Song of the Week #5 Album Special #1

UPDATE: Now with added favourites list!

So one idea I had for this song of the week thing is if every 5 songs I do an entire album I love. Hmm, maybe every 10 would be better so theoretically the next one after this would be week 15, that might work better.

So the album I am choosing this week is 'The Greatest Showman' soundtrack!

The Greatest Show

Ever since seeing the film I have been obsessed with this soundtrack! So much so that I couldn't pick a single favourite to showcase.

This Is Me

These two are probably my top favourites but every single song is amazing! If I had to pick a least favourite it would possibly be either 'Tightrope' because I'm not as big a fan of Michelle Williams' voice or 'Never Enough' because that whole plot point is supposed to be about Jenny Lind, the world's most talented opera singer or something along those lines yet 'Never Enough' is definitely not opera, it's a lovely song but it misses the mark genre-wise. It kind of cheapens the moment slightly in my opinion. That's really my only criticism of the whole album though.

After another listen of the album I have done an order of my most to least favourites:

1. The Greatest Show
2. This Is Me
3. From Now On
4. Come Alive
5. The Other Side
6. A Million Dreams + Reprise
7. Rewrite The Stars
8. Tightrope
9. Never Enough + Reprise

I just noticed that on the default graphic for these YouTube videos Keala Settle's name is omitted from the header and I think that does a great disservice to her and her fantastic voice, seriously people she is epic!

Anyway I must fly for now, I will be back soon with another book review (just got to finish the book first) and I might do another little life update thing.

Stef Out x

Film Review: The Greatest Showman

The story of circus ringmaster PT Barnum's early career and his journey from poor boy on the streets to 'The Greatest Showman'.

Before the film even starts and the producer logos are showing you get the chorus opening to 'The Greatest Show' alongside synchronised foot stomping. This opens into a magnificent group performance before the camera zeroes in on Hugh Jackman as PT Barnum before the scene fades to reveal a young boy looking at a ringmaster's outfit in a shop window before the camera pans down to show the open flap of the boy's shoe before his stern father calls him away.

This opening perfectly sets the scene for the story to come. A true rags to riches tale with genuine romance and a brilliant cast of characters. The soundtrack is perfectly matched too and no song feels out of place, every one moves the action forward or aids characterisation and will be a must buy for me. Personal favourites are 'The Greatest Show' and 'This Is Me'. Keala Settle's voice is absolutely stunning and her performance as The Bearded Lady is fantastic for only her third official acting credit, I foresee great things for her future. It would appear most of the supporting cast have very limited acting experience yet all were so impressive. I was also stunned to read on IMDB that Zendaya (Anne) did all of her own trapeze stunts, watching her sequences I was sure that it was a stunt double!

I also loved the fact that Barnum is a grey character. The relationship he has with his upper class born wife and daughters is brilliant to watch and while he has given the 'oddities' a chance he also easily forgets them when something shinier - Jenny Lind, the only cast member not to do their own singing - comes along. He also fakes some of the acts and I wonder how fair their wages were but it all comes good in the end and they become a true family. There's also a humorous rivalry between Barnum and a newspaper reporter.

It's also interesting to note that the descendant of Barnum's circus the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced in January 2017 that their doors were closing forever, due to decreased attendance and protests by animal rights activists. Their last shows were in May 2017. I also recently watched a David Attenborough documentary about Jumbo the elephant who was purchased by Barnum's circus, a move that led to his eventual death in a train accident while on tour. Jumbo was cited by Barnum to be the largest elephant in the world, a claim which owing to wild elephants being impossible to measure was unlikely to be true. However the documentary did state that Jumbo was large for his age and was far from fully grown. His life did not sound pleasant though, a diet of sweets leading to toothache which was dulled with copious amounts of whiskey, which was also used to calm his notorious rages, likely stemming from musth, the surge of hormones in male elephants. For anyone interested Attenborough and the Giant Elephant is available on BBC iPlayer. And probably other avenues...

5/5 stars

Stef Out x