Well, dear readers, I have been listening to the note-complete recordings of My Fair Lady and Oklahoma! from conductor John Wilson and I wish I could say I love them large but I’m afraid I cannot. Get a real producer in there who understands what these things should sound like. Whoever is doing this is taking a leaf from the people who do cast albums these days – no idea what reverb is, dead sounding band with no air and ever worse the deadest vocals I’ve even heard. They sound nothing like a how recording should sound, i.e. the way every cast album sounded from the start, as originally done by Goddard Lieberson and then copied by every other producer. And me. That is the sound I wanted – that glorious live, living sound with spacious vocals and a band with air around the instruments. Since most studios are purposedly dead-sounding, the idea is to add reverb – in the old days that was usually a machine called an EMT that lived in the basement of studios. Everyone today says, oh but that’s artificial – right, but if you do it correctly, everything sounds better, more alive, and like you’re in a theater. The My Fair Lady vocals are so dead that you get no sense of the performers’ performances. It’s like listening to a dead-sounding radio show and the vocals are mixed low, too, and the entire mastered sound is mixed so low that you’d have to pump up the volume eight or nine db. Mr. Wilson is talented but get him a producer who knows how to do this. There ARE a few of us left, you know. The sound on Oklahoma! is a tiny bit better than My Fair Lady, It IS great to have them complete, but not if it’s not a good listening experience, which, to my ears, it isn’t. I wish I could be more positive, and I’ve read nice things from others who, in my opinion, have simply forgotten what cast albums should sound like. Want a comparison? But on the cast album of Gypsy and listen to the Overture and then Some People. Then listen to the Overture and Why Can’t the English and tell me what you think. I may, in fact, drop Mr. Wilson a note. Why not? Otherwise, yesterday was certainly yesterday. I only got five hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, and then moseyed on over to the theater to meet with our author and the set designer, to make sure we were all on the same page. We almost were, but we had to iron out just a few things – NOW we’re all on the same page. I think it’s going to be a very fun and nice-looking set. After that, I came home, had the half order of extra crispy orange chicken from my usual jernt, that arrived and was a very good batch, then I sat on my couch and dozed off for about an hour or maybe ninety minutes. Then I did a few things, then was on my way to the rehearsal hall. As I drove, looking for a parking space, there were none. But just as I got to the rehearsal hall building, someone pulled out and I got the best parking space you can have for that building. Then we had our fun rehearsal, running all the numbers – I added a few things and subtracted a few things, we taught our leading lady her part of the duet she has, so a very productive night. The numbers are looking very sharp now and will hopefully look even sharper as we keep drilling.
After rehearsal, I walked across the street to Granville to get some mac and cheese to go, but they closed at nine. That’s LA for you. So, I went to the pizza place next door to our rehearsal studio and got a slice to go, came home, ate it (very good), and here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll eat, but mostly I’ll relax until it’s time for rehearsal, we’ll rehearse, and I’ll come home right after.
Tomorrow is our day off and that will be nice. Saturday, we convene at ten and go to one. Cheryl Baxter will be there at ten to look at my stuff, finesse anything she likes, and then she’ll do her one number. All that will probably take all three hours. We’re off on Sunday, then on Monday night I have my missing actors, and we’ll block all of the big, long act two scene – it’s about fifteen pages or so. Then we’ll put the missing actors in all the musical numbers they’re in – not that many. Then we’re off until December 2.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, eat, relax. Rehearse, and come home. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite cast album recordings, the ones that really convey a theatrical feeling for the ear? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, wishing today’s cast album producers would stop doing what they’re doing and listen to a few classic albums and learn from them.