Love Never Dies - all views allowed

phantomgirl110 wrote:All the preview tracks can be found here, for anyone having trouble spotting them.

My thoughts, in no particular order:

Most of this sounds so juvenile. Besides the horrible, vapid lyrics, the songs in general just sound like jokes! "Heaven By The Sea" and "Christine Disembarks" sound like a bunch of teenagers rented a recording studio for an hour. I'm getting the impression (from an interview with Summer Strallen and the bit I've heard of "Dear Old Friend") that Erik has been composing crap lately and will suddenly compose something nice again when Christine shows up, but is the entire show's score supposed to reflect his crap songwriting?

Well, OF COURSE HE HAS TO COMPOSE CRAP. It's Meg. Apparently when she moved to NY with Mme. Giry, she was turned into a burlesque b!tch. She's gonna take whatever she can get to, shall we say, 'bop to the top'. From the look of it, all her friends (even her, lol) think that Mr. Y and her are a couple. Has he been training her to sing, too? Or, has he just turned her into a dancer?

phantomgirl110 wrote:Is that Meg being a little brat to her mother in "That's the place that you ruined, you fool!"? The Madame Giry I know would not cower before Meg.

Indeed it is! What a mouth!

phantomgirl110 wrote:Is that supposed to be Raoul in "What A Dreadful Town!..."? Because if so...there are no words to express my outrage.

Once again, ... indeed that is... My poor Raoul!

phantomgirl110 wrote:There is nothing remotely Phantomy about any of this music.

Apparently Ramin has said that if you come into this show thinking it's like the first musical, it's not. But, durp de durp, Ramin... OF COURSE it's not the same. God, to have this alongside Phantom is like having Barney next to Baby Einstein. Both appeal to children, both are from two different worlds.

phantomgirl110 wrote:Ramin sounds pretty bad. Sierra sounds pretty, but exactly the same on every song.

I dislike Sierra's voice. I think it's because she reminds me too much of THAT singer - if she was better trained, of course.

phantomgirl110 wrote:The Beauty Underneath"...what was that?

It's called, SHUT UP AND LET ME ROCK OUT FOR A MOMENT TO MUSIC THAT DIDN'T EXIST TILL THE 1970's!

phantomgirl110 wrote:"The Phantom Confronts Christine"...*head/desk* We all knew it was going to happen, but I still can't quite believe it. And I'm shocked they let out a spoiler that big in a preview track. I almost wonder if they didn't mean for that to happen, because it seems pretty stupid to have that way out in the open.

I know, right? Well, we got it. And we can just sit back knowing that most of us were pretty sure that was going to be the Phantom's kid.

phantomgirl110 wrote:Well, we now have audible proof (in "Devil Take The Hindmost") that Raoul is "deep in debt, stinking drunk".

On top of that, the Webber has returned to using "Why So Silent" as his cue for the Phantom. And now the Phantom is pretty much torturing him that he has Christine... and they're going to make a deal for her.

phantomgirl110 wrote:"Bathing Beauty"...*weeps for Meg*

Well. We all know now she's not going to be that little innocent ballerina from the first one anymore.

phantomgirl110 wrote:"Gustave! Gustave!..." ends with the Phantom shouting about Madame Giry: "The ungrateful ba--" The ungrateful what? What was he about to call her? Backstabber?

I NEED AN ANSWER TO THIS TOO. I thought he was going to say 'bastard', but women weren't called that... so maybe it is backstabber. Then again, that's so... un-elegant of the Phantom to say.

phantomgirl110 wrote:Please tell me that I'm not hearing Meg attempting to drown Gustave in the final track. Please tell me that's not what I'm hearing.

Could Meg REALLY go to that much of an extreme? So she's now the 'crazed' lunatic? Perhaps it's Raoul, now knowing the kid is not his. And he's gone insane... and if so, that's awful. :\

I can't even be bothered to listed to the preview tracks.

operafantomet wrote:I can't even be bothered to listed to the preview tracks.

You know you want to, though...

Oh come on you know you want to hear Raoul refuse to play with his "son" and tell Christine her singing hurts his head

dolly-ry wrote:Oh come on you know you want to hear Raoul refuse to play with his "son" and tell Christine her singing hurts his head

Wait, where did I miss that? I can't believe he said that! :O

phantomgirl110 wrote:
Please tell me that I'm not hearing Meg attempting to drown Gustave in the final track. Please tell me that's not what I'm hearing.

I thought I heard that too! I really hope that IS the case, that would be hilarious. Maybe it allows for Phantom 3, when Christine comes back as the Woman in White and sings "You beat me and you raped me/And then you drowned my child!" (so unfortunate that those were the most memorable out of all the lyrics in WIW...). At this point I reckon the worse it gets, the better perversely...that way there's no chance of anyone -- not even the tween fans -- taking this seriously.

