Five Reasons to Proudly Call A Cast Album A Cast Album, Not A Soundtrack
By: Michael Dale Dec. 14, 2015
Back in the days when Broadway musicals were more nationally known, Original Broadway Cast Albums were a staple of any record collection. Even those who never set foot in a theatre would know of great shows like WEST SIDE STORY, MY FAIR LADY and FUNNY GIRL from watching televised performances by the New York casts.
Goddard Lieberson of Columbia Records would be considered the father of the modern cast album. In his day record companies would invest in new musicals just to get the album rights. Lieberson would have beautiful packaging created while the show was previewing out of town; usually packed with photos and a detailed plot summary. Typically, an album would be recorded on the first day off after opening night and released as soon as possible. Sometimes, because of last minute changes, the song list on the cover didn't exactly match what was on the record.
Nowadays, with people associating the word "album" with vinyl, "cast recording" is more commonly used and you'll find them documenting scores from Broadway, Off-Broadway, the West End and from all over the world.
But more and more, people are using another word to describe a show's recording. A word that comes from movies. "Soundtrack."
Have you heard the HAMILTON soundtrack? (Well, no, because there hasn't been a HAMILTON movie yet.) Some would say this is a harmless change in the language and roll their eyes dismissively at anyone who would try to correct them, but there really are good reasons to not call a cast album a soundtrack. Here are five of them.
A soundtrack is a specific item associated with film, not live theatre. A soundtrack, or more accurately, a soundtrack recording, gets its name from a narrow band attached to a filmstrip on which the movie's sound is recorded and played when fed through the projector. (See image)
A soundtrack is permanent; live theatre is not. When you listen to a soundtrack recording you're hearing exactly what you will hear when watching the film. The performance of a song on a cast album isn't likely to be exactly replicated every time an actor goes on stage. Performances and interpretations evolve, someone standing still and singing into a microphone will sound different while being active on stage and sometimes you'll see different actors in the roles. Change is a part of live theatre.
It shows you're sensitive to the rights of self-identity. We live in an era where people are more aware of respecting the self-identity of others regarding issues of race and gender. So if artists get together and create something that says "cast recording" or "cast album" right there on the cover, why would you want to disrespect them by calling it something else?
It prevents confusion. Don't tell somebody you want to hear the soundtrack of FUNNY GIRL and then complain when it doesn't included "The Music That Makes Me Dance." And please, don't ever refer to the cast album of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. The cast album is called THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW.
It's a part of our culture, our tradition, our language. People who love musical theatre and who obsessively listen to cast albums are used to getting those funny looks from others who look down on musicals and judge their worth by how many hit songs they produce. Go to any showtune bar and you'll see that there is a firm culture among us. We have special songs and special stories that we all share. We have our own celebrities. Cast recordings are among our cherished documentations of important events in our lives and of our common histories. Don't allow others to assimilate our special culture into the world that's safe and familiar to them. We have a name for the recordings we love. There's no need for another.
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