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The CD arrived in a timely manner and was exactly what I ordered. I was very satisfied with the transaction and the item.
Nice idea, but we just know too much now.But that is very cool. No accidnet Oliver, Three Dog Night and the 5D all made a lot of bread from Hair"Easy To Be Hard" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written; it would be great to get these sentiments back into our reality TV shrunken vindictive heads--if it is too late, it is still a great piece of pop. Sing "White Boys/Black Boys" today and you'll get a big "yeah, so." And, no, junior, LSD is probably not your ticket to enlightenment. There is no draft, America is fully desegragated, and interacial couples are as common as, well, the hair on your head. Like TNT says about Law and Order, the origonal is the best. They convey perfectly that funky 60s program music vibe that we have too quickly forgotten about.And if some of the songs date musically, so what. "Black Boys" could be a Carol King composition. "Colored Spade" is edgey funk.
It would probably work as trip hop if you changed some of the production. At least to a huge degreeThe music, here, is a whole different story. The musical Hair has been reporduced many, many times world wide, and is even back on stage today.And, of course: not much of this, at least on this origional cast album, means much now. "Manchester England" is how to take the blues and turn it to rock--something people have forgotten how to do."Walking In Space" is so good, Quincy Jones made it into a big band masterpiece. Part of the reason Hair now seems so dated is not because of the hippie stuff, it is even better: Race equality, the end of the draft, sexual freedom: a lot of the change people were striving for in 1968, they got. What makes Hair so great to album addicts now is that if these songs were not pop, they sure worked as popuar music in the biggest use of the term. The whole band here is excellent--I taught myself how to play bass to this album. This stuff still works as pop and funk, and is some of the best composed musical theatre out there.Now if I could only find Donna.
It rounds out a CD collection of plays or 60s stuff well. The runner ups would be "Hair" and "Easy to be Hard".
Regardless of the actual quality of music, personal experience is a part of how much you enjoy something. I'm giving this 5 stars assuming that if you pick this CD you were personally influenced heavily by the late 60s, the hippie subculture or a keen love of music from the period.
The main masterpiece and most memorable song off the album is easily "Aquarius". Like annie was my first play, so I'll probably always enjoy it more than most plays.
Hair is one of the few plays of that time period that's survived to be remembered.For those not in one of the categories above, I'd reduce it to 3 stars. If this were produced today, I guarantee that the 20 second intro to Aquarius would be removed.
If going the mp3 route, make sure you get "Aquarius".
Interestingly, I noticed a friend was a guitarist in the Broadway band. . (Steve Gillette - check his albums out, too - singer/songwriter) what a treat. if you're a 'child of the sixties', or even if you're not and appreciate well written, well produced musicals. We (wife and I) love the off-broadway version, too. Highly recommend. Listen to either disk from beginning to end for best enjoyment.
of the past. Back in 1968 I bought the original London cast recording and they did a great job while the US cast did a good job with these song. If you can ever find the London cast record at a tag sale or flea market grab it.
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