Music Review: Rhythm Song by Evelyn Glennie

Rhythm Song
by Evelyn Glennie (Compact Disc 781.68 Gle)

If you want something different, intriguing, unique — give this a try. I first became aware of Dame Evelyn Glennie earlier this year from an online article. She is an award-winning percussionist and composer who has been functionally deaf since age 12 and has been performing music in public since age 11. In addition to marimba and all types of percussion instruments, Glennie can play bagpipes, piano, and clarinet. She also vocalizes on some of her compositions. Known for performing barefoot, to better feel the beats and tones, Glennie learned to ‘listen’ to music with all of her body once she could no longer hear. Over the years she has performed with orchestras, pop stars, and at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Her oeuvre is one-of-a-kind and deserves a listen. Fascinating and inspiring!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Listen : How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stocker, or Her Greatest Hits and Wind in the Bamboo Grove by Evelyn Glennie.)

 

( official Evelyn Glennie web site )

 

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Music Review: Coco - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Michael Giacchino and others

Coco: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
by Michael Giacchino, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Germaine Franco and Adrian Molina (Compact Disc j782.14 Coc)

One of the Fall 2023 events on the stage of the Lied Center for the Performing Arts was a showing of the 2017 Disney/Pixar animated film Coco, with the music performed live by a Mexican orchestra on the stage right below the projection screen. It was absolutely terrific to hear the music done live, and made me want to revisit the recorded soundtrack — and I’m happy to say that the libraries still have this soundtrack available on CD.

 

The Coco: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack breaks its content into two sections. First, there are the vocal songs. 8 songs were written for the film, including the Academy Award-winning song “Remember Me” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (also Oscar winners for the music from Frozen). Additional songs are by Germaine Franco and Adrian Molina. There are alternate takes on “Remember Me”, including a very emotional one, featuring actors Anthony Gonzales and Ana Ofelia Murguia, sung as the film’s main character, young Miguel returns from the Land of the Dead to sing the song to his aged grandmother, Coco, who awakens from a stupor to sing with him in the film’s emotional climax. There’s also a pop-infused take on “Remember Me” sung by pop artist Miguel (with Natalia Lafourcade) during the film’s closing credits. The rest of the songs are highly entertaining as well, with their strong Mexican flavor and peppy tones. I particularly enjoyed “Un Poco Loco”, “The World Es Mi Familia” and “La Llorona”.

 

Following the vocal tracks are an incredible 27 tracks from the film’s instrumental score by noted film composer Michael Giacchino, arranged in the chronological order of how they appeared in the film. Giacchino is one of my favorite contemporary film and TV composers, and his tracks for Coco certainly don’t disappoint, with lush strings and vibrant brass, and beautiful guitar work.

 

(If you enjoy this soundtrack, you’ll obviously want to see the film Coco itself.)

 

( Wikipedia page about the Coco: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Music Review: Some Like It Hot (Official Broadway Cast Recording) by Marc Shaiman and others

Some Like It Hot (Official Broadway Cast Recording)
music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman, and a book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin (Hoopla Music, and hopefully on CD eventually)

The 1959 film Some Like It Hot, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, is considered by many film critics and fans to be among the greatest films ever made, a certainly one of the best Comedy films of all time. This stage musical, which opened on Broadway in 2022, is scheduled to close before the end of 2023, and features much of the same plot as the film, but has been expanded to explore issues of racial disparity and gender identity.

 

Joe (Christian Borle) and Jerry (J. Harrison Ghee) are best friends and musicians, trying to break into a big-name club in Chicago during prohibition. Though do they receive a break, they then witness a gangland slaying and have to go on the lam to avoid being rubbed out by the mobster whose club they were performing in. Desperate, they decide to impersonate women, and join the all-girl band Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopaters, leaving Chicago and traveling by train to California. Joe becomes Josephine, and Jerry becomes Daphne. Joe falls for Sugar Cane, a young woman with dreams of California stardom. When they reach San Diego, the Syncopaters are booked to perform at the glamorous Hotel Coronado, owned by quirky eccentric millionaire Osgood Fielding III, who immediately finds himself attracted to Jerry’s alter-ego Daphne.

