Search - Charlie Smalls :: The Wiz - The Super Soul Musical: Original Cast Album (1975 Broadway Cast)

Soulful Oz !

AJK | Chicago, IL | 07/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Arriving in the spring of 1975, "The Wiz" ( a "soulful" take on "The Wizard Of Oz") was not an immediate hit. After an strong marketing campaign and a Tony for Best Musical, "The Wiz" enjoyed a long stay on Broadway.



Stephanie Mills (who lated scored a pop hit w/ "Never Knew Love Like This Before") shines as Dorothy. Hinton Battle and Ted Ross are also terrific as the Scarecrow and Lion, respectively.



Best Tracks include:



Tornado (a disco-flavored instrumental)

I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday

Ease On Down The Road (the show's primary hit)

I'm A Mean Ole Lion

Home



Terrific!"

The Wiz: A reflection of African-American music

Penny Woods | Chapel Hill, North Carolina United States | 05/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After looking at several reviews at amazon.com and the IMDB about people despising the movie version of "The Wiz" for not remaining true to its source material, I decided to get the original script and soundtrack for the musical on Broadway. This soundtrack does not disapoint; in fact I feel it is superior to the movie's two-disc soundtrack with its original songs and it's extended versions of certain songs such as "Everybody Rejoice." While the music may be dated somewhat (for example, the disco-sounding "Tornado," one of the CD's best songs), it should be noted that virtually every musical based on "The Wizard of Oz" in someway reflects the culture that it was released around (for example, the slow 1930's ballads and the omitted "Jitterbug" of the 1939 MGM version and the Broadway sound of "Wicked"). "The Wiz" clearly reflects the music of African-Americans, especially during the 1970s. Songs like "He's the Wizard" are nods to early jazz; others like "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" reflect gospel; and several songs such as "The Feeling We Once Had," "What Would I Do If I Could Feel" and "Home" are based upon R&B ballads of the 1960s and 70s. The one disappointing fact about this soundtrack is that several songs such as "Lion's Dream," "Emerald City Ballet" and "Funky Monkey" have been omitted from this soundtrack, and it would be nice to see this album remastered to include those songs, but I strongly doubt Atlantic will remaster this album in the near future."

Still LOVE IT after 24 years!

Penny Woods | 12/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My favorite album when I was a kid. I never got tired of listening to this. Stephanie Mills does a much better job of a modern Dorothy than Diana Ross could dream of. Although I never saw the stage production, the songs put the story together so very well that I felt almost like I was listening to the smoothest audio-book ever recorded. I am buying it this X-mas to share with my nine year old daughter who is a big fan of the OZ book series. I know that she we'll be sharing this for years to come (if she can pry it away from me!)."