If I haven't mentioned it before (I'm far to lazy to search and check) I am a complete RENThead for the uninitiate amoug you that's the Broadway Show RENT. It's difficult to explain RENT to someone who has never experenced it but luckily I won't have to even attempt it.
You see, in about 2 months Sony Pictures is turning my favorite Broadway show into a movie.
Much to the credit of Sony Pictures and the people behind the movie there is an offical RENT blog which features interviews with the cast and crew of the show in both text and video entries.
So, a few months ago we got our first taste of the movie with the seasons of love video and more recently the theatrical trailer.
And then today, the soundtrack from the movie. Which, since it came out at about 1:00PM EST has hit 1st place on the iTunes Music Store.
I'm listening to it right now and I have to say it's really good. I'm only a few songs in but it sounds amazing. It feels a little less lyrical than Original Broadway Cast Recording and i'm not doing so well with these new "voices". You see, I have been listening to the 1996 recording for nearly 10 years now. It's going to take some time for me to adjust to the way that these people sound, right now it just sounds wrong. I have literally memorized very single inflection, every laugh, every pause down to the microsecond and here, it's just wrong. But this was something I knew would happen with the release of the movie though as much as I was expecting it it's still disconcerting.
So, I cheated and played ahead. First I listened to "Halloween" and then "Will I" which are my favorite two moments in the play. I say moments because Halloween is not truly a song. My first impressions of both are very positive. It is GOOD.
I also listened to "Life Support" but that sounds very different from the "Life Support" I know and love. Firstly, the Melody is totally different — in The Original Broadway Cast Recording Life Support opens up with the same tune from the beginning of "Will I", followed by a recitation of the names of the attendees at the meeting followed by their affirmation ("forget regret — for life is yours to miss") which is Interuppted by Mark. The affirmation is again interrupted — this time by Gordon who laments about his current situation ("because reason says I should have died — 3 years ago"). We basically loose about 1:30 of this song which is one of the best in the play. In the movie version it seems to have been neutered rather substantially.

Overall the album feels very good despite some concerns I think this is going to be a good movie. Definitely on my must-see list, probably even on my must-see on opening night list.