Infernal Bridegroom Productions, In the Under Thunderloo: Original Score

If you’ve ever seen one of the Infernal Bridegroom Productions plays, you know that one one of the things that makes a lot of the plays great is the live music that goes along with them. Instead of having canned music during or between scenes, they have real people playing the music. There is just no comparison between recorded music and the real thing. Unfortunately, that axiom also holds for this recording, a recording of the live music that went along with the re-production of In the Under Thunderloo (the original production happening in 1993).

The songs are just fine; some are good, in fact, but they are recorded very “live,” and this album suffers because of that. There are little bits that are out of tune, rhythms that that aren’t always solid, mixes that are muddy — all this adds up to an album that is sometimes difficult to listen to. But hey, at least the songs were documented. It would have been criminal to work as hard as the IBP orchestra did and then just let that music drift into the ether once the play had finished its run. And if all you’re looking for is a document of that experience, something to go along with the songs that got stuck in your head, then it’s available for you. If you’re not a fan of rock operas — if, say, Tommy turns you off, then keep moving. This is not for you.