| re: Revisiting The Confidence Man | |
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Posted by: |
steven_stuart 03:14 am UTC 03/13/11 |
| In reply to: | re: Revisiting The Confidence Man - Conas 02:25 am UTC 03/12/11 |
| > I hope I won't be shot for saying this but "The Confidence > Man" did absolutely nothing for me. I never thought it was > that good at all. People on here seem to like it, but to > me it's a very average musical. Jim's music was different > in it, but to me it wasn't superb. I think that maybe Ray wrote the lyrics first and then Jim was inspired to write melodies by the lyrics. Like with Bernie Taupin and Elton John. Although that is just a guess. As usual, Ryan would probably know. I am just trying to think why the songs are different as far as Jim goes (although two of the melodies are in "Tanz" - please see Ryan's 2004 review). I am wondering if the 1986 production was very low budget and that's why it seems to be only "a very average musical". You say that people on here seem to like it. I wonder if they are into the album or the musical or both. Ryan said something about a VHS of the 1986 production being available. Maybe I can find some clips on You Tube. It was done at Queen's College in New York, so apparently it has never been given the full scale production that it would need to become a really first class musical. You don't know what the VHS might have been like if the show had been directed by someone like Hal Prince. Maybe Smeghead's version was better. Although Ryan says it didn't use the entire score. I don't know why. Its a shame that Ryan couldn't get his Australian production off the ground. With the huge number of "Tanz" productions (including Japan), you would think that there would have been more than three "The Confidence Man" productions. Its interesting that Croftie described it as: "a lost jewel in the history of American theatre." On Amazon, Smeghead describes it as: "a great lost treasure of American theater." However, another reviewer said: "A couple warnings may be in order, however. If because this recording features music by Jim Steinman you are expecting the operatic rock for which he is most notorious (e.g. Meatloaf), you will be in for a surprise. Though diverse genres are represented, expect to find more in common with the musicals Ragtime or Chicago than Bat Out of Hell. That is not a bad thing unless you purchased this wanting a Bonnie Tyler or Meatloaf album. Additionally (and my primary complaint), if you are expecting a fully realized story told through song, you will also be disappointed. Though you will certainly pick up elements of the characters and the story within the songs, the plot is not apparent. This album could easily pass for a compilation of unrelated songs instead of a musical. Compounding the difficulty of grasping any narrative structure or plot is the fact that the roles were not cast, the songs were. In other words, vocalists were assembled to record specific songs; no one was assigned a particular role. So if the Confidence Man sings five different songs, hypothetically there could be five different artists portraying him." Hmm. Its an interesting debate. I'm glad that Croftie brought it up. Don't worry. You won't be shot for saying that it did nothing for you. Debate is healthy. | |
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