I wouldn't be surprised if the tracks are no longer available to listen to by this time tomorrow, given the lengths to which ALW/RUG have gone to try and keep this under wraps until opening time. Methinks it's a cock-up on the part of Amazon.

If I had to sit through any of those things for the first time in the theatre I reckon my reaction would have probably got me kicked out.

I have such fond memories of seeing Sunset and Evita in the Adelphi, I'm not sure I can face this at all. Time to put my tickets online and hope that some misguided soul finds and buys them...

And I'm not just saying this because I don't like the product, but I don't think either Ramin or Sierra sound very good on this.

"What A Dreadful Town!" It goes something like this "Father please come play with me" "Tell the boy the answer is NO" And then I am sure Christine starts singing and he says "Can you stop that racket" and she may say "It's the aria" and he replies "It hurts my head."

That's what I got anyway, I could have been wrong... I am beginning to doubt myself on the Christine part.

Like ML6, I managed to sit through the samples. So here's what I got out of it:

Act I
- The Phantom (Mr. Y) has relocated to Coney Island; Madame Giry and Meg are now working for him in the Phantasma Amusement Park; Madame Giry tries to rationalize away her part in the events of ten (ha!) years ago.
- All the performers, including Meg, are seeking to earn a favored spot under Mr. Y's gaze - possibly to become the next big star. Read: Madame Giry becomes Rose from "Gypsy"
- Meanwhile, the Phantom has become a pu$$y and spends all his time boo-hooing about Christine and sets out to compose something that will lure her to America.
- Christine, Raoul and Gustave arrive in America and get a tour of Phantasma; Raoul b!tches and moans (probably in a wife-beater shirt with his gut hanging out) about how much Coney Island sucks and how he doesn't want to play with his kid and listening to Christine practice singing gives him migraines.
- Christine sings a song that's totally subtle in its message.
- Madame Giry implies that the big thing Mr. Y's working on is could be for Meg if she plays her cards right.
- Gustave gets some face-to-face time with Mr. Y.
- The Phantom... well I don't know what the f%@k he's doing at this point. Channeling Jim Steinman?
- Christine admits that the Phantom is the baby daddy (a fact that, again, flies in the face of even basic logic).

Act II
- The Phantom and Raoul trade "Yo momma" insults and then place a bet on who Christine will choose.
- Mr. Y's big spectacular spectacular starring Christine is ready to debut.
- Meg gets her big break as the Bathing Beauty, but the Phantom doesn't even bother to attend; jealous Madame Giry says it's because the Phantom was off gallivanting with Christine.
- Christine and Gustave have a heart to heart before her performance.
- Christine sings a recycled song.
- The Phantom and Christine sing a sappy duet.
- Gustav's disappeared, possibly taken by the Girys.
- Psycho Meg ties Gustav up and is going to drown him in the ocean.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has raped my phanhood.

R.

Raphael wrote:
Andrew Lloyd Webber has raped my phanhood.

We need to set up a helpline and support group.

Well, let me just say, this whole thread is making me laugh - loads.

Let me just say that at least PoM didn't turn Meg into an attention seeking floozy. I don't see how Webber thinks this is any good at all.

I agree with everyone. I listened to it and laughed. I can't wait to read what the critics say about it after opening night.

phantom10906 wrote:Let me just say that at least PoM didn't turn Meg into an attention seeking floozy. I don't see how Webber thinks this is any good at all.

Yeah, who'd have thought POM would actually be the BETTER of the two?

R.

Raphael wrote:

phantom10906 wrote:Let me just say that at least PoM didn't turn Meg into an attention seeking floozy. I don't see how Webber thinks this is any good at all.

Yeah, who'd have thought POM would actually be the BETTER of the two?

R.

Speaking of that, GUESS WHO FOUND ANOTHER COPY TO BURN? Everyone honestly loves donating their copies of PoM.
Will Fredrick Forsyth be attending opening night? I want to see what he thinks of this mess.

AAAAARRRRGH!




Just had to say it out loud....

ML6 wrote:

operafantomet wrote:I can't even be bothered to listed to the preview tracks.

You know you want to, though...

Honestly, no. If I wanted to, I would do it. No doubt I will listen to stuff eventually, or see videos at eBay, but as of now I feel no desire whatsoever to hear the mediocrity ALW calls Phantom II (OK, I know he's not calling it that, but you know what I mean...).

