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| Lestat - First Review Friday, November 11 2005 |
By Claude Bernardin, author Of "Rocket Man".
Sail Me Away
When love is lost
And dreams are cast
Like bruised and battered pieces left to die
When hands that reached out,
Are betrayed
How can my tortured soul survive?
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin, excerpt from the Musical, Vampire Lestat
Elton John, Bernie Taupin, 2005
So after a few listens I hear the subtle sounds of "Peter's Song", and "How's Tomorrow", but a bit of Billy Elliot's "The Letter" as well. It's a very listenable, pretty, soft ballad. It has the lyrical qualities of the tortured Lestat and it describes well what Anne Rice was always trying to do with her novels. I really think so far, on the strength of just this short clip, that Bernie and Elton are out of the gate in a tremendous way with Lestat.
I think the song is quite faithful to the stylings of the character and the intent of her novels and it seems the perfect vehicle for Elton and Bernie to display what they are both good at, one the melody, the other the words and emotions. It has more promise than Billy Elliot and Aida in my opinion, and mostly because as usual, it's Taupin who steers Elton clear of cuteness, and into the realm of real emotion and turmoil.
And Lestat, as a character in Fiction, is full of all of those elements. My hopes are rising very high.
The next song, after one listen was my favorite of the two. I felt it was a bit darker. I am really keeping my fingers crossed here that Elton and Taupin have a few aces up their sleeves in tracks like "One Horse Town" , "Tonight", "Belfast", "Cry To Heaven", "Shoot Down The Moon", "I Need You To Turn Too", "Talking Old Soldiers", "The King Must Die", "Have Mercy On The Criminal" , " This Train" and even "Love's Got a Lot To Answer For" and the wonderfully dark ballad sung by Marianne Faithful, "All For Wanting You."
By the way that last song, "All For Wanting You" would be a perfect dark ballad, that would work great as a powerfully touching song for this musical, I say consider it, or is it that you already had that intent? Hmmm, here's hoping.
Ok on to the next song for a few listens and then a follow up review:
Crimson Kiss
My need to go is hard to fight
I want to gaze upon this world just like the northern lights
And of all the things about you that I'm going to miss
Is the bond we formed forever through this Crimson Kiss
My son so dear
The world out there
History calls
And I can't resist
That you and me have memories
Bound together by the Crimson Kiss.
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin, excerpt from the Musical, Vampire Lestat
Elton John, Bernie Taupin, 2005
After a few more listens, I have fallen immediately in love with this songs melody. I think this song is the "Shoot Down The Moon" style song I was hoping for. It has tons of emotion and pain. It has longing and distance. It "sounds" like it's straight from the novel, "An Interview With A Vampire", and it reminds me of the scene where Lestat knows he has to say goodbye to the vampires he has met in Europe and he is heading to New Orleans.
It is a cool song, very Phantom of The Opera style.
And frankly, now I am impressed deeply. I had a feeling these guys could pull this off and I think they have. I think Taupin took a major crash course in Anne Rice and his words seem the perfect match, and Elton's emotional "Shoot Down The Moon" "Tonight" style just might make this the best Musical Elton John has written. I have high hopes now for the rest of the material.
Yeah it's only a few second clips, but they are good ones. Give them about four serious listens and I think you'll agree.
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