~ Come Rayne Or Shine ~

Well, I finally got my hands on a copy of this after going through desperate attempts of looking for it in stores and 'stuff'! Am really bummed that I didn't get to watch Season 3 of this lovely musical when it was showing way back in February, but I guess this is the next best thing eh?

First things first, my likes...I loved that they included (almost) all the songs in the musical, and it flowed like it should have been in the musical. One of my favourites was the duet between the Bayan and the Puteri (Moga Temui Cinta). That song wasn't featured in their Season 2 recording, so I'm really stoked that Moga Temui Cinta was released in this recording!

The main characters' voices are still great...loved Stephen Rahman-Hughes strong voice, and Tiara Jacquelina's innocence that she brings to the table. Although in one or two songs you can hear some weird notes, but I guess it's all part and parcel of being a live recording, no? We can't expect a perfect rendition every single time...=)

It was also really nice to hear more of the other characters, like the Bayan who was not included in the previous recording. Plus, there were some different arrangements to the songs which worked very well. Some of them include Cinta Atau Setia, Dewa Perang, Malam Saksi Cinta and Pengorbanan Abadi.

Now I go to some of my little dislikes...maybe it's just me, but I feel that this season's recording was not as clear compared to last season's. It was mentioned that the recordings were taken from the sound manager's booth, but it somehow didn't reflect the full sounds that came from the last season's recording. Sometimes, it seems like I was listening to slightly muffled songs. Still, it's not really a big deal, but I feel if the recordings were clearer, it would give a bigger impact.

Although some of the arrangements were very cool, some I feel were a bit 'overdone'? I didn't like the way they sped up the tempo a little for the romantic songs like Di Puncak Tertinggi, Keranamu Kekasih and Katakan...I mean, I love the lyrics and melody to the songs! They make me feel so good and mushy, but to rush it like that seems to be playing down the 'romantic-ness' of the songs. Maybe it's just me...I'm a sucker for love songs, but I felt that sometimes, slow is not such a bad thing *wink*

I enjoyed this CD loads because it's from one of my favourite musicals, but somehow I can't help comparing it to the previous season's recording (who wouldn't?) which I also loved. I don't really know...probably the faster song works with their additions to the special effects and illusions, but just listening to the CD on its own doesn't really do it for me. I hope they release a video format of the musical so I can enjoy it to the fullest! *crosses fingers*