not logged in
| re: Ryan Takes Us Through The Tanz Album - One Of Jim's Greatest Works | |
Posted by:  |
rockfenris2005 07:39 pm UTC 05/07/21 |
| In reply to: | Ryan Takes Us Through The Tanz Album - One Of Jim's Greatest Works - steven_stuart 07:22 pm UTC 05/07/21 |
Thanks. I wrote that the night before I heard the news. > This review originally appeared on the Ryan's Reviews > site. It is Ryan's (rockfenris2005) review of the 1998 > Tanz Cast Recording. Please enjoy. > > In October 1986, "The Phantom of the Opera" opened at Her > Majesty's Theatre in London and as of early 2020, nearly > 35 years later, the same production was still running in > both the West End and Broadway. The success of this > musical was sort of like catching lightning in a bottle. > First there was the score, with songs like "The Music of > the Night", "All I Ask of You" and "Wishing You Were > Somehow Here Again" and "Phantom", all of which were > released as singles (the last one directed by Ken Russell > who did the video for Pandora's Box "It's All Coming Back > to me Now"). There was also the way that it was performed > by Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton > (remember that name). It had been directed by musical > theatre legend Harold Prince, the Prince of Broadway. The > sets and costumes designed by Maria Bjornson were a > masterpiece of design. At the end of the first act, when > the Phantom drops the chandelier on the audience of the > Opera Populaire, a chandelier comes sliding down over the > heads of the audience and crashes onto the stage, which > you probably already knew! There is very little I can > fault about this production, which you've got to > understand is difficult for a musical. > > In December 1996, Jim Steinman and Andrew Lloyd Webber the > composer of "Phantom" and some of the biggest musicals of > the twentieth century were in Washington D.C. for the > world premiere of their musical "Whistle down the Wind". > At the time, Andrew had just opened the London, Los > Angeles and New York productions of "Sunset Boulevard", > while Jim had released "Bat out of Hell II" with Meat Loaf > and was about to have another hit with Celine Dion on a > remake of "It's All Coming Back to me Now". On "Whistle", > Andrew and Jim were working with Harold Prince, the third > and final time Hal would direct one of Andrew's musicals, > and the anticipation for audiences everywhere was high. If > "Whistle" worked, it would open on Broadway the following > April at the Martin Beck Theatre (posters advertising this > production still show up sometimes online.) Ultimately, > despite the success at the box office, Andrew and Jim were > left feeling dissatisfied. They would put together a new > production in 1998, which spawned the Boyzone Number #1 > "No Matter What" (when "Songs from Whistle down the Wind" > is in the car, that is the most played song.) > > In October 1997, Jim composed the score for another > musical which opened at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, > based on the 1967 film "The Fearless Vampire Killers" > called "Tanz der Vampire: Das Musical". Both the film and > musical were directed by Roman Polanski, who also co-wrote > the screenplay. The book and lyrics for the musical were > written by Michael Kunze, who had translated musicals like > "A Chorus Line", "Evita" and "Phantom" for their original > German productions. He had recently written his own > musical "Elisabeth" with score by longtime collaborator > Sylvester Levay. The choreography was handled by Dennis > Callahan, meanwhile sets and costumes were spectacularly > brought to life by William Dudley and Sue Blane, who once > upon a time had designed costumes for a little musical > called "The Rocky Horror Show". Meanwhile a very talented > man named Hugh Vanstone handled the lighting, with Michael > Reed supervising the score and Steve Margoshes providing > orchestrations. Steve Barton was cast in the leading role > of Count Von Krolock opposite Cornelia Zenz as Sarah, > Gernot Kranner as the Professor Abronsius and Aris Sas, > his young apprentice Alfred. To top everything off, > Dewynters who had also designed the advertising for > "Cats", "Les Misérables", "Phantom" and "Miss Saigon", > created the logo image of a set of vampire fangs > underneath the show's bloody title. > > I say all of this, because in my humble view from > everything I've been able to experience with these > musicals, this is one of those times a productions catches > lightning in a bottle. Look at all of these things from > both musicals. If there's a weak link in either of them, > it would probably be the book, but how many times have I > even noticed this? Everything just works, and it not only > works, it works beautifully, and so it becomes easier to > see why both "Phantom" and "Tanz" have been running all of > this time. Originally by the way, Jim was going to write > lyrics for "Phantom", but he was too committed to the > Bonnie Tyler album ("Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire"), > however he then composes "Tanz". If it had been produced > successfully in the English language, I think more people > out there would agree with me on this. I'm not even sure > how many audiences in London or New York, much less > Australia, are aware of this musical, compared to > something like "Wicked" or "The