I am mighty pissed about what I've read, though. Whatever fans of the sequel might claim, the general audience WILL take this as the official version of what happened afterwards and how some of the characters really are in the original. I'm appalled that THIS is how ALW has envisioned the characters. In his need to keep the Phantom/Christine relationship alive, he destroys all the other characters. He even seem to trash up the lead characters. I wish he would keep his phanfic dribble to himself.

ML6 wrote:

Raphael wrote:

phantom10906 wrote:Let me just say that at least PoM didn't turn Meg into an attention seeking floozy. I don't see how Webber thinks this is any good at all.

Yeah, who'd have thought POM would actually be the BETTER of the two?

R.

Speaking of that, GUESS WHO FOUND ANOTHER COPY TO BURN? Everyone honestly loves donating their copies of PoM.
Will Fredrick Forsyth be attending opening night? I want to see what he thinks of this mess.

Andrew Lloyd Webber might have dictated most of the storyline in Forsyth's "Phantom of Manhattan", but it still carries Forsyth's name, and judging from the descriptions above ALW has taken back the storyline and messed it even more up. I would think some kind of copyright would kick in here... But I guess Forsyth has approved, knowing the idea was ALW's to begin with.

But yeah, who would have guessed PoM would be superior to "Love Never Dies"....

Raphael wrote:

phantom10906 wrote:Let me just say that at least PoM didn't turn Meg into an attention seeking floozy. I don't see how Webber thinks this is any good at all.

Yeah, who'd have thought POM would actually be the BETTER of the two?

R.

Great minds think alike. The guys here managed to shut up long enough for me to listen to most of the samples and all I keep thinking is, "Phantom of Manhattan was bad...this is so much worse."

Has anyone watched "Repo! The Genetic Opera"? "The Beauty Underneath" (that is the rocky one isn't it?) reminds me of a song from that "At The Opera Tonight." moreso the riffs between verses in "At The Opera Tonight" sound like the backing of "The Beauty Underneath" If ALW is now resorting to ripping off that then I am worried...

dolly-ry wrote:Has anyone watched Repo! The Genetic Opera? The Beauty Underneath (that is the rocky one isn't it?) reminds me of a song from that "At The Opera Tonight." If ALW is now resorting to ripping off that then I am worried...

Well, I doubt that he'd watch that. But it does have Sarah Brightman being all pretty and awesome, and he still has a thing for her like no other... so who knows?

I doubt he'd watch it too. It is pure coincidence, I just wanted to illustrate that this by no means sounds original, what with the taking of other melodies we already know about etc and the fact it is a "sequel/not a sequel" this is far from an original show. Although when was the last time a truly original show opened that was successful?

So it's my birthday and I spent the afternoon out going to church and then shopping with my parents, then I went home, had a late lunch, my birthday cake, then wandered upstairs to see if anything was new on the Phantom front....

Wow...

This is without question the worst thing that's happened to Phantom since Dario Argento's film. The music is so mind-numingly bad, the characters sickening twisted and messed up beyond recognition, and the plot... the less said the better.

And for all the people who were like "Ohhh, give it a chance! You can't judge it yet!" YES, I BLOODY WELL CAN! I'd rather have Phantom of Manhattan be the only book I would be able to read for the rest of my life (and I'm sure you know how I feel about THAT to start with!) than subjegate myself to this garbage, much less pay for the un-privilege. You can keep this misbegotten piece of refuse.

I need an Original Phantom production, STAT.

~Madame~

Madame Giry wrote:

And for all the people who were like "Ohhh, give it a chance! You can't judge it yet!" YES, I BLOODY WELL CAN!

omg u cant judge it shut up and give it a chance!!!!!!!!!!!11!1 stop being soooooooooooooo negative, its andrew lloyd webber how can it not be brilliant?! he only writes hits remember?!!!!!!!! i cant wait to go and buy all the merchandise this is soooooooo important and cant wait!!!!!! just 13 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!! 13's my lucky number!!!!!!!!!

</sarcasm>

I'm sorry you had to endure this on your birthday...try blasting out the overture from the original and forgetting about that. I suggest we all do that on 9th March, opening night.

I'm hearing Learn To Be Lonely/No One Would Listen chords in "the Ayrie."

I think "The Beauty Underneath" is an awesome rock tune, even if somewhat misplaced. I liked it. Agreed about the similarity to "At the Opera Tonight"... maybe that's why I liked it.

Someone agreed about "At The Opera Tonight!" To be fair I like "At The Opera Tonight" but the sound of that seems somewhat misplaced as you said.

Although now I have visions of "At The Opera Tonight" but with The Phantom/Christine/Raoul/Madame Giry and Meg which probably isn't the greatest thing to get sidetracked by.

I don't know, from the samples (albeit they are only samples) it seems very disjointed, some songs sound flowing and similar to those before but others seem to really disrupt the flow of it all.

