It would be impossible for any recording to fully capture the thrill of experiencing the revival of the seminal Gerome Ragni-James Rado-Galt MacDermot rock musical, Hair at the Al Hirschfeld Theater, but Ghostlight Records' cast album comes very close. This is one of those cases in which it might have been interesting to record the show live in performance, but of course, that method entails tremendous challenges. Everyone involved in the new cast album should be congratulated for recreating the excitement of the show in a studio setting; an abundance of raw energy has been captured here.
The CD is a winner for Will Swenson's charismatic Berger and Gavin Creel's golden-voiced Claude Hooper Bukowski. Sasha Allen scores with "Aquarius" because she sings the song rather than screaming it, and Caissie Levy is persuasive in "I Believe in Love," "Easy to Be Hard" and "Good Morning, Starshine." Allison's Case's "Frank Mills" is perfection, and Bryce Ryness and Darius Nichols are vividly present as Woof and Hud. Music director/conductor/keyboardist Nadia Digiallonardo does an expert job of leading the singers and the awesome band.
