Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast) Cast Recording

"Rent" is one of those musicals where Barbra Streisand is never going to cover any of the songs on one of her Broadway albums. The pastiche of music styles reminds me of "Hair," "Godspell" and "Cats"--there are 43 tracks, including a reprise of "Seasons of Love" featuring Stevie Wonder singing with the 15-member cast--and to a large extent "Rent" also shares with those shows the ensemble nature of the cast. But just because the songs from this show are not destined to be Broadway standards does not detract from their power. These are songs driven by character and context more than melody and voice, reflecting pretty much the complete spectrum of musical styles. You have straight forward rock-and-roll in "Rent" and "Goodbye Love," but also everything from Gospel in "Seasons of Love to the Tango in "Tango: Maureen." More importantly, what stands out in the performance of these songs is how the characters are more prominant than the voices: Adam Pascal as Roger, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi, Anthony Rappas Mark, Jesse L. Martin as Tom, Taye Diggs as Ben, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Angel. This is a story with songs and the intergration of the two is something you would expect much more from an opera than a traditional musical.
This would make sense since "Rent" was inspired by Puccini's opera "La Boheme," but knowledge of the "original" is not at all necessary, although when Collins loses his coat ("You Okay Honey") that will bring a smile of recognition to those who are in the know as will a couple of guitar riffs. The main thing is that if we are talking opera, that means at least one of the lead characters will be dead by the time the curtain rings down. Certainly in that regard "Rent" is a sobering story, with the additional pathos of the death of its creator Jonathan Larson on the day the show opened. Instead of poverty we are now dealing with the dregs of society, people afflicted by drugs and disease. Thus we have Roger, the song-writer and ex-junkie struggling with writer's block and Mimi, the beautiful junkie from downstairs, as well as Collins and Angel, both HIV-Positive. These are people who celebrate the New Year remembering those they have lost and wondering who will be next. The East Village industrial loft that is the setting for "Rent" is a place where those abandoned by the world find comfort in each other and the philosophy that there is always "No day but today." I keep coming back to the idea that "Rent" is one of those theatrical experiences we hear tell about from time to time, richly deserving of the Pulitizer Prize and well worth catching on tour.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to see the original cast of "Rent" during its first year ... and was totally blown-away by the production!

The cast was full of great new talent, including Adam Pascal ("Aida"), Anthony Rapp ("You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown"), Daphne Rubin-Vega, Idina Menzel ("Wicked", "The Wild Party"), Taye Diggs ("The Wild Party", "Chicago") and provided such energy to Jonathan Larson's thought-provoking & emotional production. With it's rock-based arrangements, a whole new generation was introduced to theatre!

The cd itself makes for a great pop/rock album & gets better with repeated listenings.

Though most are terrific, best tracks include:

Rent
One Song Glory
Light My Candle
Another Day
Santa Fe
I'll Cover You
La Vie Boheme
Seasons Of Love (the show's most notable hit)
Take Me Or Leave Me
What You Own

If you prefer to listen to only the songs (as opposed to the whole score), try the "highlights" single disc cd. Both are terrific!

Joy. Hope. Life. Love. Those are just a few of the words that come to mind when describing RENT. Others would include "brilliant", "powerful", and "amazing". Yes, the hype has been a bit much lately. The interviews, the advertisements, the talk shows. Yet RENT manages to encounter each and every one of those and still engulf the audience and all of Broadway in a sea of energy and melody, changing what was becoming a dying and stale art form. RENT has brought back the "hipness" to Broadway, but does not lose any of the theatric traditions that make up a great musical. Its complex plotline includes such Brodway taboos as AIDS, homosexuality (a part of it, but NOT it, drug use, S&M dancing, and, probably the biggest nineties Broadway no-no, substance.
All that being said, the highlight of RENT, as is with any musical, is the exciting and stirring pop-rock score contained in this two hour CD. The late Jonathan Larson was able to almost flawlessly combine traditional theatre music with modern-day rock, pop, and gospel; not an easy feat. Sondheim once said that pop music and theatre can't combine because pop music does not emphasize the lyrical structure of a song. Larson has, in this writer's opinion, proved him wrong. RENT is influenced incredibly by Stephen Sondheim. The "Tune Ups", which many people hate, are genius. Larson was somehow able to do what nobody after Sondheim could do- combine modern-day vernacular with music and melody and yet still make it sound "natural". An even better examples are the songs "Light My Candle", "Happy New Year", and "Goodbye Love". Each track is a giant flowing conversation with enough melody to sing along to.
But despite the influence of Sondheim, RENT also has its number of solos and ensemble numbers which, if done correct, could be hits. "Out Tonight" and "Rent" are two energetic rockers with great guitar hooks and intelligent, slightly punk, lyrics. "Without You" is a soft and beautiful melody which is likely to tear your heart out. "What You Own" has cynical lyrics like Rage Against the Machine ("When you're living in America... you're what you own") but a tune more reminiscent of Third Eye Blind, or other catchy pop-rock bands. "One Song Glory" is an amazing solo about accomplishment before death. Other highlights include: "Take Me Or Leave Me" (a soulful duet), "I'll Cover You" (a love ballad for two men), "Will I?" (a heartwrenching ensemble number about AIDS), and "La Vie Boheme" (a toe-tapping and racy song celebrating non-conformity). Interestingly enough, "Seasons of Love", the general favorite, is probably the weakest song in the whole show. It doesn't really add much to the plot and has lyrics that are only powerful when seen on stage.
Sad to say, the energy in RENT (such a crucial part of the show) is very often lost in the recording. "Glory", probably the best number in the whole show, comes off as almost whiny in this recording. Adam Pascal's hoarse voice, though wonderful live, is not powerful when heard on this CD.
Still, quibbles aside, RENT is a powerful show and this recording is an accomplished testimony to its brilliance. Both poignant and hilarious, one finishes listening to this CD ready to go out and make something of himself- because, after all, there is "no day but today".