From what I've read so far, all sequel enthusiasts loves the song snippets on Amazon. They call it amazing and beautiful and fantastic and a masterpiece and whatnot.

Are we anti-fans automatically gonna dislike it, and fans automatically like it, no matter how it actually sounds? Cause reading reactions here and over at the various fan sites makes me wonder how much of the perception of LND is mental. We hear the same stuff, yes?

I've only heard two songs plus the waltz, and I'm thinking mediocre o'hoy. But had I been a fan from the start, do you think I would braid it into my idea of something magical and hence experience it as fantastic? And opposite, had the fans been opposed to it from the start, would they think it as high quality as they do now? Or would their dark view of the overall concept also influence their perception of the music?

Not saying this to call people here or elsewhere crazy or to question opinions. It just had me wonder, when I read the rave reviews and comments made of the fans.

I have to celebrate my birthday around the time the musical comes out, so I feel the pain Madame.

In terms of what we all just heard today, this should sum up our emotions quite well:



Andrew Lloyd Webber, I'd like to do this to you:



As for the Love Never Dies, this is what I want:



There is your humor for the day. (Feel free to take and use when need be.)

operafantomet wrote:From what I've read so far, all sequel enthusiasts loves the song snippets on Amazon. They call it amazing and beautiful and fantastic and a masterpiece and whatnot.

Are we anti-fans automatically gonna dislike it, and fans automatically like it, no matter how it actually sounds? Cause reading reactions here and over at the various fan sites makes me wonder how much of the perception of LND is mental. We hear the same stuff, yes?

I've only heard two songs plus the waltz, and I'm thinking mediocre o'hoy. But had I been a fan from the start, do you think I would braid it into my idea of something magical and hence experience it as fantastic? And opposite, had the fans been opposed to it from the start, would they think it as high quality as they do now? Or would their dark view of the overall concept also influence their perception of the music?

Not saying this to call people here or elsewhere crazy or to question opinions. It just had me wonder, when I read the rave reviews and comments made of the fans.

Well on the general theatre boards the vibes I'm getting seems that people are willing to go and see it and are excited about it being the theatre event of the year, but it seems the title song really disappointed everyone and no-one likes Slater as a lyricist. As far as the plot goes, I don't think they know about it enough to have found out about the whole alcoholic Raoul/rapist Phantom/tart Meg stuff...

It seems to me that the enthusiasts are mostly relatively new to the fandom...

operafantomet wrote:From what I've read so far, all sequel enthusiasts loves the song snippets on Amazon. They call it amazing and beautiful and fantastic and a masterpiece and whatnot.

Are we anti-fans automatically gonna dislike it, and fans automatically like it, no matter how it actually sounds? Cause reading reactions here and over at the various fan sites makes me wonder how much of the perception of LND is mental. We hear the same stuff, yes?

I've only heard two songs plus the waltz, and I'm thinking mediocre o'hoy. But had I been a fan from the start, do you think I would braid it into my idea of something magical and hence experience it as fantastic? And opposite, had the fans been opposed to it from the start, would they think it as high quality as they do now? Or would their dark view of the overall concept also influence their perception of the music?

Not saying this to call people here or elsewhere crazy or to question opinions. It just had me wonder, when I read the rave reviews and comments made of the fans.

It really doesn't come as a surprise to me. Like any topic, those on the extreme (pro or con) will never change their opinion. I'm typically pretty middle-of-the-road on things, but in this situation, I'm pretty far to the anti-side. Having said that, I do try to stay a *little* open-minded in order to see the other side of things if only to argue my points more effectively. But in listening to the samples, there was NOTHING that stood out as even remotely positive - score, lyric, characterization, nothing.

R.

I had a major enthusiast actually say to me today they were really disappointed about what had happened to Raoul and the whole Christine saying the phantom left HER (not the other way round) confused them. Therefore, perhaps opinions aren't set in stone? They are still excited but seemed to be casting a more critical eye.

Now another debate to start up: Many are saying that there is no way ALW after heavily guarding the score would want to have previews to all tracks available on Amazon and this is some fault on Amazon's part. Imagine if this turns out to be true, ALW is certainly going to flip out.

dolly-ry wrote:
Now another debate to start up: Many are saying that there is no way ALW after heavily guarding the score would want to have previews to all tracks available on Amazon and this is some fault on Amazon's part. Imagine if this turns out to be true, ALW is certainly going to flip out.

Sounds likely to me. If he went as far as watermarking the albums he sent out to the critics to deter them from leaking them (I'd love to know what said critics have thought of the album, they've had a little while to listen to it now), and if RUG have kept denying the tracklisting for months, sounds like they didn't want ANYTHING to be known until 20 Feb.