Lazarus Cast Recording including three new Bowie tracks.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Colocally, Sep 12, 2016.

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  1. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    The soundtrack portion is incredibly well performed too...with a few exceptions I really, really enjoyed listening to these versions.
     
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  2. pobbard

    pobbard Still buying CDs

    Location:
    Andover, MA
    Agree with all of this! No casual audience will be expecting/anticipating "Always Crashing in the Same Car" or "Dirty Boys", for example; makes it easier for fans to enjoy (deep cuts) and for casual audiences to enjoy as part of the play, not as an FM radio staple like "Space Oddity".

    BTW, I think this is mentioned upthread, but Henry Hey (who also played piano on The Next Day in 2013) is credited as "Producer, Music Director, Piano, Keyboards, Arranged By, Orchestrated By" on the cast CD. He appears to have been Bowie's liaison for much of the cast work.
     
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  3. Honestly, I wouldn't have been even half as interested in the cast-album, if it had all been big hits (and thank god it wasn't). It's those eight (8!!) 2010 tunes that are the BIG draw for me, and really make the cast album so special -- alternate (authorized) versions of some of Bowie's very last songs. Blackstar is my #1 favorite Bowie album (and probably always will be), and The Next Day is on my top-5 list too (around #5, iirc) -- so anything related (officially) to either album is always going to have a special place in my heart.

    (And I said it before, but I'm THRILLED that "The Man Who Sold The World" is based on that slinky 1995 live-band arrangement. Can't say this enough (which is why I keep saying it :D ). For me, the '95 version is far and away better.)

    QUESTION: Is Henry Hey the one playing those crazy acoustic piano lines at the end of specifically the Bowie versions of (I forget which it is), either "Killing A Little Time" or "When I met You"??

    Those lines are SO strong (at the end of that one tune), that they really almost sound like Mike Garson(!) to my ears, or certainly something Garson could have come up with. It's like in the last 20-25 seconds of whichever tune it is (and I don't have my copy at work at the moment). I wouldn't have put it past Visconti to have brought in Garson for a little after-the-fact overdubbing on those recordings (not that I'm saying he necessarily did).
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2016
  4. johnsiddique

    johnsiddique Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Yorkshire
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  5. footprintsinthesand

    footprintsinthesand Reasons to be cheerful part 1

    Location:
    Dutch mountains
    Nothing wrong with Rupert The Riley
     
  6. footprintsinthesand

    footprintsinthesand Reasons to be cheerful part 1

    Location:
    Dutch mountains
    Whenever I hear the word ' musical' I immediately recall a conversation between Tom Hanks and David Letterman. I have it on vhs somewhere and hung on to it cause it was not on YT, but guess what, here it is. And it is one of the darn bestest episodes of the Late Show, from The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Apart from Tom Hanks it's got the late Robin Williams, cable cars, kids, sombreros, rice-a-roni and more. At that time this was the only thing on CBS right then, whoah duck ! ( pencil). Anyway Tom and Dave discuss their opinions on musicals @28:15. But if you wanna live on the edge - and you know you do - you'll want to watch the entire episode and thank me later. Grab yourself a head of lettuce, roll some funny ziggy, complimentary beverage or whatever and enjoy, it's diggity dank. Boy I do miss my daily dose of Dave.

     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2016
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  7. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    Check.
     
  8. pobbard

    pobbard Still buying CDs

    Location:
    Andover, MA
    99% sure that's Jason Lindner, who played on Blackstar too. I agree those two tracks feature some very Mike Garson-ish piano. But if it were Garson, I'm sure Garson himself would talk about it (he's very active on social media). And the Blackstar band is an accomplished group of musicians. Wasn't it "I Can't Give Everything Away" where Bowie asked for, and got, a Ronson-esque solo in the mix? I'm sure it wasn't Mick himself who recorded that one... :cry:
     
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  9. Arndur

    Arndur Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Just received my limited edition copy of Lazarus on vinyl today. I ordered from the Bowie store, but there was no download card included even though the site indicated that it would come with one. Can anyone tell me if any of the vinyl copies have the download card (Barnes & Noble exclusive version or Bowie store)? Thanks!
     
  10. robtodd

    robtodd Forum Resident

    Yes. It's in the left hand sleeve.
     
  11. Arndur

    Arndur Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I bought mine from the US Bowie store (US pressing) and yours?
     
  12. I'm spinning the cast album at work today (I'd loaned it to a coworker, who just returned it), and I think my only disappointments (and they're minor) are the slightly 'oom-pah' arrangement of "Changes" (although, strangely, it's starting to grow on me a little bit). And I kind of wish the performance of "Absolute Beginners" was a little less 'musical theater'-ish (if you catch my drift). I do like how it starts, though, with an extremely sparse intro - but then it's just a little too cute.

