Wicked: For Good – Movie Cast Recording (Universal Studios and Republic Records).
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Fans of the first part of the Wicked movie duology had to wait patiently for 12 months but the second instalment – Wicked: For Good – finally landed in cinemas and concluded the well-loved story amidst a flourish of equally highly-anticipated songs. With classics like ‘Defying Gravity’ already securely in the hall of fame from the first movie soundtrack, the sequel follows up with yet more big hitters, not least ‘No Good Deed’, ‘As Long As You’re Mine’ and the titular track ‘For Good’.
‘No Good Deed’ is every bit as dramatic and impressive as one would wish for and expect off the back of the splendour of the first film’s score, and fans of the stage production will surely not be disappointed either. Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba delivers a wonderfully powerful rendition, putting her own stamp on the by-now-famous ‘Fiyero’ riff, and the orchestrations from Jeff Atmajian in updating the original theatrical score for a cinematic orchestra are nothing short of outstanding.
Similarly, “As Long As You’re Mine” is a hotly-anticipated moment and Erivo and Jonathan Bailey more than rise to the occasion. Their vocals combine wonderfully and both aptly convey the quiet sensitivity and emotion of the number, which falls as a moment of respite within the drama and action of the rest of the film.
However there are also some (well-publicised) new tracks. Composer Stephen Schwartz penned two original songs specifically for the film – ‘No Place Like Home’, performed by Erivo as Elphaba who tries to convince the animals to continue standing up to Madame Morrible’s corruption, and ‘The Girl in the Bubble’, a solo moment for Ariana Grande as Glinda. It may simply be a symptom of their novelty in amongst such a powerful and recognisable total score, but both of these numbers unfortunately fall short of the remainder of the score in both catchiness and lyrical strength.
Overall perhaps not quite as spellbinding as the first movie release, but still packing a magical punch where it matters.
Sorcha Exworthy
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.