Friday, July 25, 2014

The Wiz: Original Broadway Cast

 

the wic

This is absolutely wonderful. The songs are a mix of gospel, disco, wonderful piano anthems, and so much more. The cast is superb, led by a delightful Stephanie Mills as Dorothy who shows so much musical maturity in her performances.

Compared to the motion picture soundtrack, this is a collection of mostly mellow, laid back tunes with a lot of heart and even more soul. It does however, have its fun moments. The tornado is one such example, providing glimpses back into the prospering 70s disco scene. Any song by Andre de Shields, as the Wiz, is guaranteed to make you shake your groove thing, and the character roles (Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion) are filled with fine performances from Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, and Ted Ross, respectively.

Standouts include: all of Stephanie Mill's features; she puts so much feeling into her songs, Mabel King's anthem to No Bad News, Dorothy and the Lion's duet, Be a Lion, the funky Ease on Down the Road, and the unforgettable finale. At only 12 or 13, Stephanie Mills accomplished so much with her performance in The Wiz.

 

  Track Listing:

1. Prologue

2. The Feeling We Once Had

3. Tornado

4. He's The Wizard

5. Soon As I Get Home

6. I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday

7. Ease On Down The Road

8. Slide Some Oil To Me

9. I'm A Mean Ole Lion

10. Be A Lion

11. So You Wanted To See The Wizard

12. What Would I Do If I Could Feel

13. Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News

14. Everybody Rejoice

15. Y'all Got It!

16. If You Believe

17. Home (Finale)

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