VA — Music From The Miramax Motion Picture Chicago (2002)

MP3 320 kbps / FLAC (tracks, cue, log, scans) | Soundtrack, Musical | 1h 10 min | 169 / 429 MB

The movie version of Kander and Ebb\’s Chicago was long in the making, but it\’s well worth the wait. Director Rob Marshall\’s main change was to turn the classic musical numbers into fantasy sequences, but of course this isn\’t obvious on CD. Most importantly, the arrangements are bursting with life while being true to the show\’s spirit, and the casting is simply inspired. Catherine Zeta-Jones actually started her career on the British boards (she was in The Pajama Game and 42nd Street), so her turn as slinky Velma Kelly isn\’t that surprising; Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart is more of a leftfield choice, but she shows she can handle the sig demands with pizzazz. The real revelation may well be rapper Queen Latifah, who belts out \»When You\’re Good to Mama\» with a marvelous affinity for the material. OK, so the R&B reprise of \»Cell Block Tango/He Had It Coming\» by Queen Latifah, Macy Gray, and Lil\’ Kim fails to convince, while Anastacia\’s \»Love Is a C\» is just blah (rest easy, purists, it\’s over the end credits). On the other hand, the CD provides two bonuses: \»Class,\» which was cut from the movie, and \»I Move On,\» a great duet written by Kander and Ebb for the final cut. It\’s really easy to mess up film adaptations of Broadway shows. Happily, Chicago proves it can be done right. Elisabeth Vincentelli
[6:05] 1. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Taye Diggs — Overture — And All That Jazz
[3:40] 2. Renee Zellweger, John C. Reilly & Colm Feore — Funny Honey
[3:20] 3. Queen Latifah — When You\’re Good To Mama
[7:23] 4. Catherine Zeta-Jones & Cast — Cell Block Tango
[3:49] 5. Richard Gere & Cast — All I Care About
[4:00] 6. Richard Gere & Cast — We Both Reached For The Gun
[3:23] 7. Renee Zellweger — Roxie
[3:52] 8. Catherine Zeta-Jones — I Can\’t Do It Alone
[3:59] 9. Catherine Zeta-Jones — Mister Cellophane
[3:48] 10. Richard Gere & Cast — Razzle Dazzle
[2:55] 11. Richard Gere & Cast — Class
[2:15] 12. Renee Zellweger, Taye Diggs — Nowadays (Roxie)
[3:29] 13. Renee Zellweger, Taye Diggs — Nowadays & Hot Honey Rag
[4:01] 14. Renee Zellweger, Taye Diggs — I Move On
[3:26] 15. Danny Elfman — After Midnight
[3:59] 16. Danny Elfman — Roxie\’s Suite
[3:41] 17. Queen Latifah & Lil\’ Kim Feat. Macy Gray — Cell Block Tango (He Had It Comin\’)
[3:21] 18. Anastacia — Love Is A C