CHICAGO SOUNDTRACK CD

SKU/Barcode: 696998701823

Maurine Watkins' satirical play Chicago has gone through several permutations since it opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on December 30, 1926. There was a silent movie version in 1927, followed by a sound film called Roxie Hart starring Ginger Rogers in 1942. In 1975, director/choreographer Bob Fosse and the songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb brought a darker vision to the story of a murderess who achieves acquittal due to publicity and slick lawyering, and their musical ran 898 performances back on Broadway. But the show really came into its own in 1996 when, in the wake of the O.J. Simpson trial, a revival was mounted that was still running on Broadway six years later when this movie version of the musical was released. The story and setting are perfect for Kander & Ebb, who delight in using musical pastiches of the interwar era to underlie a deeply pessimistic world view in such works as Cabaret. Indeed, listeners will be much reminded of that earlier score by this one, in which each character gets one or more hot jazz-style numbers to illuminate his or her villainy. What may surprise listeners is how effective the principals -- Ren e Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, and John C. Reilly -- are, given that none of them are known for their singing abilities. Modern studio techniques can do wonders, of course, making actual dubbing virtually unnecessary, but the actors really throw themselves into these performances. Less impressive are the extraneous songs (not actually featured in the film) tacked on at the end, presumably to expand the album's commercial appeal, including a rap by Queen Latifah (who co-stars in the film) and Lil' Kim, and a musically irrelevant dance tune by Anastacia that wasn't even written by Kander & Ebb.

1. Overture/And All That Jazz Catherine Zeta Jones / Renee Zellweger / Taye Diggs
2. Funny Honey Renee Zellweger / Reilly John C. / Colm Feore
3. When Youre Good To Mama Queen Latifah / Taye Diggs
4. Cell Block Tango Catherine Zeta Jones / Susan Misner / Deidre Goodwin
5. All I Care About Richard Gere / Renee Zellweger
6. We Both Reached For The Gun Christine Baranski / Cleve Asbury / Shaun Amyot
7. Roxie Renee Zellweger
8. I Cant Do It Alone Catherine Zeta Jones / Taye Diggs
9. Mister Cellophane John C. Reilly
10. Razzle Dazzle Richard Gere
11. Class Catherine Zeta Jones / Queen Latifah
12. Nowadays Roxie Renee Zellweger / Taye Diggs
13. Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag Medley Title Renee Zellweger / Catherine Zeta Jones / Taye Diggs
14. I Move On Catherine Zeta Jones / Renee Zellweger
15. After Midnight Danny Elfmann
16. Roxies Suite Danny Elfman
17. Cell Block Tango / He Had It Comin Queen Latifah / Lil Kim / Macy Gray
18. Love Is A Crime Anastacia