[ MAUKA-MAKAI ]
YOU'VE GOT TO hand it to Australian director Baz Luhrmann, he doesn't do anything halfway. After the flashy "Strictly Ballroom" and the trashy "Romeo + Juliet," he's cobbled together the flashy-trashy "Moulin Rouge," which is -- get this! -- an old-fashioned musical about romance with good songs in it. Broadway selections
are pure steamrollerLISTEN UP
NEW RELEASES AND TOP SELLERS"Moulin Rouge: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film"
Various artists (Twentieth Century Fox/Interscope)
Review by Burl Burlingame
Star-BulletinThe songs are good because they're real songs, chosen with care, across all genres, not piffle created by fading artists from the movie company's in-house record label. And they're sung by folks like Bowie, Bono and Beck, and by the stars of the movie, Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. And so you'll find Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" snuggling up against Jule Styne's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
Hollywood musicals used to be made this way. They aren't any longer -- this is an Australian production. And the fin de siècle opulence of the Moulin Rouge era of French music halls obviously appealed to a control-freak director who absolutely overwhelms the senses with sight and sound.
Sound is what we've got here. Not only is it coyly arranged by Luhrmann, it's co-produced by his "Bazmark Music" sidekick Anton Monsted under the alias BLAM, and even the graphics of the CD sleeve have Luhrmann's thumbprints.
The product is pure steamroller Broadway, with all the amps turned up to 11. There's nothing subtle here, and there likely won't be in a musical devoted to the exuberance of the can-can as a contact sport. It's a keepsake rendition of the movie; if you become a fan of the movie, this is a gimme; if not, it's too thunderous on its own.
Speaking of thunder, all that's missing is the musical flatulence of Le Petomane.
As singers, Kidman and McGregor are pretty good actors. They're making performances instead of vocalizations, but at least you can understand the words.
There's a fair amount of musical stunt-casting as well. Exhibit A: Right in the beginning are the kittenish moans of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink trying to out-whoop each other in "Lady Marmalade," the booty-call edition.
THIS IS ANOTHER "original cast" album, but with a difference: The star and main subject died 31 years ago. The show and the records are centered around several well-chosen songs recorded by Joplin, picked for their revealing glimpses into her heart, as well as excerpts read from letters she wrote home to her family. Album peeks into
Joplin’s heartLISTEN UP
NEW RELEASES AND TOP SELLERS"Love, Janis: The Songs, The Letters, The Soul of Janis Joplin"
Janis Joplin (Columbia/Legacy)
Review by Burl Burlingame
Star-BulletinJanis Joplin -- confused, excited, lonely, talented, sweet, self-destructive, worried -- comes into startling focus here, a real person forever on the brink instead of a secure icon.
As the actress reading the letters as Joplin, Catherine Curtin's boozy, scarred voice is heartbreaking all by itself. This is an excellent document of an unusual period in American cultural history and one individual who symbolized the moment.
Click for online
calendars and events.