 

Sue, Sugar Cane and Jerry/Daphne are all portrayed by actors of color in this production, and some of the new songs refer to the societal hurdles they face as musicians and performers. Jerry also finds himself far more comfortable in the skin of Daphne than he does of himself, and Osgood reveals that he likes Daphne, no matter who s/he is. The arrival of the pursuing mobsters leads to chase sequences and the revelation of Joe and Jerry’s actual identities…but it’s all okay in the end.

 

Featuring music by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman (both of whom did the music for the musicals Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can and the film Mary Poppins Returns), this musical is filled with rousing song-and-dance numbers as well as more introspective, pensive songs. The musical opens with the fast-paced “What Are You Thirsty For?” and “You Can’t Have Me (If You Don’t Have Him)”. I particularly enjoyed “At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee”, “Let’s Be Bad”, “Dance the World Away” and “Ride Out the Storm”. And, of course, the title song “Some Like It Hot” is really catching as well. Personally, I enjoyed listening to this on CD, with a booklet that included extensive liner notes that helped explain what’s going on.

 

This is definitely a 21st Century take (with updated societal views) on a 64-year-old film masterpiece. Both are excellent in their own separate ways. I’ve been a fan of actor Christian Borle for many years, and while he does a terrific job as Joe/Josephine, it is J. Harrison Ghee who steals the show as Jerry/Daphne, and won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the original classic film starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, or Hairspray by the same creative team as this musical.)

 

( Wikipedia entry for the Some Like It Hot musical )

 

See Donna G.’s review of the film Some Like it Hot in the March 2011 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Music Review: Barbie the Album

Barbie the Album

by various (Music Compact Disc 782.14 Bar & Hoopla)

 

On the same day that the international bombshell film Barbie: The Movie opened in July, the soundtrack album was released, both digitally and in physical formats (vinyl LP and CD). Five of the 17 tracks on Barbie the Album were released as singles for radio and streaming-service play, with several making the Billboard hot singles lists. A secondary, expanded, soundtrack was released as the “Best Weekend Ever” edition, with two additional tracks not previously available.

 

Like the film it accompanies, Barbie the Album is a celebration of female empowerment, with the vast majority of the tracks featuring music written by and/or performed by female artists, including Lizzo, Nicki Minaj and Spice Ice, Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX, Pinkpantheress, Gayle, Ava Max and Dua Lipa. Complimenting all these powerful female performers are a handful of male entries, including the film’s “Ken”, Ryan Gosling singing his plaintive character theme song, “I’m Just Ken” (he also sings the Matchbox 20 hit “Push” on the extended soundtrack), Sam Smith, Dominic Fike, The Kid Laroi and Khalid (among others).

 

The music ranges from peppy bubblegum pop to introspective, but leans more toward the electric and high-energy, including a couple of “dance” numbers. All the songs on this album appear in the film, so this isn’t one of those “songs from and inspired by” albums. If you’ve seen the movie — and at the time of this review’s writing, it was the #13 all time money marker in the U.S. market (and #15 internationally), so you’re hardly alone — each of these energetic tunes will remind you of moments within the film. Tracks that stand out for me are “Pink” by Lizzo (the film’s opening scenes in Barbieworld), “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa, “Barbie World” by Minaj and Spice, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish, and “Choose Your Fighter” by Ava Max. (I also enjoyed “I’m Just Ken”, but it has a completely different tone than the rest of this upbeat album.)

 

The libraries have the basic album as a CD, and both the basic and extended album versions are available via our Hoopla Digital Music service. I don’t listen to a lot of contemporary music, preferring my old classics from the 1960s through the 1990s, but I’ll have to admit, Barbie the Album ended up being compulsive listening for me!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Compact Disc Review: Music Man - The 2022 Broadway Cast Recording

Music Man: The 2022 Broadway Cast Recording
by Meredith Willson (Compact Disc 782.14 Mus)

I’ve been a huge fan of the actor Hugh Jackman for years, and have really enjoyed his performances in such musical films as Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. Similarly, I’ve enjoyed what performance by Sutton Foster that I’ve had the chance to see and hear, including her multi-season fun on Younger, and her contributions to soundtrack albums like Young Frankenstein, Anything Goes and The Drowsy Chaperone. But I’ve never had the chance to see either of them live, in person, in a stage show. None-the-less, I had high hopes for enjoying them as the leads in the soundtrack to the 2022 Broadway version of The Music Man, the classic American musical.

