Warriors

[theatrenerd]

A new concept album from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis released October 18, inspired by the 1979 cult film

www.warriorsalbum.com/

[danb]

Bonkers film, so a really exciting prospect for adapting especially if it keeps the aesthetic. I can remember it being around at the dawn of home video and seeing the trailer many times, until I finally got around to watching it. I remember it being quite emo, which I hope LMM gets hold of and underpins the hard gang elements (they look more like glam rockers lol) with the futility of the gang life.

[blamerobots]

All hail the concept album. May it never die!

[blamerobots]

32 people in the cast, to be revealed.

2LP vinyl set on pre-order, so we can estimate the whole album to clock in at 1h40, less than Hamilton (which had to be on 4LPs!!)

So excited to have a new musical concept album to obsess about; these things place the music truly at the forefront and LMM would've definitely been my pick for a The Warriors musical, though I hadn't ever thought I needed one

Time for a re-watch it seems

[moviebuffff1n]

Listened once this morning on my headphones, sounds great! Can’t wait to listen to more throughout the day. You can get the lyric booklet for free off the website if anyone is interested www.warriorsalbum.com/. Anyway it’s bloody brillant!! Hope it gets a concert or even a full production cause it’s great!

[danb]

Still can’t find a record shop in nyc committing to stocking the vinyl of this…crazy.

[wta2024]

Oct 18, 2024 8:27:37 GMT danb said:

Still can’t find a record shop in nyc committing to stocking the vinyl of this…crazy.

I found mine on amazon (Belgian version). The European releasedate seems to be November 8. So it might take a couple of weeks to pop up on other webstores.

[danb]

I can order it from LMM’s online store and send it to my friend in Brooklyn, so we have a solution, its just frustrating that I can’t just go into a shop and buy it. (not even his own Fathers!!!).

[interval99]

26 tracks on official warriors channel on YouTube, some with lyrics.
Only listened to some parts and seems a fair mix of music styles and lots of angry vocals but chance to hear the album for free. Most tracks under 3 minutes. The titles seem to show the story flow as I remember it but seem to be hearing a lot of female vocals which gives it a more modern angle and change from the film which should get a welcome boost from this release. Long time since I have seen it but as far as I remember despite the violence did have a moral message.
youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ncmeJr2WBfLoczVAMeJPstteSHb1fIp_c&si=M8nvSTYiGsAavwy2

[blamerobots]

Enjoyed it! I love the eclectic musical styles and I think it shows a great variety. I can imagine it on stage.

[Someone in a tree]

As others have have said in another thread, this really isn't for me. I gave up after 30 minutes and quite a bit of skipping.

I was listening because of the hype. If it ever comes to the stage then I may give it another listen but until then I'll happily remain a fuddy duddy.

[alece10]

I posted on the other thread this morning. Not for me I'm afraid. Just listened to a few seconds of many of the songs and didn't enjoy it at all.

[max]

Well my (very predictable) learning of the day is....don't judge something by dotting in on a few tracks!

I've listened to it all now, and it's really accomplished.

Feels like it's set over the course of one night which works well, and it's on and off the New York Subway - often.
However clever the staging of that could be ...just skip it and do a film instead. The other thing that a film would help with is authenticity...

The only thing I didn't like was the feeling of 'gang life' sanitised and sweetened from my enjoyment; and often quite cartoonish characterisation of those who aren't The Warriors gang. Perhaps the idea is that they see their adversaries that way; but it can confirm us 'normies' view of gang people. Film would show us some of the dirt that the music/lyrics don't give - or if they do give it, it's all very 'Gangster's Paradise', and that's a sung from ....1995!

The story, as I understood it - without spoilers:
The Warriors, a female gang get called to an inter-gang truce meeting, where Cyrus (who called the meeting) gets shot. The perpetrator frames The Warriors who get into various scrapes as they evade vengeance from other gangs, and the cops. That's it. No major twists or turns of double-dealing or betrayal. Across one night does feel propulsive though.

There is a powerful song at the end when the madness seems to be over, and The Warriors are riding a subway train, brushing up against lots of 'respectable lives' starting their day. 'Same Train Home' is worth a listen; or....perhaps it's only powerful because I'd listened to the story that led to it.

[blamerobots]

I love the music but I agree with max I think it's very produced. Atmos mix has lovely dynamics but the normal stereo mix is pretty compressed and because of the busy arrangement unfortunately it turns to noise. I think it shines when it sounds like a proper rock musical band rather than electronic production and instrumentation.

I suppose another criticism but this is more on LMM's writing style and it being a fairly short concept album is that it's pretty relentless, there's no underscoring or instrumental it's basically relentless singing. I still hold Evita up as the highest standard of musical concept album and listening to this I felt much the same as I listen to that but I think there needs to be time for the audience to listen to music without singing and wind down the tension because unlike Evita I started to get tired, as it constantly felt high-stakes at all times and when that's the case you lose the idea of what "high-stakes" is.

I don't like Hamilton particularly but I'll happily hum you most of the themes but the only ones I really remember for this are the roll call and the "Warriors come out to play" motif. I suspect if this were to be staged they'll add some extra songs and theme repetitions to pad it out to a two hour runtime.

