Loosely based on the popular Disney theme park audio-animatronic ride, one might expect a modicum of good-natured "Yo-ho-ho-ing"--or maybe a little rousing Korngold/Errol Flynn/Captain Blood orchestral romanticism--here. Instead composer Klaus Badelt initially entices us with some sparing Celtic folk charm, then unleashes a furious broadside of symphonic and choral thunder to rival his ominous ...
Since its debut in 1981, London's and the world's longest-running musical still secures bums on seats in a dozen theatres worldwide. Uncountable recastings and re-orchestrations later, Lloyd Webber's adaption of T. S. Eliot's Old Possums Book of Cats strives to please the ears of ever new generations. This is the original cast recording, and it retains a freshness from the still recent ...
It's hard not to start feeling sentimental after hearing the loose collection of love ballads that comprise the Notting Hill soundtrack. The romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant is filled with the modern sounds of love--as sung by everyone from pop harmonisers (Boyzone, 98 Degrees) to classic soulsters (Bill Withers, Al Green). The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'" ...
It was surely only a matter of time until Tim Burton turned his dark attentions to the 19th century tale of Sweeney Todd, the cutthroat barber whose tales of murder and most grisly commerce on the streets of London became the stuff of an award winning 1979 musical. Here, a cast including longtime Burton collaborators Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter--plus Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and Sasha ...