Where's the love for Broadway soundtracks

I cut my musical teeth listening to Broadway play soundtracks as a child. Some of my favorites included:

1776
Jesus Christ Superstar
Godspell
Company
The Fantastiks
South Pacific
Music Man

Who else got their start listening to songs from the Great White Way?

 

The Music Man
and the parts of "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" you can find online

My two Broadway listens - haven't dug any further as of yet.

 

I've always loved soundtracks of musicals of any kind, but frequently the film version more than the Broadway (Fiddler, Grease, Rent, Hair, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Once.)

But I've enjoyed a lot of recent Broadway Cast soundtracks that I didn't think I would (even without having seen the musical): Hamilton, Hairspray, Mean Girls (most of it), Waitress, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Avenue Q -- all are very solid.

I get why Broadway soundtracks don't make a lot of noise (Hamilton being the obvious exception) -- because there really hasn't been a solid radio hit from an original Broadway musical in quite some time. Maybe since "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" from Dreamgirls? If that?

 

This. It started with a staging of Jesus Christ Superstar when I realized how much better the movie was to me. Then, all the classics: Grease, Hair, Godspell, West Side Story, My Fair Lady... I listen to Broadway recordings so rarely because the movie adaptions so often got the songs just 'right' - also thanks to the movie versions often being the most famous recordings of well-known Broadway songs.

 

The best Broadway original cast album, ever, is “Two Gentlemen of Verona.” The music was composed by Galt MacDermot, who also wrote the music for “Hair.” Here’s a sample:

 

West Side Story...sounds pretty nice.

After that, I’m not a big fan

 

I recently saw a live production of South Pacific in Cape Cod summer theater, and this brought back so many memories of loving musicals as a preteen and teenager. Loved them all, My Fair Lady, Carousel, Camelot, Oklahoma, Oliver, West Side Story, Sound of Music, Music Man (clearly recall seeing the last 2 in the movie theater). Saw Angela Lansbury on Broadway in Mame. Finian's Rainbow was a favorite too. I played these albums for these shows so many times and can honestly say that I knew all the words and always sang along, and still do! Some of the stories may be dated but are of their time which is no less valid. Although Music Man remains strangely relevant...

Our high school did a play every year and it was always a big event. I knew about Oliver due to liking the book Oliver Twist, and I saw Davy Jones when he appeared on The Ed Sullivan show in a scene from Oliver. Which I actually recall more than seeing The Beatles the same night, go figure. About a year or 2 later, our HS did that play. I recently saw a high school production of Shreck The Musical which was utterly charming and done so professionally. Musicals done well are a great art form!

 

I absolutely adore Hair, from top to bottom a great soundtrack - I even like the film version with the semi-disco elements. I firmly feel that Hamilton is the best music yet made in the 21st century, no overestimation of how incredible that work. I love so much of Sondheim's work, Company being my favorite - I'm interested in the gender swapped version which just opened in London. I'll be seeing Dear Evan Hanson in November - and while I know some of the score (I've avoided a deep listen to stay clear of spoilers.) I think Pasek and Paul the team that wrote Evan Hanson are brilliant and I hope they have a long career ahead of them. I'll be seeing Falsettos in the spring and love that score - though both recordings of it seem shrill to my ears.

More and more smart students at the high school I teach at are gravitating to Broadway musicals, this is likely because pop music continues to be lyrically banal.

In any case, I think a lot about Broadways musicals and love the form.

 

Some of the 20th century's greatest songs in English were written for Broadway, but I much prefer to hear them in other settings.

 

My kiddies listen to the cast recordings of Les Miserables and Wicked, all the damn time.

One thing that annoys me about both (apart from the constant repetition) is the accents. Cockney accents on the streets of Paris in the former, and the nasally nyork accents in the latter.

Strewth.

Personally I like the Sweeney Todd soundtrack.

--Geoff

 

I really enjoy musical theatre, particularly Sondheim, but generally not something I listen to at home - I prefer to hear the songs in the context of the performed show.

 

Just to get technical for a moment, a soundtrack is from a motion picture. A stage musical recording is designated as something like “Original Broadway Cast” or similar.
I love stage show recordings!
Cheers.

 

My first favorite album was "Cats: Selections from the Original Broadway Cast Recording" LP that my parents got in 1983 when I was a tot. I knew every word to every song (got some of them wrong, sure...) I just ordered a copy off discogs, it was fun listening to it again.
That being said....last year my wife and I saw "The Great Comet of 1812", and I absolutely LOVE the cast recording of that one!

Andrew Lloyd Webber - Cats: Selections From The Original Broadway Cast Recording

David Malloy - Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 (Original Broadway Cast Recording)