Hair (The New Broadway Cast Recording)

The success of this revival of HAIR comes as no surprise. HAIR has never struck me as a period piece ... and even if it were, a well-conceived period piece can make for convincing art. The heart of any musical has to be original music that speaks the souls of its characters, and HAIR has always been secure in that strength.

I haven't seen the show and probably won't have the opportunity to. This vigorous recording amply compensates. It seems to be the first musical in ages where the vocalism isn't infected by American Idolitis -- You know what I mean: that insidious combination of Mariah-like fluttering, Celine-like caterwauling, premature and overworked climaxes, and general lack of subtlety that provides a virtuosic but hollow gloss.

The singing here is joyous and lively. The recording team -- performers, arrangers, engineers -- catches all the energy of the show but contains the chaos. One advantage over the 1967 OCR of the original production is certainly...Read more

"Hair" opened on Broadway amidst the turmoil dividing the country in 1968 and knocked behind-the-times Broadway on its' ear. "Hair" was a breath of fresh air and it saved Broadway but it nearly destroyed it. Soon a flock of wanna-be Hairs traipsed into town and soon belly-flopped and traipsed out of town. The reason for the belly flop? "Hair" got there first.

Structurally "Hair" was an unwashed mess, more a party than theatre, but what a party it was and the party has started anew and shaken the town again. The wispy thin story, like a single strand of hair involves Claude a young hippie and somewhat leader of his bell-bottomed, love-beaded friends has received his draft notice and that's the story. Will he avoid the draft or will he join the army? Will he? Won't he? Will he? Won't he? He does and the result is tragic. The bulk of the show is ideas, social issues and attitude swirling around like a tornado gone beserk. None of the actors playing the hippies or...Read more

The New Broadway Cast Recording of "Hair" captures the magic of the current smash
Broadway revival. The ground-breaking show about a tribe of hippies in New York's
East Village contains classics such as "Aquarius," "Good Morning Starshine," "Let
the Sun Shine In," and the title track. The current cast sounds as vibrant as they
do live on stage. Examples include, Sasha Allen's soaring "Black Boys," Will
Swenson's joyous "Donna," Caissie Levy's heartwrenching "Easy to Be Hard" and
Gavin Creel's outstanding "Where Do I Go?" Executive Producer, Bill Rosenfield
along with, Galt MacDermot, Hair's original musical composer, include songs that
weren't on the show's Original Cast Recording, some of the show's dialogue and
both of the show's encores. The current show's Musical Director, Nadia
DiGiallonardo, makes MacDermot's music sound fresher then ever by using top-of-the-
line musicians. Gerome Ragni's and James Rado's...Read more