    But other than that, I'm really liking practically all these arrangements and performances. I mean, for instance, songs like "Where Are We Now?" -- probably not anything one would ever expect to hear covered so lovingly.
     
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  13. robtodd

    robtodd Forum Resident

    Bought from the store in the UK. The pressing that has turned up is the Columbia version on the rear sleeve. The regular version in the UK is the Sony version . The inner bags for the Columbia version are thinner than those of the Sony.
     
  14. robtodd

    robtodd Forum Resident

    The Columbia is the US pressing. Sony has "Made in the EU" on the rear sleeve and the LP labels. The vinyl in both sets has identical deadwax information throughout including that on the white third platter. This suggests they were all pressed in the same place with the outer packaging being assembled for the various regions around the world. The barcode is the same on both sets though the coloured version has an additional barcode on the shrinkwrap.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2016
  15. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Heard most of it in a record store the other day. I found it to be hit and miss, some bland and some poignant.
     
  16. irwin69

    irwin69 Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Managed to catch the second preview in London last night and I have to say this show is both incredibly beautiful and deeply moving. Watching this now with the knowledge of the context in which is was created makes it a very lucid piece of theatre and a remarkably poignant legacy for the genius that was/is Bowie. If you are in London please try and catch it. Michael C Hall is unbelievably good and for we audiophiles the sound design is fantastic.
     
  17. gazatthebop

    gazatthebop Forum Resident

    Location:
    manchester
    Yes "Tis A Pity" is available on Qobuz. I made my own compilation of the Next Day extras/10" single and the 3 new tracks. [​IMG]
     
  18. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    Nice looking compilation but sonically, I don't see the point in merging the Blackstar-related material with that which came from The Next Day sessions.
     
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  19. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    Well, it's been a week since I wrote my admittedly scathing attack on the Lazarus ost, and since then hardly anyone agreed with me, in fact most people have been raving about how good it is in an almost evangelical way.

    So I decided to give it another spin and I'm now having second thoughts.
    That is, I have come to the conclusion that it is even worse than I originally thought. You know when you hear a second rate British singer, and he puts on a fake American accent perhaps to make him sound more authentic rock n roll?
    Well, what's Michael C Hall doing that for? He's American, but on Lazarus and It's No Game he puts on this fake US drawling singing voice. I quite liked It's No Game a week ago, but now it just makes me cringe. What's with the forced emotive singing on Changes? It's awful.

    I stand by what I said before - all of the performances on here have made the songs lifeless and dull. The singing is poor, the arrangements are boring, and there is not one song on here I would rather listen to than the Bowie original.
    Perhaps it works on stage as Irwin69 says, but I'm really not enjoying the cd.
     
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  20. footprintsinthesand

    footprintsinthesand Reasons to be cheerful part 1

    Location:
    Dutch mountains
    Tally ho, brave man. Gave the thing a fair spin or two and started to regret it when the fairy tale voiced version started to replace the real No Plan as my earworm. Sure the experience will be different in the theatre, while surrounded by fellow Bowians.
     
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  21. zaza_3121

    zaza_3121 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Czech Republic
    I like those three new songs, but I'm glad they were replaced with much stronger material on Blackstar.
    The question is - will we ever get to hear Blaze?
     
  22. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    Not brave - people aren't going to like it but I'm hiding behind a keyboard!
    I know this is going to go down in history as another "triumph" the same way people talk about Mamma Mia, Grease and We Will Rock You, but I just think it's second rate rubbish to be honest - same as the above mentioned.
    I love Bowie and TMWFTE is one of my all time favourite films, but I just can't like this cast recording at all. Everyone has their own opinions, and that's what discussion forums are for. This is just my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
     
  23. gazatthebop

    gazatthebop Forum Resident

    Location:
    manchester
    The point was to have all the songs on one cd making me more likely to listen to them
     
  24. Actually, I really doubt it will be even remotely as successful as any of those ventures (or certainly not world-wide). Maybe a critical success (to some), but I honestly have serious doubts as to whether another production will ever be mounted after the run in London. Or certainly not here in the States, anyway (my best guess).

    Not enough hits, and not feel-good enough. Too many new songs that nobody knows. All kinds of reasons for public reaction to be pretty mixed.

    Sure, **I** might love all the new songs (and I do!) -- but I'm not blind to the fact that this primarily artistic endeavor wasn't likely to be any kind of massive hit.
     
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  25. footprintsinthesand

    footprintsinthesand Reasons to be cheerful part 1

    Location:
    Dutch mountains
    Who knows whether Lazarus will travel to more cities later on, just like the David Bowie Is exhibition is. Ivo van Hove's plays have gone world-wide and enjoyed raving reviews in a niche market. He used Bowie' s music earlier for the Angels In America play. Bowie has always had a soft spot for artists using or admiring his work.
     
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