Lion King" and obviously > "Phantom". > > Since the release of the 1970 concept album of "Jesus > Christ Superstar", which launched the careers of Tim Rice > and Andrew Lloyd Webber, listeners have always had the > ability to listen to the complete scores of Andrew's > shows. What you hear on the "Superstar" album is more or > less what is played in the theatre. It's the same with > "Evita", "Cats", "Phantom", "Sunset Boulevard", and then > Boublil and Schonberg with "Les Mis" and "Miss Saigon". > This was not something that really happened in, say, the > Golden Age of Musicals when Rodgers and Hammerstein were > writing "The King and I". Musicals like "Evita" and "Les > Mis" on the other hand are predominantly through sung, > meaning there is little to no dialogue and everything can > be recorded onto an album, so long as you can get it to > fit. This is what happened with both the albums for > "Phantom" and "Tanz", and this is what I first heard. I > also experienced it from the point of view of a Steinman > fan, having heard the "Bat" albums, suddenly putting this > in and treating it as an album produced by Jim. > > What I heard that first time, firstly in a highlights > version and then a complete, only underlines what I've > been saying, that "Tanz" like "Phantom" before it caught > lightning in a bottle. The album itself not only > compliments a truly extraordinary production that as of > early 2020 was still being performed somewhere in the > world, but it is one of the greatest cast recordings I've > ever heard. It is a monster! And it's also, for this > listener, the ultimate showdown as a Jim Steinman fan. > It's like a movie, like "Star Wars" perhaps, where > everything is building towards that last battle with Darth > Vader and Luke Skywalker facing off against the Emperor, > who's been pulling the strings ever since "The Phantom > Menace". The sabres are flashing. Tempers are flying. > Palpatine's laughing in the background and he's about to > zap you with Sith lightning. This is it. Hold onto your > hats. The next three hours are going to blow your mind. > You've listened to "Bat", you've listened to "Bat II", > "Bad for Good", "Dead Ringer", "Original Sin", and the > Bonnie Tyler albums, the soundtracks, all of that, you've > cringed at some of the accents from "Whistle down the > Wind" while gushing in awe over Batman and Superman > writing songs together, and now this. This is just fucking > it! > > The story takes place in late nineteenth century > Transylvania, as vampire hunter Professor Abronsius and > his assistant Alfred travel from Konigsberg to > Transylvania in the search of vampires. The scene rises on > a blizzard and Alfred is helplessly searching for the > Professor, who is frozen solid in the snow. Alfred finds > him and takes him to a village which seems to fear > vampires. There, Alfred meets the Innkeeper's daughter > Sarah who loves taking baths, and they begin to get > romantic about one another, only Sarah is being serenaded > and seduced by the mysterious Count Von Krolock who > invites her to his ball. Abronsius is suspicious, and when > Sarah runs away to the castle, they all find themselves > drawn into the world of the vampires, where everybody's > dreams and nightmares come true. In Krolock's Soliloquy in > the second act, he turns directly to the audience and > warns them that in the next millennium the world will be > filled with an insatiable greed. Meanwhile everything is > set to the musical rollercoaster that is Jim's score. > > Let's have a look at what I call the complete album, that > is the full double cast recording containing the vast > majority of the show. Note: so I don't embarrass myself > with any poor German here, I'm going to list these titles > in English. > > Disc 1: > > "Overture"---Bang! "The Storm" from Jim's album "Bad for > Good" is transformed into a thunderous Overture which > drags you into the world of this blizzard, howling in the > middle of a wilderness in Transylvania. This Overture > alone is bloodcurdling, in a great way. > > "Hey Ho Professor"---Alfred searches for the Professor. > Listen to the underscore and the sound effects that are > happening here. When it gets to the bit where all the > music swells, when Alfred finds the Professor, it's > mental. > > "Garlic"---firstly, I love the burps!!! Alfred and > Professor arrive at the village Inn, which is filled with > garlic hanging in all directions. We meet Chagal the > Innkeeper, Rebecca his wife and Magda the maid who Chagal > is having an affair with. Professor asks Chagal about the > garlic, but he just tries to fob him off. This song is an > earworm. > > "Please, Gentlemen"---Chagal escorts Abronsius and Alfred > to their rooms, when they start hearing voices, singing > voices, which turns out to be Chagal's daughter Sarah in > the middle of taking a bath. Alfred is smitten with her > and as it turns out, the feeling is pretty much mutual, > but Chagal isn't happy. > > "A Pretty Daughter is a Blessing"---Chagal comes back with > a hammer and nails and boards up the door to Sarah's room, > while singing about it. While he's hammering at the door, > it's all happening in time with the music. The mix of > humour and drama in this score is just fantastic. > > "Never Ever Seen"---everyone goes to bed, but Alfred and > Sarah are still wide awake, "dreaming" about