 

This soundtrack is fine, on its own, and is particularly rewarding as a two-disc set, which includes a LOT more music than has been on the single-disc releases associated with earlier stage and film productions. And, I actually did enjoy listening to it in the end. Both Jackman and Foster are enthusiastic performers and more-than-capable singers. BUT…and it’s a big but…as someone who grew up listening to the soundtracks to both the 1957 Broadway production and the 1962 feature film version, Jackman and Foster simply do not inhabit the characters of Harold Hill and Marian Paroo like Robert Preston did for both stage and screen, and Barbara Cook and Shirley Jones did for the stage and screen versions. The late Robert Preston simply IS Harold Hill, and Jackman was a mere pretender.

 

For Broadway soundtrack fans, I do still recommend this 2022 version…its got an infection sense of energy, and some of the tracks featuring group performances are outstanding. And if you’ve never heard the songs of The Music Man before, you may end up loving this version. But for someone well-versed in the history of Broadway music, this one ultimately falls a bit short. Its main selling point, for me, is the fact that there’s twice as much music represented as in previous production albums.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to see if you can find the soundtracks to both the 1957 Broadcast Cast Album, and the 1962 movie version of this story. But by all means, avoid the 2003 TV-movie version, starring Matthew Broderick, as it is far inferior to all other versions.)

 

( official Music Man on Broadway 2022 web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Music CD Review: MJ: The Musical, based on the life and works of Michael Jackson

MJ: The Musical
based on the music of Michael Jackson (and others) (Compact Disc 782.14 MJ)

 MJ: The Musical is what they call a “jukebox musical” — in which a variety of songs (usually by a single artist or group) are integrated into the plot of an on-stage storyline, often featuring the artist(s) who created or performed the music. But not always, for instance the hit Mamma Mia exclusively featured the music of ABBA but not those performers as characters.

 

MJ: The Musical, however, really does tell the story of Michael Jackson, from his very earliest days performing with The Jackson Five, up through 1992, and the beginning of his Dangerous World tour. The music doesn’t appear in purely chronological order — in fact, the musical opens with Jackson’s hit Beat It, before segueing backwards to the early years.

 

MJ: The Musical has a complicated history. It was originally supposed to open on Broadway in 2020, but was one of many shows impacted by the Broadway closures due to COVID-19. After a recasting of the lead role, which lead to Myles Frost playing the adult Michael Jackson, the show did eventually open in February of 2022 (after two months of previews). Critics have not been kind to the show, but it has been popular with audiences. In the 2022 Tony Awards, the show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won four: Best Lead Actor for Frost, Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. Obviously, the show’s soundtrack can’t really show up dance, lighting and sound design effective, but it DOES shine a spotlight on Myles Frost’s incredible singing. He truly “becomes” Michael in this show, and the medleys of Jackson music come across beautifully in this production. There are only a few moments in a few of the songs where it sounds like somebody else singing these highly recognizable songs.

 

I highly recommend listening to this soundtrack, if you’re a Michael Jackson fan, and catch MJ: The Musical when it begins its national tour in 2023 or 2024.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try all the original albums/music by Michael Jackson himself.)

 

( official MJ: The Musical web site ) | ( MJ: The Musical page on the official Michael Jackson web site ) | ( Wikipedia entry on MJ: The Musical )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Check out this, and all the other great music resources, at the Polley Music Library, located on the 2nd floor of the Bennett Martin Public Library at 14th & "N" St. in downtown Lincoln. You'll find biographies of musicians, books about music history, instructional books, sheet music, CDs, music-related magazines, and much more. Also check out Polley Music Library Picks, the Polley Music Library's e-mail newsletter, and follow them on Facebook!

