun intended) I thnk no one does a ballad like Jason and I highly recommend the whole album

I bought this cd primarily because I've thoroughly enjoyed everything by JRB that I've ever heard. I've been listening to this particular cd for the past two weeks every time I go running, and it never gets old. There's always some nuance in the music that I've never heard before, or the lyrics take on a new meaning. I don't even think it's possible to choose a favorite song on this cd! Today, I really like the title track and Music of Heaven. For all you fans of JRB's the Last Five Years, this cd has a song on it that was actually cut from the show. Someone to Fall Back on is the most honest love song I've heard in a long time. I'm in Bizness is my favorite thing to run uphill while listening to. JRB has this talent for creating an entire cd that expresses the things in life we can never quite figure out how to say without sounding cheesy. Buy this cd. Listen to it every day. Marvel at how amazing it actually is. It will change you.

Jason Robert Brown sure knows how to tell a great story with lyrics while setting it to a catchy tune. Although some of the songs in "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes" seem out of place with the rest of the tracks, they each are perfect as stand-alone musical theatre/jazz/rock/etc. If you are familiar with JRB's musicals (esp Songs for a New World), you'll notice that the references in this album are beautiful and haunting.

The true beauty of this collection of songs is in its powerful collection of messages. Love, loyalty, loneliness, jealousy, failure and triumph - if there is one thing that Jason Robert Brown is divinely gifted at - it is capturing a full range of human emotions and desires all in a single song.

Fans of JRB's love songs will find themselves replaying the contemporary love-song track "Someone to Fall Back On." For those who are interested in pissed-off singer/songwriters who enjoy complaining about having to sell-out in their field in order to suceed, try "Gettin Out," a fun little rant that seems to be written first person. Another gem of the collection is the song "Nothing in Common," which is about two brothers, one who was successful at a young age and the other who was a failure, at least academically. In the long run it turns out that although they "had nothing in common" they "are more or less the same." When you hear this song and reach this statement, it will be a moment of profound listening, no matter how many times you replay the piece. And last but not least, I have to recommend the song "Long Long Road," which seems to fit almost as a preface to Songs for a New World - it's wonderful inspiration for those of us (myself included) traveling through life, not quite sure where they're headed.

When contemporary pop artists are singing about intoxicating behinds (ala the Black Eyed Peas) and broadway is continually being reduced to mindless profit-making musical clones, Jason Robert Brown makes music that might not change the world, but that at least has some serious inspiring notions. It'll make you laugh, cry, want to dance and of course want to sing along - I highly recommend you buy this album for your collection.