one another, > meanwhile Chagal's trying to continue his affair with > Magda, Rebecca wakes up irate, and Professor thinks he > sees someone on the stairs, but outside the Inn the > Vampires are gathering, singing the music for, wait for > it, "Turn around..." It gives me the chills. > > "God is Dead"---Alfred and Sarah are still awake, when > Count Von Krolock appears outside the inn and begins > serenading Sarah with his song. It's the music for all of > the choruses from "Original Sin", when then morph into the > chorus of "Total Eclipse of the Heart", only it breaks off > toward the end. The music, orchestrations and Steve > Barton's performance are phenomenal. > > "Everything's Fine"---it's the next day at the Inn, and > Chagal, Magda and Rebecca are doing their chores outside > when suddenly the local hunchback, Koukol, appears asking > for candles. Listen to the underscoring here. It goes from > happy and chirpy to nervous and suspenseful. Again, I just > love it. > > "Truth"---Professor appears, asking about Koukol, but > Chagal just tries to fob him off again. Professor launches > into his patter song, which is like something out of a > Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. Perfect for the > Professor, meanwhile Jim goes "Pirates of Penzance", wow. > > "You're Really Very Nice"---Alfred is about to take a > bath, but Sarah shows up. She wants to use the bathroom > and gives him her special sponge. The music underneath > here, turning into snatches of song, is a neat tune. Of > course, it's all leading up to the next bit. That part > where she starts humming is gorgeous. > > "Invitation to the Ball"---Count Von Krolock appears in > the skylight, gazing down on Sarah, and inviting her to > his ball. Now he's standing in front of the tub singing to > the music from "Original Sin". Only Alfred hears voices, > Krolock vanishes and everything turns into a big > shemozzle. The ending of this scene is the orchestra > quoting "Total Eclipse", not the first time that music's > going to give me the shivers here. > > "Out There is Freedom"---Alfred is serenading Sarah > outside her window, only she's outside looking for the > package which Koukol has just delivered to her. They sing > a song together, which is some of the most breathtaking, > heartbreaking, haunting music I have ever heard from Jim. > This song will become the basis for "Going all the Way is > Just the Start" on 2016's "Braver Than We Are" and you can > see why Meat and Jim would want to record this together. > The chorus of this song is quite literally breathtaking. > > "The Red Boots"---the original version of this sequence is > a dance scene, which means we get treated to a five minute > medley from this score, and it's just mental. Chagal and > Alfred come out at the end, realizing Sarah is gone, and > Chagal races off to look for her as the music turns into > the second half of "The Storm". > > "Mourning for Chagal"---Chagal's body has been recovered, > Rebecca's world is shattered and this is actually the last > time we see her in the play. I always wonder what happens > to her. You assume she's still down there in the Inn > while... more later. Her little moment at the end of this > is devastating, quoting the music from Chagal's song > earlier. > > "Death is Such an Odd Thing"---now Magda the maid steps > forward. She finds it odd that Chagal is now dead, only he > isn't because he wakes up, having turned into a vampire. > Magda wards him off with a crucifix, but it doesn't work > because he isn't that kind of vampire. This song is just > cool, an underrated theatre classic. > > "Through the Wilderness to the Castle"---Alfred and > Abronsius catch Chagal, after they find out he's a > vampire, and they get him to lead them straight to the > castle. The music starts quoting "Midnight Serenade" from > Jim's 1977 workshop of "Neverland" and it's so thrilling. > > "At the Castle"---they arrive at the castle, to be greeted > by verses of "Turn around" and Count Von Krolock singing > to music from "Neverland". The first time I heard this > scene on the complete album, I felt like I was in my > musical happy place, and not just because of the > recycling. It's just precious. The "Come with me" music at > the end is everything. And so, Krolock leads them into the > castle, and the audience is left wondering what is going > to happen next. It's time for an intermission, or in this > case we have to change the CD. > > Disc 2: > > "Total Eclipse of the Heart"---Disc 2 begins with another > bang, as the orchestra recites the music from "The Storm", > and finally *that* song. In a way, the 1983 Bonnie Tyler > song almost seems to sum up my idea of the 80s, where sky > was the limit. Cynics wonder why this is here, and why Jim > couldn't have come up with something new. I think it was > destined for "Tanz". In the original song, Bonnie Tyler > sings "Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now > there's only love in the dark/There's nothing I can do/A > total eclipse of the heart". To me, that could be a > vampire singing. I also noticed the acronym for this song > which is TEOTH which could be TEETH, as in vampire fangs. > This version is a knock out. It equals Bonnie and Rory's > original for me. > > "Carpe Noctem"---while Sarah is wandering the castle, > singing with Krolock in the portrait