There are tons of reviews of the CD out there but I figured to post this one since it’s particularly favorable.”There are probably some people who are waiting for the upcoming big-screen version of “Rent” to fail, or think it will be a piece of bombastic fluff like “The Phantom of the Opera.” And there’s one person who will keep all that from happening: Rosario Dawson.Director Chris Columbus rounded up most of the original cast of the late Jonathan Larson’s musical update of Puccini’s “La Boheme” (which debuted on Broadway in 1996), yet went Hollywood to find his Mimi. And while Dawson’s mainstream musical offerings have veered toward the forgettable (see: “Josie and the Pussycats”) her mom was a professional singer and she more than holds her own opposite pros.All the famous showtunes from the Broadway production are on the two-disc soundtrack – “One Song Glory,” “La Vie Boheme,” “Seasons of Love” (which seems to have become the film’s main theme) – in addition to the unreleased Larson cut “Love Heals.” The CD gets a boost with superb production values compared to previous “Rent” cast albums – the revved-up backing band adds complementary spirit to Larson’s story of 20-somethings dealing with the AIDS epidemic and other issues in New York’s East Village.TV stars Taye Diggs and Jesse L. Martin return to the show with their vocal chords none the worse for wear, and Adam Pascal, who’s released albums as a solo rocker, is great again as Roger, the AIDS-afflicted musician seeking to write the perfect song after the death of his girlfriend. He, of course, finds love in the form of Mimi, a drug-addicted stripper who also has AIDS, and the duet “Light My Candle” between Pascal and Dawson is just the brightest of several showtune gems.Her high-energy rendition of “Out Tonight” will make one forget fellow thespian Gerard Butler ever threw on the Phantom’s cape.”[ SOURCE ]
Like we don’t know about his group of ladies on the sly