Search - John Doucette, Tony Cavallo :: In Spite Of Reason (1995 Studio Cast)

POSSIBLY THE WORST MUSICAL EVER RECORDED

mdollnslk | Los Angeles, CA | 07/18/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Whew! If you can make it through listening to both discs of "In Spite of Reason", then you certainly have more stamina than I do. You may have a completely tin ear as well. Fortunately, I did not buy this monstrosity, I merely borrowed if from the library (and couldn't get it back there quickly enough). What's wrong with this recording of "In Spite Of Reason", you may ask. Well the music is bad, the lyrics are bad, and the singing is bad. And I'm not talking ordinary, run-of-the-mill bad -- I'm talking REALLY BAD. Other than that, no problems whatsoever. What a waste of resources to have this garbage recorded.If you've lost your gag reflex, and would like to have it back, just listen to a track or two from "In Spite of Reason". You'll be gagging in no time flat.This is simply my opinion; of course, others are entitled to their own view of this recording."

Interesting modern musical

Jesse Longstaff | Detroit, MI - USA | 05/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm hooked! This is an original concept album and tells a pretty coherent story. I've read about President Lincoln and this seems to track pretty closely. Let me say that "Shirt and Tie" is my favorite song followed by "Suddenly It's Peaceful". When I listen to it on headphones the song "Suddenly" presents the mind twisting confusion of Mary Todd Lincoln's - not too well known - mental problems and seems to wrap me in a audio twirl. The music is widely varied with "Reborn" being a spiritually lifting piece and "Family Life" giving insight into President Lincoln's troubled heart about his domestic life. "Damn it all" is a kind of heavy rock tune reflecting the political trouble and duplicity that President Lincoln faced in his own staff and government officials. This musical will rub some of you the wrong way since you normally would not think of a Civil War musical in rock music terms but this seems to be more a look into President Lincoln's situation than war. Some songs are rock while others seem to be all over the chart and hard to nail down to any specific music genera or category.I can recommend this concept recording, as well as this production in general, based on the merits of its performers as well as it's variety and innovativeness. From the booklet it appears that one person wrote all the music and performed the entire music section. Wow, that's a big job for a production of this size. I can't even begin to imagine where one would start a project that big and instrumentally complete. I've played it for many friends and each one seems to enjoy a different song. It takes about two to three listens for the work to sink in -- but once it has -- you're completely hooked!!"