Recordings
Chicago » Film Soundtrack
Show Details 
Recording Details
- Date: 2002
- Type: Audio / Film Cast
- Language: English
- Orchestrations: Larry Blank (31)
- Conductor: Paul Bogaev (22)
- Dance Music: David Krane (9)
- Vocal Arrangements: Paul Bogaev (22), Rick Wake
- Producer: Jennifer Berman, Paul Bogaev (22), Danny Elfman (12), Julie Goldstein, Richie Jones, Rob Marshall (3), Neil Meron (3), Martin Richards, Randy Spendlove (3), Rick Wake, Bob Weinstein (2), Harvey Weinstein (2), Craig Zadan (4)
- Performer: Shaun Amyot (2), Cleve Asbury (3), Anastacia B, Christine Baranski (11), Roxane Barlow (2), Harrison Beal, Dana Calitri (3), Ekaterina Chtchelkanova (2), Dennis Collins (2), Laura Dean (7), Taye Diggs (6), Margaret Dorn (5), Jocelyn Dowling, Willy Falk (7), Denise Faye (6), Colm Feore (2), Scott Fowler (2), Melanie Gage, Chris Garrick, Richard Gere (2), Edgar Godineaux (2), Deidre Goodwin (4), Darius de Haas (19), Mark Harrison (2), Mýa Harrison (2), Billy Hartung (3), Capathia Jenkins (14), Michael Johnston, Li'l Kim (3), Charles King (6), Curtis King, Mary Ann Lamb (7), Queen Latifah (5), Darren Lee (4), Audrey Martells, Susan Misner (2), Robert Montano (4), Rick Negron (2), Tata Nicole, Cynthia Onrubia (7), Joe Pizzi, Sara Ramirez (11), John C. Reilly (2), Nick Richards, Timothy Shew (9), Jeff Siebert, Fonzi Thornton, Eric Troyer (2), Renée Zellweger (2), Catherine Zeta-Jones (6)
Recording Releases
Add a new release of this recordingLinks
Add a link
Discussion
Posted 2008-05-31 16:37:46:Amazon.com: The movie version of Kander and Ebb's
Chicago was long in the making but its well worth the wait. Director Rob Marshall's main change was to turn the classic musical numbers into fantasy sequences, but of course this isn't obvious on CD. Most importantly, the arrangements are bursting with life while being true to the show's spirit, and the casting is simply inspired.
Catherine Zeta Jones actually started her career on the British boards (she was in The Pajama Game and 42nd Street) so her turn as slinky Velma Kelly isn't that surprising; Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart is more of a leftfield choice but she shows she can handle the singing demands with pizzazz. The real revelation may well be rapper Queen Latifah, who belts out "When You're Good to Mama" with a marvelous affinity for the material.
Okay, so the R&B reprise of "Cell Block Tango/He Had It Coming" by Queen Latifah, Macy Gray, and Lil' Kim fails to convince, while Anastacia's "Love is a Crime" is just bland (rest easy, purists, it's over the end credits). On the other hand, the CD provides two bonuses: "Class," which was cut from the movie, and "I Move On," a great duet written by Kander and Ebb for the final cut. It's really easy to mess up film adaptations of Broadway shows: happily, Chicago proves it can be done right. --Elisabeth Vincentelli > 2 Comments
Add a comment
Listen to Sound Clips on Amazon.com
