The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein - Original Cast (CD)

I'm the kind of person who likes musical soundtracks. It's my favorite type of music. I also liked the movie "Young Frankenstein." When I heard that the movie was going to be made into a musical, I was skeptic about it. More than likely it would just be a poorly made product based off of the success of "The Producers." When I saw the reviews, I wasn't surprised at the negative comments, but I was still kind of hoping that despite the comments that there was at least a halfway decent soundtrack to it. After all, I've heard the work of several of the cast member's previous shows and they were pretty decent. So, I waited for this soundtrack to come out.

I listened to it and I listened to it again. Overall, I was pretty disappointed with what I heard, even with my expectations not very high to begin with. If I could describe this soundtrack in one word, it would be "silly." Not "good," not "funny," but "silly," and perhaps on the verge of "stupid." Several of the songs feel unnecessary and many of them don't even sound all that good (such as "Roll in the Hay" and "He Vas My Boyfriend"). When it's not the way that the song is written, it's how the actors sound. Roger Bart (who plays Frankenstein) doesn't have a bad voice (I liked him as Snoopy in "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," although not so much as Xanthias in "The Frogs"), but his voice gets on my nerves in songs like "Life, Life." But as for Megan Mullally, I didn't like her voice in this show (unlike in her performance as Rosemary in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"). Her voice is too high pitch and the songs that she has aren't even good, although she gives a passable job singing the silly song "Deep Love". The only song on the CD that I enjoyed was "Transylvania Mania". It's creative, has a good rhythm, and it has a purpose in the show, rather than just exploiting a single movie quote.

I would not suggest buying this CD. The show seems like it was created just to make money, with little consideration for actual quality. If you're looking for a good movie musical soundtrack, I might suggest "Legally Blonde." I was very skeptical about that one, but based on the show's reviews, I checked it out. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the music. But I would even recommend "Tarzan" or "The Wedding Singer" before I recommended "Young Frankenstein." But if you saw and liked the show or you just want to experience it for yourself, go right ahead, but don't expect all that much from the CD.

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