Artist: Lena Hall
Title: “Obsessed: Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Label: Ghostlight Records
Release Date: 1/5/2018
Genre: Rock
Rating:
Lena Hall is a Tony Award winning performer whose vocal register packs one hell of a punch. Recently, the singer announced a series of EP’s that will allow her to celebrate some of her favorite artists and music that she loves under the banner of “Obsessed”. According to what I’ve read, Hall plans on releasing these works during the first week of every month over the course of the year and the first one has just been released with “Obsessed: Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. For those who might not know this, Hall starred in the Broadway production of the film with Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig) playing his paramore Yitzhak. When the show went on the road, Lena played both parts which is pretty damned awesome. The five songs on this EP are the creation of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask and since I didn’t manage to see the play at all come off as completely new music to my ears.
Using the original soundtrack as a mental guideline, it seems that Hall begins at the beginning with “Tear Me Down” which is a solid rocker despite its being delivered in an acoustic fashion. I liked it, but really found myself wrapped up in the second number “The Origin Of Love” which is also the longest song on the EP. One thing that the listener should be mindful of is the ability of Hall vocally because while she might begin on the softer side she can raise the intensity and volume to levels that will find you scrambling for the volume control on your headphones if you had them a little too loud. As a Metal music fan I didn’t really mind this but felt that a PSA for the conventional listener was a good idea.
The musicians joining Hall on the “Obsessed” series are Justin Craig (guitar, keyboards), Matt Duncan (bass, keyboards, saxophone) and Brian Fishler (drums and percussion). All of the players are exemplary on this group of recordings and I cannot wait to hear the next installment which will be focused on the great Peter Gabriel. Oh yeah and before I go, I love the artwork on the albums cover which is a sparsely colored image of Lena with the title branded across the bottom. I must admit that I love the use of the spade as the “A” in her surname and I guess its safe to assume that this will be a theme across the future works. Now its time to go and listen to the Original Broadway Cast album on Spotify.
Track Listing:
1. Tear Me Down
2. The Origin Of Love
3. Sugar Daddy
4. Wicked Little Town
5. The Long Grift
6. Midnight Radio
Official Website: http://www.lenahall.com
Official Website: http://www.lenahallobsessed.com
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lenahallobsessed
Official Website: http://www.ghostlightrecords.com/