This is Wicked! (Wicked - Soundtrack)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Wicked - Soundtrack
Date:	23/11/08 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great musical variation

Disadvantages: None

Wicked is one of the more modern stage productions to his theatres across the world. My wife and I went to see it in 2007 for our wedding anniversary, and bought the CD immediately afterwards, it was so good. It is a musical, and this CD features the original Broadway cast in the recording.

The story:

Wicked takes on the story of The Wizard of Oz and gives it a bit of a twist, focusing on the innocence of the so-called Wicked Witch and making her out to be misinterpreted, following her through life, seeing her through her education years and what takes her to the Emerald City. It's a clever concept and trasnformed magically with some outstanding music.

The tracks:

No One Mourns The Wicked
Dear Old Shiz
The Wizard And I
What Is This Feeling?
Something Bad
Dancing Through Life
Popular
I'm Not That Girl
One Short Day
A Sentimental Man
Defying Gravity
Thank Goodness
Wonderful
I'm Not That Girl (Reprise)
As Long As You're Mine
No Good Deed
March Of The Witch Hunters
For Good
Finale

As with most musicals, a lot of these tracks are not traditional tracks you wouls expect on an album release, adopting very much a stage format, with talking and instrumental pieces as the characters move around, and as such some of them make less sense unless you know the story.

However, there are a few tracks here that I found mind-blowing brilliant. The best on the album as far as I'm concerned is Defying Gravity, which showcases the marvellous vocal talents of Idina Menzel as the Wicked Witch learns to fly on her broomstick. The track contains powerful notes and some feel good instrumental accompaniment, as does the phenomenal No Good Deed, an emotional song again for Menzel. Kristin Chenoweth provides strong vocals on defying Gravity and through some of the other tracks, and there are some sound vocal performances on some of the other, less commercial tracks.

As the tracks tell a story, following the stage production, the lyrics form a very important part of the whole production, not just this CD. The frenetic pace of some of the tracks, such as Dancing Through Life, and elements of March Of The Witch Hunters, add a bit of welcome tension as you get the true feeling of being present at a production with this combination of tracks.

Overall, the vocals and song writing showcased here is phenomenal. There are some elements of some of the main songs that send shivers down my spine, and this to me is the mark of a good musical, and this CD is one that is played on a regular basis in our house and car, and is one I recommend getting. The CD is readily available online, and is available from amazon.co.uk for £7.99.

Summary: Brilliant CD of a great modern stage production