gallery, Alfred is in > the middle of a nightmare where Sarah is being turned into > a vampire. This is a new song, but it features sections of > older songs, music you'll recognize from "Come with me", > "The future ain't what it used to be" and "Back into > Hell". It does not surprise me that someone would want to > record it for "Bat III". I just love this. It goes from > metal to a choir singing at the end. > > "A perfect day"---Alfred and the Professor wake, preparing > to go down into the crypt to kill Von Krolock and his son, > Herbert... The quote from "Out There is Freedom" on piano > is practically worth the album alone for me. > > "In the Crypt"---they make their way into the crypt, > singing to the music from "Who Needs the Young?" from > "Neverland" and "The Dream Engine", which eventually > appears in both "Braver Than We Are" and the "Bat" > musical. It has another section here. Listen to that > piano. I just love it. It feels like an old silent movie. > Meanwhile Alfred is too scared to kill the Count and > Abronsius who's caught on the railings by his suspenders > is furious. They have to leave, which is when we see > Chagal and Magda as vampires singing together. > > "Books, Books"---Alfred and Abronsius discover the > library, and we hear this reprise of "Truth". This is a > list song, and it's a very good one. I love when Sarah's > humming comes in. > > "For Sarah"---Alfred finds Sarah, in the middle of having > her bath, but she doesn't want to be saved. Alfred is > resolute, and that's when he sings his big song, which was > once the music for "Milady", a song Barry Manilow recorded > but never released in the 80s, from Ray Errol Fox and > Jim's musical "The Confidence Man". This song is a wonder > in all its manifestations, including Jim's film score for > "A Small Circle of Friends". By the way, the chorus music > from "Out There is Freedom" is also from "Confidence > Man". > > "More Books"---the Professor is still in that library! > Alfred ends up finding a book called "When Love is Inside > You" which is how he meets the Count's sequel. > > "When Love is Inside You"---this is such a fun song! > Alfred learns that Herbert the son is gay and has a thing > for him, and Herbert tries to bite him, but Alfred escapes > with the help of the Professor. The reprise is mental! > > "You're Mistaken, Professor"---Abronsius confronts the > Count on the battlements of the Castle. This whole > sequence is riveting. I love all the quotes from "The > Storm"/Overture music. Imagine hearing a calm quiet > version of "The Storm". Well, it's on this track! > > "Eternity"---the "Bat out of Hell" tour in the 70s would > begin with a drummer bashing out a rock version of the > Bolero, while Jim starts removing his gloves and pounding > the piano onstage, before they all launch into "Great > Boleros of Fire", and Meat comes out to sing "Bat". In > "Tanz", this is now an introduction for the vampires with > full orchestra behind them. Terrific!!! > > "The Insatiable Greed"---Alfred and the Professor watch > from behind one of the graves as Krolock delivers his > haunting soliloquy, talking about his victims from the > past. The music here is "Objects in the rear view mirror > may appear closer than they are" from "Bat II", one of the > great highpoints of that album. This stands in its own > right as one of the most powerful performances in Jim's > career. I'd love to know what Meat Loaf thought of it. > > "The Ball"---the ball has officially begun, and as the > Vampires gather together and Abronsius and Alfred watch in > their disguises, the scene completely goes off. The > "Original Sin" music gives way to the chorus of "Total > Eclipse", a truly awesome moment for this Steinfan, as > Krolock bites Sarah. The Minuet based on "Turn around > bright eyes" and what happens next, by the way? OMFG!!!! > > "Out There is Freedom (Reprise)"---Alfred and the good > Professor manage to escape all right, but then Sarah bites > Alfred and turns him into a vampire. The reprise of the > chorus only underlines what a killer piece of music this > is, and so well matched to the drama. > > "The Dance of the Vampires"---Abronsius is oblivious to > everything and the Vampires take over the world. The music > here is none other than the song I’ve been raving about > for like how many reviews now? Yeah, "Tonight is What it > Means to be Young" from "Streets of Fire" has been made > over into the song of triumph for the vampires, their > global dance as they take over the world, which this > production also might have done. > > And so we come to an end. It's over now, the vampire music > of the night. > > In the 2004 edition of "Musicals: The Complete Illustrated > Story of the World's Most Popular Entertainment", this is > what the author Kurt Gänzl had to say: "Tanz der Vampire's > tale, its fun, its music and its spectacle all came > together in what was undoubtedly the most complete and > effective musical to have come out of central Europe." I > can't say I'm surprised? Lightning in a bottle! > > Thank you, > > Ryan. | |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | re: Ryan Takes Us Through The Tanz Album - One Of Jim's Greatest Works - neverlandfan 10:48 pm UTC 05/07/21 |
| Next: | re: Ryan Takes Us Through The Tanz Album - One Of Jim's Greatest Works - steven_stuart 09:54 pm UTC 05/08/21 |
| Thread: |
|