Originally Posted By TheRedhead Hunchback recording to be released November 20th. https://www.sh-k-boom.com/hunchback-of-notre-dame
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I was literally just searching for more information about this yesterday! I'm all signed up for the waitlist, so I guess it's just a matter of waiting until November at this point
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The album got pushed back until January, but they just opened up the pre-orders. Needless to say, I already have mine ordered! <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2015/12/11/hunchback-notre-dame-cast-recording-licensing-details/">http://www.laughingplace.com/w...details/</a>
Originally Posted By ecdc Album's out on iTunes. It's crazy good--can't recommend it enough if you haven't listened yet.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I pre-ordered the CD and got an email earlier this week saying that it's been sent. It looks like it's gotten stuck somewhere in the blizzard, which is a shame, since it would make for excellent listening while I'm snowed in I saw that large portions (all?) of it are up on YouTube, so I may need to give it a listen later if I'm getting cabin fever
Originally Posted By u k fan They want $18.00 to ship the CD to the UK! Is it likely I could find this anywhere when I'm in DL/LA next month?!!!
Originally Posted By u k fan Panic over! I've just done some digging and this is getting UK release next month! Yay!!!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That's good! I doubt they would have it at the parks, but you could have theoretically ordered it online and had it shipped to your hotel
Originally Posted By JeffG I don't know what the international shipping would be, but the CD is readily available from usual retailers. I ordered it from Amazon.
Originally Posted By u k fan Thanks! If I haven't got it before my trip I'll add it to my shopping list. There must be a "record" store somewhere near DL!!!
Originally Posted By TheRedhead iTunes is your friend. The album is amazing. Hellfire is, believe it or not, better on this recording than the film. God Help the Outcasts is breathtaking. I have to admit that I miss the insane chorus ending of the German Hunchback recording's of Someday - this one is a duet, but it's still glorious. (It's funny that Menken and Schwartz's two most beautiful songs are Someday and If I Never Knew You, songs that didn't work in their respective movies, which says so much about what those movies could've/should've been) I had a hard time getting past Quasi's painfully pained voice in the speaking bits - I much prefer Tom Hulce's sweet innocence. But all is forgiven with the amazing finale of the show. Holy cow it brings you to tears. And I know I'm an English teacher nerd for saying this, and make fun all you want, but it used to bug me that in Out There he would sing, "if I WAS in their skin, I'd treasure every instance..." Not only is "if I WERE..." grammatically correct, it creates a cool internal rhyme. It's correct on this recording. All is right with the world.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros My CD still hasn't arrived (didn't get any mail between last Thursday and yesterday), but I've done a little listening on YouTube and it's pretty good. The audio balance makes it seem smaller than it was in person, and it may have actually used a smaller choir and orchestra for the recording, but what I've heard has been great One of the biggest surprises is how much they condensed the opening. In the stage show, Bells of Notre Dame must have been about 15 minutes long, with various scenes built into its framework. Although most of the music is in the recording, it skips over a lot of the details, like how Quasi's mother is a gypsy that Frollo's brother brought to him for his birthday (it does mention that Frollo's brother is the father). Although it differs both from the film and the novel, I think this is the best version, since it gives Frollo an instant connection to him, while simultaneously not making him too likeable >>I have to admit that I miss the insane chorus ending of the German Hunchback recording's of Someday...<< I agree. Even seeing the live version with Esmeralda and Phoebus in the prison cell, I was still anticipating the full chorus that never came. It was kind of a let down, but the song is incorporated wonderfully into the finale. I really liked the German lyrics (of what I was able to make of them), since they seemed really elegant and had some neat extra rhymes built in >>I had a hard time getting past Quasi's painfully pained voice in the speaking bits...<< This was definitely something that worked better in the full production, where you got to see Quasi's dichotomy. When he was alone with his thoughts, he stood tall and spoke clearly, but when he was around others (particularly Frollo) he stood hunched and had a speech impediment. Like in the novel, he is mostly deaf from the bells, which added another interesting level to his relationship with those around him >>Not only is "if I WERE..." grammatically correct, it creates a cool internal rhyme.<< You know, I never consciously noticed it, but when I sing along in the car I always say "were". I'm glad they fixed it so that the CD will follow my lead : )
Originally Posted By FerretAfros My CD arrived over the weekend, and I’ve had time to listen to it a couple times. In all, I like it a lot more than when I was listening to random bits of it earlier; it has good musical balance and does a pretty good job of capturing the “big production in a small venue” feel that it had in person I’m also surprised how much the Tavern Song is growing on me. In the production it didn’t seem to add much, but it’s really nice in this format. I’m still disappointed that they swapped out the German introduction of Esmeralda for Rhythm of the Tambourine, but after listening to it a few times it sounds like it’s a counterpoint of the Esmeralda theme. I still think the Act I finale is too sudden without it being familiar music, but it’s more complex than I had initially thought The other thing that could have used improvement (but didn’t get it) was Phoebus’s parts. For some reason, he just comes off as a doofus to me; he’s got dopey lyrics and mostly-dumb lines. It’s performed well and the music itself is great, but it seems like he could have benefitted from another round of revisions Overall, it’s a great CD! I was surprised that it ever got made (let alone promoted online by Disney Theatrical), but I’m hopeful that this show will continue to be produced in some form. I saw that they’re doing an in-the-round version of it in Sacramento this summer
Originally Posted By JeffG Here's something that REALLY surprised me and, I suspect, may have Disney doing some second-guessing about future plans for this show. The cast album debuted at #17 on the Billboard Album charts last week. That's the overall charts, not just cast albums. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.billboard.com/charts/top-album-sales">http://www.billboard.com/chart...um-sales</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Wow, that's incredible! I literally can’t believe it. Not only is it a musical, and a relatively obscure one at that, but it wasn’t even produced by a major record label. I suspect it will see a big drop off since I think it did pretty strong pre-sales, but that’s still insanely popular for a show that has only been performed for ~30,000 audience members For reference, the soundtrack for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was #50, and the oh-so-trendy Hamilton: An American Musical is #32 I thought it was interesting that Disney Theatrical’s YouTube channel was posting promotional material for the album, when they had kept their distance from the La Jolla and Papermill productions. Perhaps they’re starting to see that it may have viability, despite being much darker than their other shows
Originally Posted By ecdc >>The cast album debuted at #17 on the Billboard Album charts last week.<< That really is amazing. I wonder if word-of-mouth is getting around. I hadn't heard of this show until a couple of weeks before the album came out and people were buzzing about it online. So I got it and loved it. >>the oh-so-trendy Hamilton: An American Musical is #32<< Easy...no throwing shade at Hamilton.