Music Review: Saor Patrol (available in the library's Contemporary World Music database)

Saor Patrol
by Saor Patrol (digital resource: Contemporary World Music database)

Despite my Nordic surname, I actually have more Celtic than Scandinavian ancestors in my family tree, so perhaps it’s no surprise that I have an affinity for Celtic music. And being a guitarist with a daughter who is a percussionist, it made sense that I would be intrigued when I came across recordings by the band Saor Patrol ( https://search-alexanderstreet-com.webpac.lincolnlibraries.org/womu/search?searchstring=saor%20patrol ) in the Library’s “Contemporary World Music” streaming resource.

 

Saor Patrol (pronounced “shore patrol”) is a Scottish folk band, though hardly a traditional one – no “Loch Lomond” or “Wild Mountain Thyme” here! Their website describes them as a “medieval rockband from Scotland.” Combining Great Highland Bagpipes, drums, and electric guitars with a look that brings to mind ZZ Top in kilts, the band plays mainly high-energy original instrumentals with a unique sound. The band’s members are all volunteers for the Clanranald Trust for Scotland, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Scottish culture and heritage, and funds raised by the band help support the organization’s projects, including the construction of a replica of a medieval Scottish fortified village.

 

Warning: it seems that some people have a low tolerance for bagpipe music played at high volume levels, so you may want to choose your time carefully for listening to this group!

 

Here’s how to access the Contemporary World Music resource or the other music resources in our Music Online collection:

 

1.      At lincolnlibraries.org, under the “Resources” menu, choose “Online Resources (Databases)” and then “Access from outside the library”.

2. Enter your library card number (all 14 digits – no spaces) and PIN, and click “Login.”

3. Scroll down to “Arts, Music & Entertainment Resources” and click “Show resources” to expand that section.

4. Click on “Contemporary World Music” – or on “Music Online” to search all six of these music resources at the same time.

 

( official Saor Patrol web site ) | ( official Saor Patrol YouTube channel )

Recommended by Peter J.
Virtual Services Department

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Music CD Review: Back to the Future: The Musical - Original Cast Recording by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard

Back to the Future: The Musical – Original Cast Recording
by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard (Compact Disc 782.14 Bac)

The original time-travel film Back to the Future came out in 1985, telling the tale of teenager Marty McFly using the massively-altered Delorean gull-wing car-turned-time-machine by his friend, eccentric scientist Doc Emmet Brown, to travel back to 1955. When trapped there, Marty enlists the assistance of the younger Doc Brown to figure out how to refuel the time machine to return himself to 1985. But first, Marty must help his parents to fall in love — his arrival in 1955 caused their original meeting to go off-track — or he and his two siblings will cease to exist.

 

The original film engendered two immediate sequels in 1989 and 1990, the first of which threw the characters forward from 1985 to 2015, and the second cast them back in time to the Old West. A later animated TV series (2 seasons totally 26 episodes) continued their story. As early as 2004, producer/writer Bob Gale hinted at a desire to turn Back to the Future into a stage musical. In 2012, it was announced that this project was a reality and was aimed for a 2015 premiere (to tie into the time Marty and Doc traveled to in the 2nd film. Delays pushed this project back repeatedly, and it finally premiered in the UK in 2021 (with plays to premiere on Broadway in 2023).

 

This soundtrack features the cast of the 2021 British production, including Olly Dobson as Marty McFly, Roger Bart as Doc Brown, Hugh Coles as George McFly, Rosanna Hyland as Lorraine Baines, Cedric Neal as Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry, and Aidan Cutler as Biff Tannen. The producers’ goals for this musical were to create mostly all-new songs to retell this popular story. In fact, out of 25 tracks on this CD, only five feature music associated with the movie — Alan Silvestri’s instrumental theme (now given lyrics in “It’s Only a Matter of Time”), “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time” (both pop hits for Huey Lewis from the film’s soundtrack) and “Earth Angel” and “Johnny B. Goode” (performed at the school dance near the end of the story). All other tracks are new tunes, collaborations between original soundtrack composer Silvestri and Glen Ballard. Some are better than others, but there aren’t any real stinkers. Most major characters get a song focused on them and their goals. Doc Brown gets several, including “It Works”, “Future Boy”, “21st Century”, and the marvelous “For the Dreamers”. Marty’s wishy-washy father George gets “My Myopia” and “Put Your Mind to It”. Marty’s suprisingly man-hungry mother (as a teenager) gets “Pretty Baby” and “Something About That Boy”. And, of course, Marty McFly has many moments to shine.

