Saturday, August 25, 2012

Great Songs in Okay Shows: "Grandma's Song" from Billy Elliot

            It was said of Gary Cooper that you could never catch him acting on set, that only on film did his performances spring to life. Billy Elliot is a show in a similar vein. On record, it isn’t a particularly special score. Between disappointingly conventional melodies and frequently clumsy lyrics, the songs depend entirely on powerful staging and choreography to bring them to life. The result is a show that is a good bit of fun to watch, but not much fun to listen to, with one exception; “Grandma’s Song” is the number I keep returning to even after all the other songs have worn out their charm.

No comments:

Post a Comment