Jersey Boys Merrill WI

Jersey Boys

Original Broadway Cast Recording

Rhino, 2005

REVIEW BY: David Bowling

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/08/2008

I have bought the Four Seasons on 45 rpm record. I have bought the Four Seasons on LP record. I have bought the Four Seasons on CD. I have bought the Four Seasons on DVD. I even have an old Four Seasons 8-track lying round. And now the Four Seasons, or at least their music, has come to Broadway.

The Four Seasons may have seemed like an odd choice to build a Broadway musical around. The majority of plays never even reach Broadway and of those that do, many end up losing large amounts of money. Jersey Boys, which opened on Broadway November 6, 2005, was not only successful but went on to win four 2006 Tony awards including best musical of the year.

The Four Seasons were a hit making machine from the late 1950’s to the disco era of the early 1980’s. Combining Frankie Valli’s falsetto vocals and the writing and production of Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe the Four Seasons melded do-wop harmonies and pop song structures into a niche in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. The Four Seasons legacy encompasses a number of memorable songs that still haunt the radio airwaves. Songs such as ‘Let’s Hang On,” “Rag Doll,” “Sherry,” “Dawn (Go Away),” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” ‘Walk Like A Man” and “My Eyes Adored You” have cross generational appeal and have remained popular long after their release.

Jersey Boys is a chronicle of the Four Seasons lengthy career. It can be called a documentary musical as their career is presented as spoken word rather than acted out. This cast album follows that format with brief biographical statements leading up to the presentation of groups of songs.