Dreamgirls Original Cast Recording

Dreamgirls opened in the West End on the 14th December 2016 to rave reviews. Many of these reviews focused on the vocals of Amber Riley i.e Effie White herself. To bring her version of ‘And I am Telling You I’m Not Going’ along with the other 27 numbers, the Dreamgirls Original Cast Recording is now being released.

The recording is a live recording from the show recorded live over 4 performances in February 2017 and no additional  studio re-recordings or overdubs have been used. The recording really does give you the feel as if you are there in the auditorium, including the cheer that Amber Riley gets simply from walking on stage. The Dreamgirls Original Cast Recording is over 2 CD’s, one for each act, showing the sheer amount of music in this show.

They is no denying that the vocals across the board are stunning. Amber Riley does indeed wow on this soundtrack, although nothing can beat hearing her live in the show. However listening to this soundtrack a few times meant I could appreciate further the vocals of Liisi LaFontaine as Deena Jones. Deena’s rise to front woman of the Dreamgirls is supposed to be based on her looks but by listening to this soundtrack it is evident that she gives Effie a run for her money vocal wise. The rest of the 29 strong cast also shine and those that I was less fond of live, come across very well on the recording.

This show is nearly all sung through and often moments that would be dialogue have been replaced with music. At some points this does sit oddly on a soundtrack however for those that haven’t seen the show it may add depth to it.

Whilst the show isn’t one of my favourite shows in the West End the one of the strengths of the show is the catchy songs and the insane vocals. The Dreamgirls Original Cast Recording captures this nicely and shall remain a firm fixture in my car CD player for a while (sorry to all my passengers for my attempt to sing along!).

The soundtrack is released by Sony Masterworks Broadway on Friday 12th May and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

You can read my full review of Dreamgirls elsewhere on the blog.