 

Olly Dobson does a remarkably good job of recapturing the sound of a young Michael J. Fox as Marty. Hugh Coles is eerie in recreating the unique voice of Crispin Glover as George McFly, and both Hyland and Cutler do a good job inhabiting the roles of Lorraine and Biff. The slight disappointment for me was Roger Bart as Doc. I’ve really enjoyed Bart’s vocal performances in other musical soundtracks — he’s terrific as Victor Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein. But he’s very “on again/off again” as Doc.

 

None-the-less, despite some unevenness, I thought that these songs very effectively retold the well-known plot of the film. A few changes were made — swapping plutonium poising instead of Libyan terrorists for Doc’s 1985 death, etc. Just like the film, which mixes genres, this soundtrack bounces between 1950s and 1980s song stylings very effectively. Overall, Back to the Future: The Musical sounds like it would be a terrific show. I hope once it premieres here in the U.S. it is a smash success. Based on descriptions of the technical needs of this show (a flying Delorean car!), it’s unlikely to be a show feasible for community or high school theaters to perform, so catch it on Broadway if you can!

 

(If you enjoy this, obviously, this is tailored to fans of the original film trilogy. I’d also recommend viewing the quirky animated series, also available on DVD from the libraries.)

 

( official Back to the Future: The Musical web site ) | ( official Alan Silvestri web site ) | ( Wikipedia entry for Glen Ballard )

 

Recommended by Scott C.

Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

CD Review: The Secret by Alan Parsons

The Secret

by Alan Parsons (Compact Disc 781.66 Par)

 

Released in 2019, this album reminds of the ‘glory days’ of The Alan Parsons Project while taking on a more contemporary groove as well. Themes of magic, mystery, and melancholy combine in ballads and uptempo pieces. The liner notes include a quote revealing Parsons’ lifelong interest in magic acts.There are 3 or 4 tracks I’m not crazy about but over all it’s well worth a listen if you enjoy progressive rock. In addition to Parsons himself, guest lead vocalists include Lou Gramm of Foreigner and Jason Mraz. Instrumentally, Parsons plays and/or conducts on several tracks. His tight backing band of seven members is supplemented by musical artists such as Steve Hackett of Genesis and original TAPP member Ian Bairnson. The album booklet is visually interesting and includes all lyrics and credits.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Best of The Alan Parsons Project by The Alan Parsons Project, Tales of Mystery and Imagination by The Alan Parsons Project (based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Best of The Moody Blues by The Moody Blues, or The Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.)

 

( Wikipedia entry for The Secret ) | ( official Alan Parsons web site )

 

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD and CD Review: West Side Story (2021) movie and soundtrack

West Side Story (2021)
(DVD West)

Despite the original West Side Story from 1961 being one of my all-time favorites, I was curious to see what director Steven Spielberg would do in his remake, his first musical film. I, personally, was not disappointed.

Relative unknown Rachel Zegler stars as Maria, and Ansel Elgort is Tony, this film’s Romeo & Juliet (the Shakespearean play which is the basis for the storyline). Ariana Debose is Anita, for which she just won the Academy Award for Supporting Actress, which had also previously been won in 1961 by Rita Moreno in the same role. David Alvarez is Maria’s brother Bernardo, leader of the Puerto Rican street gang the Sharks, and Mike Faist is Riff, Tony’s replacement as the leader of the caucasian street gang the Jets.

 

This version of this explosively emotional film moves around some of the iconic key songs, such as “Gee, Officer Krupke”, “Cool” and “I Feel Pretty”, placing them in moments that fit better into the story continuity than either the 1961 film or the stage musical. On the other hand, I’ll admit that some of the 1961 performances are more powerful. The performances in the 2021 are all good to great, and I love the fact that Rita Moreno, recast as the widow of the local store owner (Valentina) gets to sing “Somewhere” at the end of the film, while I know other fans were disappointed in this change, feeling that it’s really a Maria/Tony song.

