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City of Angels
Original Broadway Cast
Starring Gregg Edelman, James Naughton, Randy Graff, & Dee Hoty
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by David Zippel
21 Tracks
Read an off-site Synopsis of the show on Musicals.Net.
It's difficult for me to review this CD. To be perfectly frank, it rather bored me; and yet I think it is still an excellent musical. The problem is that the music is all swing/jazz, a kind of music I've never liked. It simply fails to hold my attention. However, for a person who really likes jazz, City of Angels will be the best thing since sliced bread. The story is cool – that's what attracted me to it in the first place – and the lyrics are really excellent.
The one song I do like I like a lot – "You're Nothing Without Me," the rousing finale of Act I, is a real masterpiece; it's lively, has a catchy beat, and wonderfully witty lyrics. In fact, although I wasn't thrilled with the music, I really have to praise the lyrics of all this show's songs. They're excellent – there' s none of the forced feeling you get with many lyricists, and they managed to amuse me even when part of my brain was rebelling against listening to any more jazz. The lyricist, David Zippel, also wrote the lyrics to the songs from the Disney movies Hercules and Mulan, both of which I've always thought had great songs (even though the storyline of Hercules is God-awful).
The vocal performances are excellent too; all of the actors interpreted the songs & lyrics well, and put a credible amount of emotion into everything they sang.
Although I personally didn't like it, I really do recommend this CD to anyone who likes jazz and swing, because they will have much more appreciation for the music than I do.
