Rock Of Ages (CD); Review

I was a fan of the MTV.

I came of age during the golden years of hair bands, "pop metal", and Adam Curry on MTV. It was a sweet time. Grown men with curls cascading down their backs, painted on leather pants, and black eyeliner circling their bloodshot eyes, dancing around massive arena stages. The music of those years is like none other....it defines an entire era in musical history!

But it has been awhile, hasn't it? Flannel shirts replaced studded leather jackets and the music was never the same. Now? The music of my youth can be found on Classic Rock stations. I feel so old.

The One2One Network asked me if I'd like to review a new CD, and at first I was skeptical. Called Rock of Ages, it's the original cast recording of the Broadway Musical of the same name. Now hold up. Broadway? One thing I've never been is a showtune singing theater kid. But I have to tell you, the storyline behind the show Rock of Ages intrigued me. It's set in 1987, on the legendary Sunset Strip. A small-town girl meets a big-city dreamer and they fall in love; set to the tune of the greatest heavy metal songs of that time.

So, I agreed to review the CD. And? I was pleasantly surprised. Remember those mix tapes we made back in the day? (If you're asking yourself what a "tape" is, then just nevermind. *le sigh*) The Rock of Ages cast recording plays like the greatest mix tape you could have ever made. If you were like me, your fingers were never quite fast enough to hit record or stop and you inevitably got the DJ's ramblings in between songs. On Rock of Ages, the DJ's banter is replaced with dialogue from the Broadway show. At first I thought this was really corny. But the longer I listened, the more I enjoyed it. If you pay attention to the story unfolding through the music you realize the songs actually tell the story.

You know how everyone spontaneously breaks into song during a Broadway show? Instead of speaking their lines, they sing them. Well, it's the same in Rock of Ages....except they're singing the greatest heavy metal hits of the 80s. I know, it sounds a little odd. Watch this video of how they created the original cast recording and I think you'll see what I'm talking about:

Rock of Ages, the musical, was nominated for five Tony awards. For all you American Idol peeps, Constantine Maroulis has a starring role! The Rock of Ages original cast recording features twenty-two songs from the show. You can purchase the CD at Amazon, where you can see the entire track listing (and listen to audio samples of each song!!).

CD was provided by One2One Network for this review.