[.ca] Tick, Tick...Boom!

From Amazon.com:
Rent is usually treated as Jonathan Larson's one and only show, but the truth is that he had a career--albeit a hitless one--before that blockbuster. There was a musical titled JP Morgan Saves the Nation with lyrics by Jeffrey M. Jones and music by Larson. And there was Tick, Tick... Boom!, an autobiographical piece that Larson workshopped for a while before setting it aside and finishing Rent. In 2001, Tick, Tick is getting a full off-Broadway production, and it's a rather endearing one. Lyrics have never been Larson's strong point, but he was a hell of a melodic composer--and the score here is even poppier than that of Rent (think Top 40 rather than Sondheim). It's hard to pick favorite songs: "Green Green Dress" is built on a rollicking piano boogie, for instance, and "Real Life" and "See Her Smile" are the kind of elegiac ballad that Larson would later perfect with "Seasons of Love." Luckily, this show has a lot more to offer than mere youthful musings. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

truely amazing:
I'm a big "Rent-head" and I can't get over this show. Sadly, I have to say it's BETTER than RENT! I saw it in Boston a few days ago with Joey McIntire (not expecting it to be that wonderful).. but how could I doubt Johnny? This play was absolutly wonderful, and I had to buy the soundtrack. It's just as wonderful. I DEFINATLY RECCOMEND. It sums up life in this 90 minute, intermission-less play :) ENJOY!

Jonathan Larson scores again!!:
As a RentHead, I was obsessed with Jonathan Larson's works. I knew he wrote another musical called Tick Tick Boom, and I went on a mission to find it. Amazon.com was the only place that sold it. There are some amazing tracks on this cast recording. "30/90" is definately one of the best, along with "Come to your Senses" and "Louder than Words" which is one of the best songs I've ever heard. This is definately a cast recording that all musical fans should have in their collection!!

Brilliant stuff:
One of the things that is fascinating about Jonathan Larson is his ability to taking introspection and put it to music. This is an autobiographical musical--Larson's father ostensibly says so in the liner notes. Like most of the other reviewers, I find "30/90" to be a fantastic song, one that in a fair world would have made it to mainstream radio as a major hit. The rest of the album is excellent as well. My other choice for a standout is "Therapy" which is an amusing lesson in communication, amongst other things. If you like to sing along, there's all sorts of good stuff on this album. This is an easy album to give five stars.

Basically, Tick ROCKS.:
I just purchased this recording and absolutely love it. The songs have been in my head ever since receiving it, and a few were already in my head from the samples I heard before I ordered. Among my favourites are "30/90", "Sugar", and "Come to Your Senses". The songs are all amazing, rocking, and energetic, just what one should expect from Jonathan Larson. In response to the customer who criticised the lyrics "I feel bad about you feeling bad ...", that particular song with those lyrics is intended for lyrics like those. The genre of the song, "Therapy", is a rather bluegrass vocal argument between Jonathan and Susan which starts off slow and gets very fast and twangy. The music goes perfectly with the mood Jonathan Larson attempts to set, and the lyrics go perfectly with the music. It would be ignorant to cite these lyrics without any reference to the environment in which they are found so as to make them seem unintelligent, and as someone reading the review before buying the disc it almost made me feel this wasn't as good a CD as it is. Also, the song "Sunday" is extremely close to Sondheim's entitle the same so as to be a nod to Sondheim, Jonathan Larson's mentor, not in any way demonstrating that Jonathan Larson is unoriginal. If you have any doubts about buying this CD, expel them from your thought right now! If you'd like to listen to four full-length samples, you can go to www.myspace.com/ticktickboomthemusical to listen there. "Louder Than Words", "30/90", and "Why" are the same recordings as on this CD, though "Come to Your Senses" is a different one, which is a pity as I believe that the sample one on that site is better than the one on this CD (though the CD one is still wonderful, and it is a spectacular song to begin with).

A moving wonder from the mind of Jonathan Larson:
Before there was the musical sensation "Rent," Jonathan Larson wrote several great songs and shows, some that have been heard (such as "Love Heals" recorded on Sherie Rene Scott's album "Men I've Had") and some that have been performed in New York, but not made available (like the Larson gem, "You call my name" sung at a benefit concert by Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, and the rock-opera "Superbia"). In 1990, Larson performed a one man show called, "tick, tick...Boom!" several times in several incarnations. It told the story of himself and his fear of turning 30 without having made an impact. A few years after Larson's tragic death, his close friend and filmmaker Victoria Leacock and director Stephen Schwartz compiled the different versions and made it into a 3 person show, recorded here by its original off-broadway cast. And the result are wonderful. "30/90" displays a very "rent-ish" quality of setting the story up. Other highlights include "Johnny can't decide," "Sunday (a humerous take on a piece from Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George")," "Louder than Words," and the beautiful "Come to your Senses," memorably sung by Amy Spanger. But it's the hanting and humerous "Boho Days," recorded by Larson himself sometime before his death, that really got to me. Jonathan Larson was an enormous talent, and it's really a shame that he'll never write any new musicals for us in the future. It really is our loss.

• 30/90
• Green Green Dress - Raúl Esparza, Amy Spanger
• Johnny Can't Decide
• Sunday
• No More - Jerry Dixon, Raúl Esparza
• Therapy - Raúl Esparza, Amy Spanger
• Real Life
• Sugar
• See Her Smile
• Come to Your Senses - Amy Spanger
• Why - Raúl Esparza
• Louder Than Words
• Boho Days - Jonathan Larson
• 30/90 Playout