Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street [Enhanced, Soundtrack]

I can completely understand why fans of Hearn and Lansbury's Sweeney and Lovett (and same for fans of LuPone and the like) were inconsolable after hearing these tracks. I think, however, the crucial difference isn't the quality of the music, but the medium it was made for. Burton stripped the Broadway out of this show, and it shows. Does this make the performances and tracks bad? Heck no! Quite the opposite, I argue!

Please, however, see the film first. You will appreciate the soundtrack so much more with the visuals accompanying it. And those completely sold on the stage shows should hopefully at least see why Depp and Carter were best suited for the big screen and not the stage... and there's a reason this movie's been getting stellar reviews and appreciation from Depp, Burton, and Sweeney fans alike! Depp, unlike Hearn, plays an emotionally drained and hollow Sweeney, and his voice, unlike Hearn's, is growling and full of contempt and dispassion. Makes you wonder why Depp was never in a rock band.

Carter replaces the jolly, enthusiastic Lovett with a bitter-sweet cynical Lovett, and her voice is arguably the weakest, but her performance is an interesting if not very different take on the character. Alan Rickman's deep, sensuous voice seems almost too perfect for the lecherous judge Turpin, and I found his duet with Depp, "Pretty Women" to be a particular highlight on this album. The real gems, however, are Sacha Baron Cohen and Sanders as Pirelli and Toby.

To conclude, this isn't the Sweeney Todd you've heard before. It isn't better. It isn't worse. It is what it is, which is a solid and moving soundtrack for a well-cast movie. More proof that Tim Burton is a director who understands how to translate a musical to film without losing its core or its appeal to moviegoers. Also, I would recommend this version over the movie highlights CD if just for the finale alone. It is 10 minutes of an emotionally charged performance that you'll want to remember and hear again if you enjoyed the film!

I received the soundtrack for Sweeney Todd today, and although I have not seen the film yet (it will open in three days), I am more looking forward to seeing the movie than ever. The soundtrack was a pleasant - I shouldn't say "surprise"; I expected to like it - let's say a wholly satisfying experience, for more than one reason.

Firstly, as stated by Mr. Sondheim, be forewarned that the film is not exactly the same as the stage version. That said, the score appears to be as close to the original as one could hope. I only noticed a few cuts and some minor changes here and there in the various numbers, and although (as had been announced) whole portions of the score have been excised for the purpose of trimming the running time, many of the small, subtle changes Mr. Sondheim has made in the lyrics are decided improvements. There is, if I heard correctly on my first listen, a whole verse missing from "Priest". While I lament (as many will) the deletion of some grand moments of wit, especially in the chorus and opening, enough of the original score has been preserved, and preserved well, for me to feel an enormous satisfaction upon my first listen. Although I haven't seen the film yet, I have a feeling (and certainly hope) that the single-disc CD omits some portions of the music that are in the film.

Many have complained already that the singing is a bit weak, but for me, the voices were no problem at all. Many theatre fans and critics consider Stephen Sondheim to be the most accomplished theatre composer of the 20th century. Although lauded as his masterwork, Sweeney Todd is not my favorite Sondheim score, but I never argue with those who praise it as his best work, and they certainly have good reason for their assessment. The problem with a Sondheim score - any Sondheim score - is that his glorious wit and amazing rhymes require very delicate handling, without extensive dramatization or gesticulation; in fact, I have seen certain performers ruin his songs through excessive theatrics. His witty, urbane words and ultra-clever rhymes need only be performed, thank you, and easily stand on their own without overt grandstanding. Any playing for broad comedy tends to detract from his marvelous command of the language, not to mention his amazingly deft rhymes and delicious wit. Thus, in these performances, I found myself thrilled to note that they are put across simply and quietly, with careful enunciation but no unnecessary scenery-chewing, the way I believe Sondheim should be performed. Even so, many could argue that it is difficult to ruin material of this caliber, but I always feel that with Sondheim, the words are all that are really required to put any of his songs over.

It is also a delight to hear virtually all of the cast proffering the appropriate British (and in some cases, Cockney) accents, and for once, the score sounds like it might be actually enacted by inhabitants of 19th century London. Not that I object, mind you, to earlier interpretations of this particular work - all of the previous casts have been outstanding in their way, but what a nice change to hear actors playing Londoners who sound English. But what comes across best in the soundtrack for me is the acting, and Johnny Depp, who I have never been especially fond of, must be singled out. His performance, which is more acting than singing, may not be vocally impressive, but his invocation of the character and spirit of the narrative is perfectly realized, and the early doubts I confess I may have harbored have been completely swept away.

Most joyous to me is that it appears (from the soundtrack, anyway) that someone has finally made a film version of a Sondheim show that actually works, something that hasn't happened, in my opinion, since West Side Story. Too many attempts at filming Sondheim have butchered his score, or changed it for the worse, or been horribly presented, or all of the above. It is my fervent hope that this film will inspire moviegoers who were previously unfamiliar with the talents of Mr. Sondheim to investigate his glorious, literate and oh so satisfying way with words and music. Although I must deliver kudos to the principals involved, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, Mr. Sondheim's brilliant score is, to me, the real star here.

Judging by the soundtrack alone, I believe that we may now have a film that has finally done Mr. Sondheim justice. I may die happy yet!

I have been listening to Sweeney Todd for almost twenty years - from Angela Lansbury and George Hearn to the present, but there is something magical about this new version. True, the singers are not quite as powerful or polished, but they are so much more in the moment, so much more real. Johnny Depp's first words in "No Place Like London" made it immediately clear that this was something new - a musical that was not just about the tunes. It contained the rage, emotion and pain that allowed us to follow Sweeney from Heaven to Hell. I can't get this out of my head. (The movie is the best thing that Tim Burton has ever created as well.)

This full version includes all of the songs and is the one to get. Well worth the extra money.

Finally, my thanks to Warner for finally getting a clue. People will buy your music if you make it easy for them and stop treating them like criminals.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 149 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars