Critic’s Overview of Broadway Cast Albums
June 15th, 2006New York Times’ critic Stephen Holden reviews the grand Broadway voices found on original cast albums. Here’s what he said about Jersey Boys:
In defense of the karaoke musical, it provides a comfortable listening experience that is hard to come by at a pop concert. And when carried off with genuine affection and knowledge, as in Jersey Boys, this year’s Tony winner for best musical, it almost transcends the dreaded label. Jersey Boys (like Mamma Mia! before it) offers an optimal concert experience in which the sound system is as much a star as the performers and the material.It’s unlikely that the audiences flocking to Jersey Boys ever heard a live performance by the Four Seasons that was as sonically immaculate as this meticulous theatrical simulation, led by John Lloyd Young’s phenomenal vocal embodiment of Frankie Valli. It’s no coincidence that the show’s director, Des McAnuff, is the man who started it all with the Who’s Tommy in 1993.