 

The look of the film is tremendous, with much of it set among urban decay in a neighborhood that’s in the process of being torn down for gentrification (historically, it later becomes the location of The Lincoln Center performing arts facility). The dance sequences are marvelous, and the chemistry among the cast is incredible. And I appreciated that most of the Puerto Rican characters are actually played by Latinx performers, unlike the earlier film, which uses white actors in embarrassingly heavy makeup. But the 1961 film is a classic for very good reasons. I just happen to think that the 2021 holds up equally well, and the new film was one of my favorite movies of last year. Your mileage may vary…

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the original West Side Story (1961), directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, and starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, Russ Taymbln and Rita Moreno. You should also catch a stage production of this show if you ever have the chance, as the staged version of this musical differs dramatically from both films. I also highly recommend the soundtrack album to this new 2021 film, which does a very respectful job of recreating the music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, with the addition of “La Borinqueña”, sung in Spanish by the Sharks gang!)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official West Side Story (2021) web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD and CD Review: Encanto and the Encanto Soundtrack

Encanto
(DVD j Encanto)

This latest Disney animated movie, Encanto (2021), broke outside the typical constraints of a Disney animated film, featuring a soundtrack that incorporates hip-hop-influenced songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda (who also created songs for Moana), and foregoing a typical “villain” in favor of a storyline about familial bonds, both broken and repaired.

 

Tapping into South American culture (primarily Columbian), Encanto is about the members of the Madrigal family, who live in an enchanted home that imbues each of them with a special magical ability, as a rite of passage. Almost everyone, that is, since the central character is Mirabel Madrigal, a young woman who was seemingly passed over for a special ability, though her sisters and other relatives enjoy super strength, flower growing, healing through cooking, super hearing and other unique skills. But ordinary Mirabel is the normal one, the glue that holds the family together. Until she discovers that the “magical house” (and the village that has grown up to surround it) is losing its magic and cracking apart. Mirabel goes on a quest, to find her missing uncle (whose ability of seeing future events foresaw this very calamity), and to see if there is anything she can do to prevent catastrophe for her family.

 

The music in Encanto is catchy and memorable, particularly the snappy songs “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, “Surface Pressure” and “Dos Orugitas”. The musical orchestral score by Germaine Franco is very atmospheric and flavorful, and I strongly recommend checking out the soundtrack CD to supplement your enjoyment of the film itself. As with many Lin-Manuel Miranda songs (see: Hamilton, and In the Heights), many of his rapid lyrics can slip by you on first exposure, but listening to the songs several times allows for greater appreciation of his wordplay.

 

I missed the typical “villain” to rail against, but the theme of family, forgiveness and perseverance in times of chaos and adversity was a strong one. The many, many colorful characters also gave all viewers someone to identify with and root for. I found Mirabel’s journey of personal growth very fulfilling.

 

All in all, Encanto is a very strong entry in the Disney animated film catalog, and I highly recommend both the film and the soundtrack album!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Moana, or Raya and the Last Dragon.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official Encanto Facebook page )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one or listened to the soundtrack? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

CD Review: 30 by Adele

30
by Adele (Compact Disc 781.66 Adele)

30 is music superstar Adele’s fourth original album, and like the earlier 19, 21, and 25, it charts out a certain time and emotional point in her life. In short, 30 is Adele’s “divorce album”, tapping into a myriad of emotions and mental gymnastics that she’s gone through as she deals with the aftermath of the break-up of her marriage and her now becoming a single parent.

 

If you’re looking for a fun, upbeat, lightweight bit of entertainment, 30 is not for you. Adele explores a lot of darkness in songs relating to her current state of life — depression, failed relationships, misjudgments, uncertainty. But she also seems hopeful, and still has a sense of humor, that pops through from time to time. And her voice. Oh…that voice, that just keeps getting better and better as she ages…smoky, sensuous, sentimental, wistful, and seeking!

