Album Review: Rock of Ages

I love music, especially rockin’ music. (Remember this post?) I have been an American Idol watcher and sometimes fan, since the very first season. No joke. So I was really excited when I heard about the Broadway musical, Rock of Ages, starring American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis. It is set in 1987 in a legendary Sunset Strip rock club where a small-town girl meets a big-city dreamer and they fall in love to the greatest metal songs of the 80’s. It features hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, and more that I love. With no official plans to make it to NYC to see it live on Broadway any time soon, I was REALLY excited to get my hands on a copy of the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Personally, although in some instances I would prefer to hear the original versions of the songs, I really enjoyed the entire CD. It gives those of us not near NYC a taste of the story line. Sure, when it comes to Broadway musicals, my heart will always belong to the original stories and original music. But compared to other “jukebox musicals”, such as Mamma Mia, this one totally takes the cake! The whole CD has a fantastic energy to it, you’ll find yourself smiling and dancing along wildly.

The medleys are surprising. My favorite medley was the cleverly played “Harden My Heart”/ “Shadows of the Night”. There is no way I would ever imagine these two songs together, much less intertwined, but this rendition stole my heart. I can only imagine how it must play on stage. Michele Mais (Justice) has that excellent female rocker voice I love. I admit, Constantine was never my #1 pick during his season on Idol, but 80s rock on Broadway certainly seems to be his niche.

My children, who are big fans of “Guitar Hero music” as they call it, have asked to hear it over and over. My husband was caught singing along, but then made an ugly face when the lyrics deviated a bit from their original version. He seemed to get over it pretty quickly and enjoyed the CD almost as much as I did. He’s not to blame though, Broadway musicals are more my thing than his.

Keep in mind, this is a cast recording, not to be confused with “awesomist playlist ever”, so if you are loyal to the original versions, this is not for you. If you love Broadway and 80s rock, this is totally for you.

Want to hear a bit of the music for yourself? Check out the Making of the Soundtrack video.

I’m crossing my fingers that they make this musical into a movie pretty soon, not sure I can wait much longer to see the whole show and get the full story. Maybe someone will arrange a private viewing for BlogHer ‘10? LOL