Album Review: Next To Normal

Next To Normal

Music by Tom Kitt

9.2

Released 2009

Rubric:

Musicianship: 8

Musical Cohesiveness: 10

Song Structure: 10

Lyrics: 8

Emotional Energy: 9

Emotional Landscape: 9

Album Structure: 10

Production: 10

Variety: 8

Lasting Impression: 10

Sometimes you hear a piece of music, that comepletely takes you away emotionally. A song that immediately and unrelentingly pulls you into a new world, allowing (even forcing) you to leave your own life behind, and become entirely immersed in the emotional push and pull of the piece. As you listen, chills creep down your back and you find yourself unable to resist the urge to sing along and literally become one with the song. It is experiences like this that make listening to music so incredibly rewarding. It’s not often that songs can have this deep and profound effect on me, so I was excited beyond belief when I first heard the lead single from Tom Kitt’s new musical, “Next To Normal.” I was introduced to the show and specifically this song by a close friend who showed me the “N2N” Tony Awards performance. After getting over my initial shock at the sheer power of the song and performance, only one thought came to my head; There is NO WAY the rest of this show is that good. It wasn’t. But came very close.

Next to Normal is an incredible emotional romp through the lives of its maladjusted characters. It will make you laugh, cheer, cry, and even think (!) before it ends, and as the final vocal harmonies of the closing track die out, you will find yourself very satisfied. N2N’s story focuses around Diana, a forty-somethings mother of a “perfect loving family,” as she and her family go through the motions of their “average” suburban life. If that sounds like a boring setup to you, imagine how it struck me, a complete Sci-Fi/Fantasy kid who can’t be entertained without an epic space battle or castle siege erupting every five seconds. Tom Kitt proves however, that you don’t need to be epic, that the world doesn’t need to be at stake in order to make a story compelling. What makes a story exciting is more than just a good set up. An enticing and emotionally compelling story can be realized through intriguing characters, a original plot, and strong presentation. N2N pulls all three of these together, but its strongest suit is its presentation. Each element of the show is channeled through music that fits the overall themes and thrust of the show. Every song fits perfectly into the mood and world of the show, and every chord change and melodic line reflects the emotional happenings of the songs and lyrics. The vocal performances are stunning, each one working in tandem with the music and lyrical narrative to paint deep and intriguing characters. These factors come together to instantly and effortlessly immerse the listener in to the world of the show, but more importantly, they personally invest the listener in the lives of each individual character. Fortunately, the story does not stay as stale as the premise might indicate, as the true nature of the family is slowly revealed through a serious of well placed and well executed plot twists that help keep the experience fresh. All together, Next to Normal utilizes excellent presentation to realize story, characters and concepts in way that helps to make it one of the most coherent and compelling soundtracks out there.

Next to Normal isn’t completely without its faults, but they are few and far between. I could spend this time complaining that not all of the songs live up to the same emotional and energetic standards as the album’s stand outs numbers, but that would be like complaining about finding a $10 bill on the ground after finding a $50 bill. The event of finding $10 was significantly less exciting after finding the $50, but the $10 bill was still awesome in its own right, not to mention, you now have $60! I might also say that they lyrics at times teeter on the brink of the cliché and overly silly, but on the whole the lyrics do a great job of telling the story, and there are plenty of lyrical gems that more than make up for the bad. Finally, I will say that I did find there to be a few two many soft “piano ballad” type songs that slow up the beginning of the second act (starting with “Song of Forgetting” and ending with “Better Than Before”), but this trend is quickly brought to a halt with the reemergence of Gabe, the son, in “Aftershocks.” The bottom line is this, Next To Normal is not perfect, but when it stumbles, it is immediately picks itself back up and gets back on track.

Next To Normal’s strongest suit is its ability to tell the story that it wants to tell, how it wants to tell it. One of the most rewarding parts of the soundtrack is the latter half of the second act, which is almost entirely comprised of short “snippet” songs that flow perfectly from one to the other, introducing themselves and then fading out before outstaying their welcome. It is a hectic and schizophrenic delivery that perfectly mirrors the condition of the characters and the flow of the story. This section climaxes with the “I Am The One Reprise,” easily one of the most emotionally potent reprises since Judas’ “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” reprise in Jesus Christ Superstar. The sound track ends on a slightly more hopeful, but no less powerful note with “Light,” a beautiful and moving reflection on each character’s need and ability to move forward in light of what hardships they experienced throughout the course of the show.

Musically, the soundtrack is a treat, as Tom Kitt expertly weaves each song with excellent builds, great harmonies, and lots of unexpected chord changes and clever tricks. At times it feels like he is channeling The Who’s Tommy while at other moments he clearly draws influence from Stephen Sondheim, but he brings his influences in such a way that never feels contrived or overly derivative. The vocal performances are all incredible, with Aaron Tveit (Gabe) and Alice Ripley (Diana) turning in the most lively and convincing interpretations of their respective characters. While none of the performances are on the same level, at least technically, as those of a really good production of Jesus Christ Superstar, each performer truly makes their character come alive.

Next to Normal is also consistent. The performances are stellar across the board, each song stands out in its own way (some are better than others, but this says more about the really incredible songs songs than it does about the rest of the soundtrack), and the story never drags. The soundtrack starts strong (indeed “Just Another Day” is one of the strongest songs in the show), ends strong, and reaches its musical peak somewhere in the middle. Next to Normal is a prime example of how to pull of a great musical soundtrack, and it is a must buy for anyone with the slightest interest in Musical Theater. Simply put, it is one of the best musical soundtracks available.