 

If you’re an Adele fan already, you won’t want to miss this latest album from her. If you haven’t listened to Adele previously, this is definitely not the place to start — go back to her earlier work so you can feel the progression in emotions she has built up over a dozen years of musical storytelling, then come back to 30 to experience the latest chapter.

 

Literally, my only complaint about 30 is that I needed the liner notes to understand a few lines in a few songs, as Adele’s thick accent becomes even thicker the more emotional she gets. But once I’d heard each song a few times, they really sunk in.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try 19, 21, and 25 by Adele.)

 

( official Adele web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Music CD Review: Hey Gurl, It's Christmas! by Randy Rainbow

Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas!
by Randy Rainbow (Compact Disc 394 Rai)

Randy Rainbow is a comedian and singer, who first popped up in the pop culture zeitgeist around 2010, doing comedy videos in which he intercuts video of himself with video of various celebrities and/or newsmakers, to make it appear as if they were having phone conversations. His videos got a lot of traction, and then his popularity exploded in 2016 when he turned to making political parody videos set to music. Again, his style was to intercut images of himself with the politicians he was mocking, to make it look like he was interviewing them, but now he created full-fledged musical numbers — liberally borrowing well-known Broadway hit songs but applying his own all-original thematic lyrics. Randy has dozens of these bitingly satirical videos out there, from 2016 to 2021.

In the Winter of 2020, Randy released his first album, this holiday-themed collection of seven songs — Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas! Of the seven, one is a political parody — “Trumps Favorite Things” (set to “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music”). One is a completely original song — the title track. And the other five are well-known Christmas songs, with a Randy Rainbow twist. Randy has guest performers with him on several tracks — Kathy Griffin and Alan Cummings are psychoanalysts helping Randy as he deals with the repercussions of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”. Broadway superstar Norm Lewis duets with Randy on a mashup of “Merry Christmas Darling/What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” And another Broadway diva, Lorna Luft shares the crooning duties on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” with Randy.

Other than the political parody song, the two tracks that are most Randy-like (sassy, sarcastic, and flamboyant) are the opening number, “Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas”, where he collaborates with Broadway hitmaker Marc Shaiman, and the upbeat “Make Someone Happy” that wraps up the disc. It’s a short collection, and in true Randy Rainbow style, there is quite a bit of…colorful…language, so if you’re easily offended by casual swearing, this isn’t for you. But if you’ve enjoyed Randy’s online video parodies for the past 5+ years, you’ll love this holiday collection!

(If you enjoy this, Randy has a new album, A Little Brains, A Little Talent, which just came out in November 2021, not yet in the libraries’ collection. Or look for his parody videos online, especially on YouTube.)

( official Randy Rainbow web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

Music Review: Summon the Heroes by John Williams and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (on CD)

Summon the Heroes
by John Williams and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Compact Disc 781.68 Bos)

As I write this review, we are about halfway through the Tokyo Summer Olympics of 2021 (postponed from 2020 by the global pandemic). Ever since 1996, one of my every-other-year traditions during both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics is to listen to this album on auto-replay for two straight weeks as the sporting events take place.

 

Summon the Heroes is both the album title and the title of the first track — which in 1996 was a newly created work by composer/conductor John Williams (yes, he of the many Oscar-winning soundtracks), in honor of the Centennial Celebration of the Modern Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA in July of that year. Overall, the disc contains twelve tracks, three of which are Williams’ music. Track three opens with Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream”, which leads immediately into “Olympic Fanfare and Theme”, written by Williams for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games. And track #1 is “The Olympic Spirit”, a piece composed by Williams for the NBC Sports Division, in celebration of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. All three of Williams’ pieces feature a wide range of musical stylings, from challenging brasses and pulse-pounding percussion, to pensive woodwinds and striving strings — there’s a little thing in there for all types of athletic experience, from individuals struggling to complete a marathon, and gymnasts flying through the air like birds, to driving beats symbolizing the charge of the speed swimmer or the compulsive excitement of men and women testing the boundaries of human strength and endurance.

