Okay, okay – I made a promise to myself I was gonna avoid all things Rent until I got to see the movie ‘cos I wanted to go in totally fresh. But a couple of days ago I kind of realised this was going to be impossible. The prospect of a new recording of this musical was gonna be impossible for me to resist for a whole 2 months.

So how is it … it’s no OBC, but that’s just me, whose whole perception of life, the universe, and everything was significantly altered by the first listening of those CDs. It’s loud, which I guess is how it should be. I was let down when I saw the most recent production of the stage show in London (the one with Caprice as Maureen) because it wasn’t as loud and in-your-face as I was wanting it to be. If this recording is anything to go by, the movie should more than satisfy me.

Very few lyrics have been altered – even the “ohs” and “ahs” are surprisingly similar to the OBC, so those who love to sing along won’t be discombulated by the new version.

There are things missing – who knows whether or not they’ll be in the movie. “Christmas Bells” will be sorely missed if it’s not in the movie. The finale is trimmed, perhaps for obvious reasons – I was a little worried about them putting the soundtrack out months before the movie, ‘cos it would be seriously cool to be someone with no knowledge of the whole Rent thing to go in to the movie fresh, etc. The bad thing about this, though, is that it’s not as integral a listening experience as the OBC. I’m sure the marketing people are looking forward to releasing a fuller recording – I may even wait for that

“Love Heals” is a very cool addition to the package. An old song by Jonathan Larson, apparently (meaning, I guess, grrr! it’s not eligable for Best Original Song), very end-credits-y.

Rosario Dawson is no Daphne Ruben-Vega, either. She might work better as I adjust, and also once I see her on the screen I might warm to the idea. Again, it’s a fan speaking, though. I still think many many peoples’ lives are gonna be shaken up by this movie. Jonathan Larson lives on, that’s for sure.

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