But even though those criticisms sound pretty big, I think this is really great. I think everyone is seriously pulling their weight and I love Amber Gray in this. I wish Lauryn Hill was around more as another character rather than just being Cyrus and dying after a few minutes (same kind be said for the stars that are the voices of the suburbs) as I could listen to her all day, though I do understand due to scheduling conflicts her vocal was recorded remotely (and it kind of sounds like it)

[max]

Further thoughts:

There's way less story than 'Hamilton' has, and way less multi-strands juggled than 'In The Heights' (in fact it's one story track). None the worse for that, but a less demanding piece to write and listen to, I think. It's a slice of life, or 'slice of one night' - but I like that.

Lyrics aren't as regularly rapid fire as in 'Hamilton' and a lot of lines get repeated for bravado or characters' emphasis; so there are often further chances to understand a line you missed (like Grand Opera arias - if you speak Italian, that is). Overall I found the lyrics easy to hear, but I couldn't easily distinguish between the voices of the female gang members (but there's a lot of name checking of eachother, so that's not a big problem).

Lin Manuel Miranda really is having the long-form career in Hip Hop/R&B/Pop that R Kelly threw away (in more terrible ways than one). Musically this most reminds me of R Kelly's 'Trapped In The Closet' - the first video episode of which was released in 2005; it's something about the constantly rising and hyping underscore that works in both, and repetitions of very everyday phrases. I won't link it here due to sensitivities around R Kelly's convictions, but Episodes are findable on YouTube and last about 4 mins each - I just watched the first two again and it's as good as I remembered. I think it's him who did the ground breaking.

[danb]

I’m not sure that musical theatre composer Lin Manuel Miranda is in any way comparable to R Kelly…musically…in his life…career. It’s such a wacky thing to say!
It’s like comparing Jimmy Saville to Greg James because they are both DJ’s!

I am finding Warriors a bit more female heavy than I was expecting but it’ll sink in.

[blamerobots]

I like the gender swaps but I think they're just kind of that; gender swaps. Doesn't really modify or change the meaning of the piece.

Wonder if this could be done in concert on a tour or something, like when JCS was going around in concert back in the early 70s. I can imagine them swapping out some of the one song roles with local talent or stars. It'd do well.

If it was a show (which is what I assume LMM wants) I think they'd need to write a bit more material to justify two acts, even if it's more traditional book then score as the album implies with the interspersed bits of dialogue.

Also I wonder why the Hurricanes are singing on skates on a train...?

[max]

Oct 19, 2024 15:16:17 GMT blamerobots said:

I love the music but I agree with max I think it's very produced. Atmos mix has lovely dynamics but the normal stereo mix is pretty compressed and because of the busy arrangement unfortunately it turns to noise. I think it shines when it sounds like a proper rock musical band rather than electronic production and instrumentation.

I suppose another criticism but this is more on LMM's writing style and it being a fairly short concept album is that it's pretty relentless, there's no underscoring or instrumental it's basically relentless singing. I still hold Evita up as the highest standard of musical concept album and listening to this I felt much the same as I listen to that but I think there needs to be time for the audience to listen to music without singing and wind down the tension because unlike Evita I started to get tired, as it constantly felt high-stakes at all times and when that's the case you lose the idea of what "high-stakes" is.

I don't like Hamilton particularly but I'll happily hum you most of the themes but the only ones I really remember for this are the roll call and the "Warriors come out to play" motif. I suspect if this were to be staged they'll add some extra songs and theme repetitions to pad it out to a two hour runtime.

But even though those criticisms sound pretty big, I think this is really great. I think everyone is seriously pulling their weight and I love Amber Gray in this. I wish Lauryn Hill was around more as another character rather than just being Cyrus and dying after a few minutes (same kind be said for the stars that are the voices of the suburbs) as I could listen to her all day, though I do understand due to scheduling conflicts her vocal was recorded remotely (and it kind of sounds like it)

It's funny how the way we consume things has changed so much - and things out of the artist's control might swing our perception wildly; even as we get to consume their artistic product of their blood, sweat, and tears...for free! (Artist: "Aargh" - until/unless they make a million on the live show).

I changed my view about the sound quality and listenability of 'The Warriors' after swapping to a different computer (though I appreciate your view on how this has been produced and the positive/negative effects).

My listening was on YouTube, thinking it would probably be a bad idea I'd abandon, what with annoying Ads interrupting between videos. As it turned out I clicked to mute if an Ad came up and that short break gave a little time to think over the previous section of story, and have a breather from relentless full-on sound. Surprisingly, I think that quirk improved the listening experience. 

I wonder what else will eke out this material for a full-length show - if that's the plan. I enjoyed it a lot, but didn't crave much more of it. Dialogue could just dissipate its effectiveness, and a subplot doesn't seem right when it's largely from the Warriors pov. Does it run 80 mins as the New York Times says?  If so, it's not too far short of a full evening once an interval is in; or it's straight-through without breaking the tension. I think the latter might be it.


 

[blamerobots]

Miranda and Davis say they have no plans for Warriors to come to Broadway, but that "We'd love to see a stage adaptation of this down the road."

From www.npr.org/2024/10/17/nx-s1-5146509/lin-manuel-miranda-warriors-musical-album-eisa-davis

[Matt]

I’ve listened to half of this today and I absolutely love it. I went in first with the Lauren Hill track as I saw LMM talking this morning about getting her to record it, and i do think it’s actually quite a good hook of a song to get someone into the complete works.
I love to range of genres and musical styles, and I just think that everything works. I can definitely see loads of singalongs, and there’s a few voices on here that I love hearing.
I’d love to see this on stage, but I want it to be scary and intimidating to watch.