Free Musical Theatre Music Downloads

Most people already know that the Internet provides a treasure cove of free music downloads. However, many of these p2p avenues (such as through the popular Kazaa or Grokster) are not legal. Fortunately though, some composers, theaters, musical productions and recording companies release their songs online in their entirety for download. Not only are these downloads free, best of all, they are also legal and they allow fans of musical theatre to listen to songs from a particular musical. Many productions (such as Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest musical The Woman In White) include sample clips of songs from the musicals but these will not be included in the list below. Some of this music exist as normal MP3 downloads while others are part of Flash applications which allow users to listen but not store the songs on their systems. For convenience, I have created direct links to the downloadable files but I have also included the original main URL that these files can be obtained from. It must be noted however that on some occasions, these music files that cannot be directly downloaded can still be retrieved from the "Temporary Internet Files" directory and this will be noted in the listings below.

In this feature, we comb the web for free music downloads from the musicals. The only criteria for inclusion in the list below is that the music is from musical theater, it is available in its entirety, it is legal and that there are no strings attached in their download.

Nevertheless, this list may not be exhaustive since there is bound to be some sites that we have missed out. If any readers know of any other sites that offer free music downloads that fulfill the above criteria, we welcome all contributions at out usual email address at musicorld@gmail.com. All contributions will be added to the list below and acknowledged.

In the meantime, happy downloading!

26 December 2004

Jerry Springer The Opera

URL: http://www.jerryspringertheopera.com/jerry_opera.html (under Music)
Music Format: Flash (Files can be retrieved from the "Temporary Internet Files" folder in the MP3 format)
Music Downloads:
- Overtly-ture (overtly_hi.mp3)
- I've Been Seeing Someone Else (someone_hi.mp3)
- This Is My Jerry Springer Moment (thisis_hi.mp3)
- Mama Gimee Smack On The A**hole (mama_hi.mp3)
- I Just Wanna Dance (just_hi.mp3)
- Grilled And Roasted (grilled_hi.mp3)
- It Ain't Easy Being Me Part 1 (beingmeone_hi.mp3)

Verdict:
The lyrical content of Jerry Springer The Opera has been mired in so much controversy that sometimes it is easy to forget that behind the gratuitous use of vulgarities and crude words, the music for the musical is actually pretty good. The music downloads from the official Jerry Springer The Opera website is testament to this. The style of music downloads range from the softer "This Is My Jerry Springer Moment" to the louder "Mama Gimee Smack On The A**hole". There are some excellent free MP3s of the lot and "I Just Wanna Dance" and "It Ain't Easy Being Me" are two particular favorites of mine with the former really standing out for the vocal performance of the fantastic Alison Jiear. The supporting cast won the Oliver for Best Supporting Role In A Musical in 2004 and it is not difficult to see why from the "Overtly-ture". Overall, these music downloads provide a great snapshot of the musical (or opera?) which swept the Oliver Awards 2004, Critics Circle Awards 2003 and Evening Standard Awards 2003 for Best Musical and is definitely worth a listen.

26.3.05

The Sound Of Music

URL: http://www.thesoundofmusic.biz/songs_clip.htm
Music Format: MP3
Music Downloads:
- Prelude and The Sound Of Music
- My Favorite Things
- Do-Re-Mi
- The Lonely Goatherd
- So Long, Farewell

Verdict:
A family classic with many hummable tunes, these music downloads of The Sound Of Music were made available in time for the Asian tour of this production in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. Most of the favorites are all available for download but unfortunately, these MP3s have an audio quality of only 56K.

1.1.05

Dance Of The Vampires

URL: http://www.danceofthevampires.com/multimedia.html
Music Format: MP3
Music Downloads:
- Overture/Carpe Noctem
- Vampires In Love (Total Eclipse Of The Heart)
- Angels Arise
- Braver Than We Are
- Original Sin
- Act I Finale Excerpt
- For Sarah
- God Has Left The Building
- Eternity (German version)
- Confession Of The Vampire (The Insatiable Appetite)
- Finale Act II (The Dance Of The Vampires)

Verdict:
This is undoubtedly the best site there is that features free music downloads of the highest quality. The English Demo Recording was never released to the public and the songs in the recording were actually recorded by the cast in the Vienna Cast Recording. The songs available are all of an exceptional quality and some of them like "Braver Than We Are", "Vampires In Love" and "The Dance Of The Vampires" are also very infectious. The standout songs for me has to be all the songs performed by the wonderful Steve Barton who emotes his songs with such strong intensity. Examples of this can be seen in "Confessions Of The Vampire" and "Original Sin". Other outstanding tracks include Aris Sas' devoted "For Sarah" and Elaine Caswell's ethereal "Angels Arise".

26.12.04

Dracula

URL: http://www.draculaonbroadway.com/
Music Format: MP3
Music Downloads:
- Life After Life
- Please Don't Make Me Love You

Verdict:
My first impression after hearing "Life After Life" is that this sounded a lot like an inferior version of "Braver Than We Are" from "Dance Of The Vampires" but after listening to it a couple more times, I find that this song really grew on me. Linda Eder's "Please Don't Make Me Love You" disappoints a little though. It is definitely not one of Frank Wildhorn's better female solos and Eder does the most she can to sing this otherwise ordinary song.

26.12.04

Avenue Q

URL: http://www.avenueq.com/audiovideo.html
Music Format: Flash
Music Downloads:
- Rod's Dilemma

Verdict:
Unfortunately, this song cannot be saved onto the computer as an audio file. Accessing the Temporary Internet Files folder doesn't help as well since only the Flash components are there. "Rod's Dilemma" is such a quintessentially Avenue Q song and it is a pity that this track is not included on the Original Broadway Cast Recording. Written for and sent to the voters of the 2004 Tony Awards, this may have been one of the main reasons why Avenue Q staged a major upset over hot favorites "Wicked" and won the Tony Awards for Best Musical in that year.

26.12.04

Brooklyn The Musical

URL: http://www.brooklynthemusical.com/themusic.htm
Music Format: MP3
Music Downloads:
- Once Upon a Time
- Streetsinger
- Raven
- Heart Behind These Hands

Verdict:
Vocally, the cast of Brooklyn The Musical are very good and musically, the musical sounds like Jonathan Larson's Rent. Unfortunately, with the slight exception of "Once Upon A Time" which has a very beautiful beginning, the rest of the songs did not have anything special that made me go "wow". Nevertheless, these songs are still worth a listen.

26.12.04

All Shook Up

URL: http://www.allshookup.com
Music Format: Flash (Files can be retrieved from the "Temporary Internet Files" folder in the Windows Media Audio format)
Music Downloads:
- Heartbreak Hotel (heartbreak.wma)
- C'mon Everybody (cmon.wma)
- Can't Help Falling In Love (cant.wma)
- Burning Love (burning.wma)

Verdict:
Although I do admit that Elvis songs are generally very catchy, I have never been a big fan of his genre of music. Like the West End's Jailhouse Rock, "All Shook Up" features music sung by Elvis Presley. Of the four downloads available, I enjoyed "Can't Help Falling In Love" the most.

26.12.04

Good Vibrations

URL: http://www.goodvibrationsbroadway.com
Music Format: MP3 (VibeSounds.mp3 in Temporary Internet Files directory)
Music Downloads:
- Dance Dance Dance

Verdict:
Currently having previews on Broadway, the "Good Vibrations" site only features one track. The musical features music by the Beach Boys and I would only recommend this download to Beach Boy fans (of which I am not one).

26.12.04