[rockyrocks666]

does anyone else think its a shame that the music for the show is actually quite good but it really doesnt translate that well to the stage?

[Bex]

yeah. i love the song 'whilst down the wind'

[rockyrocks666]

LOL i love your signature. genious!

[Salome]

the score is terrible,even by ALW standards.

[rockyrocks666]

HA! i agree with the Andrew Lloyd Webber bit but i do this that the score is pretty good. i dont think the main songs are nessesarly the best though. i think its the more linking songs that are good. but your definatly entitled to your own opinion.

[jcstar]

I've only heard the hits, so I can't comment.

"Cold" by The Everley Brothers
"Vaults Of Heaven" by Tom Jones and/or Michael Ball
"Whistle Down The Wind" by Tina Arena
"No Matter What" by Boyzone

They're all good songs, but I'd like to see the show.

Andy.

[rockyrocks666]

the show is very static and doesnt do the music justice, but worth seeing

[B3TA07]

[rockyrocks666]

lol, thats a bit harsh. im entitled to my own opinion

[liza_minelli]

[rockyrocks666]

fair enough

[listen to jesus jimmy]

what is the show about?

[The Very Angry Woman]

[snowhite880]

I actually dont like the show that much...i think its kind of boring truthfully...but it is true, it doesnt transfer well to the stage.

[theatregeek]

I really like this show, and the music is fantastic. Some of the songs are amazing. I've seen the show twice, but I have to agree, it doesn't transfer to the stage well.

[jo132000]

I went to see it just before it closed in London and i really enjoyed it, I guess everyone has different tastes...but i thought the song 'A kiss is a terrible thing to waste' was a really good song.

[christinadaae]

I've never seen it, but heard the entire thing.

Vaults of Heaven is the only song that was written well. And it's not a song for the stage. It's a song for church.


Christina

[Faded_Flowers]

I thought the new London production was a shame - nothing like as good as it was in the last run. The stage going up in flames this time round was a bit pitiful... And where was Annie Christmas?

Some of it's pretty bad, some is great (A Kiss is a Terrible Thing To Waste, Nature of the Beast)... I love it anyway.

[christinadaae]

[Dvarg]

[Yip1982]

[quote="Bex"]yeah. i love the song 'whilst down the wind'[/quote]

I think it's one of the most sincere ALW songs ever composed. Ther e is a refreshing simplicity and innocence in this song.

[sopranodespair]

I dont like the show itslef but I like the music. I even sang "Whistle Down The Wind" at a recital too.

[opheliarose]

I saw this last week.

The performers did well, but the material all felt really, really recycled.

I just about lost it when DH pointed out how much the theme song sounds like the Hamm Beer commercial.

[LaGataNegra]

So, I finally got around to listening to ALW's Whistle Down The Wind. I've avoided it since it's known to be a flop, and was generally panned by critics when it hit the London stage way back when. It didn't make it to Broadway, and the cast album costs $37!! A recent windfall allowed me to buy it (and a pile of Sondheim DVDs, and Brigadoon (cd), and Hello, Dolly!(dvd)) I was a happy camper this past weekend!


The show is set in Louisiana, USA, I'd guess in the 50s or 60s. The first scene has a preacher spouting fire and brimstone about how Jesus will return, and those who fail to recognize the Saviour will burn in fiery hell. Witness to this sermon are three children and their widowed father. We learn that a convicted murderer has escaped from prison and is in the area. The three children find him, hands and feet bleeding, in their barn. They mistake him for Jesus and he takes advantage of their naivete to save his hide.

There is a secondary plotline about a young guy and his girlfriend arranging to get out of their one stoplight town. (Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts) The young guy (Amos) also is friends with the children and helps them conceal the convict. There's a bit where Amos seems to have fallen in love with the eldest of the children-but I'm not sure about it. The convict also seems to fall in love with the girl, but then he says 'I'm taking you hostage' when the villagers are hunting him down, so it's kinda squirrelly.

A tertiary plotline about a revival meeting with snake-handlers goes nowhere, but does give us a glimpse of life in the South, where there is a small contingent of Bible pounders who test their faith by handling deadly snakes. (if you get bit and die-you are not worthy of being called Christian!)

I listened to the show through twice this weekend, going back to repeat a few songs. I like Whistle Down the Wind better now than I did after seeing the Royal Albert Hall rendition. Being sung by a man to comfort his children gives it a poignency that is missing when sung by a young girl.

The Vaults of Heaven reminds me of Love Changes Everything (from Aspects of Love). It doesn't really fit with the rest of the show. It's just parked at the beginning as if commenting on the action to come-yet the comment is vague and a bit confusing. The tune for Vaults pops up here and there throughout the show as if to connect it, but it just sits there, with no effect on the story.

Jim Steinman wrote the lyrics to this show. Some of you may know him as the tunesmith behind Meat Loaf's success. Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts, as well as Home By Now, No Matter What, and A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste show up on Meat's latest 'best of' album. His influence comes through in the music, as well. I wonder if ALW and Steinman didn't write the music together. It's very country and rock 'n roll, more so than ALW's other work. It's definitely a...different...sound. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't know that WDTW was composed by the same guy who did CATS and Phantom.

All in all, I can see why this show didn't fly with audiences. The story is convoluted, and the murderer gets no redemption, but does escape. The music is lovely, but often doesn't serve the story well. Amos sings TTaBH with his girlfriend one minute, then turns around and sings it again with Swallow (the eldest child), then the girlfriend and Swallow sing it together. Why? I don't know. This problem plagues the piece. I did like the use of the piano to set the mood, rather than overorchestrating the show. It works best when the piano is in action.

With all that said:
in spite of watching the entire DVD collection of Sondheim and listening to WDTW this past weekend, what song is running through my head now?'
Home By Now-from Whistle

[santtu]