 

Admittedly, those are the three tracks I gravitate towards most often, considering that they are still heavily sampled for use in NBC’s ongoing Olympics television and streaming coverage of the games. But the disc does include 9 other tracks of music, some written specifically for the Olympics, and some just thematically appropriate: “O Fortuna” by Carl Orff; “Ode to Zeus” from Canto Olympico (for the 1992 games in Barcelona” by Mikis Theodorakis; “Javelin” by Michael Torke, written for the 1996 Atlanta games; “Olympic Theme” by Leonard Bernstein, written for the 1981 International Olympic Congress; “Festive Overture, Op. 96” by Dmitri Shostakovich, theme of the 1980 Moscow summer games, “Conquest of Paradise” by Vangelis; “Parade of the Charioteers from Ben Hur” by Miklos Rozsa; “Toward a New Life” by Josef Suk, Silver medal-winning composition at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and “Chariots of Fire (Theme)”, also by Vangelis, written for the 1981 film but also performed at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo. I find most of these non-Williams’ tracks to be more about the fanfare and pageantry of the Games, and less about the experiences of the athletes themselves.

 

None-the-less, each of these pieces, in their own way, is inspirational and celebrational. But the three Williams tracks, clocking in at around 14 1/2 minutes total, get my pulse racing and put me in the mood to see the world’s greatest athletes pushing their limits. Of the hundreds of CDs (and digital albums) I own, I’ve probably listened to Summon the Heroes more often than any other…and it never fails to lift me up, no matter what mood I’m in!

[Note: Williams also composed yet another piece of Olympics music — “Call of the Champions” — for the 2002 Winter Olympics, after this 1996 album was released. I wish it was also on this disc!]

[If you enjoy this, I’d suggest listening to other John Williams works. But his soundtracks, tremendous though they are, are very much tied in to the films they were written for. The works he created for the Olympics seem to stand out as an entirely different field of music.]

[ Wikipedia page for John Williams (he doesn’t have an official website) ]

 

See the new Summer Olympics Reading List on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

Have you listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Music Review: Jagged Little Pill: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Jagged Little Pill: Original Broadway Cast Recording

based on music by Alanis Morissette (Hoopla Digital Music)

 

This 2019 Broadway musical makes extensive use of the songs of Alanis Morissette that appeared on her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill in 1995 (as well as other Morissette music). The musical credits the music to Morissette and Glen Ballard, with book by Diablo Cody, and additional music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth. Morissette wrote two new songs specifically for the musical, “Smiling” and “Predator”, the former of which has subsequently been included on one of her albums.

 

The music all serves as a framing sequence for a story about a family going through some complicated times. Mary Jane “MJ” Healy is a mother, trying to hold her family together, despite the fact that it’s falling apart. Her husband is addicted to pornography, her teenaged daughter Frankie is trying to figure out what her sexual identity is, her “perfect” son Nick can’t live up to his reputation, and MJ herself is addicted to painkillers following a car accident. Iconic Morissette songs, like “All I Really Want”, “Hand in My Pocket”, “Forgiven”, “Hand Over Feet”, “You Oughta Know” and “Uninvited” take on multiple new meanings as sung by these characters, who are trying to find their way through a painful world to some pockets of happiness.

 

Honestly, though I do love Morissette’s original album, the performances and interpretations of these iconic songs by the various cast members of this show have almost more emotional power than the original recordings. Morissette was closely involved in the transition of her work onto the Broadway stage, and is said to be very pleased with how the show turned out. Sadly, the show made its Broadway opening in December 2019, and was one of the many shows to have been shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic — whether the original cast will return to recreate the show once the pandemic is done is unknown. Jagged Little Pill did receive 15 Tony Award nominations, and this album won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The libraries have it available as a digital album through Hoopla, though not as a CD.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the original Jagged Little Pill album by Morissette, or the sheet music from the Broadway musical by Alanis Morissette, available in the Polley Music Library.]

[ official Alanis Morissette web site ] | [ official Jagged Little Pill Musical web site ] 

 

See Jeremiah J.’s review of Alanis Morissette’s original Jagged Little Pill album in the July 2013 Staff Recommendations on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!