Starlight Express

Ah, we go to the first of many musicals I've never listened to before. It is always exciting to listen to something new. :) These may be less in-depth than the ones I have listened to, but I'll try and use the same track by track look into the show the way I did with Music Man. Let's begin, shall we?

Starlight Express debuted in London in 1984 with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Wikipedia says the plot features around a group of toy railway trains, portrayed by actors on roller-skates, who come to life inside the mind of a small boy. The characters race to become the 'fastest engine in the world', and in the end, the underdog, Rusty, triumphs, winning the race and the heart of a beautiful observation car, Pearl. Neat. Oh, and I'm listening to the original London production, according to the CD. Well, let's dig in.

The overture has already gotten me interested in the show. It has a very 80s sound to it and a very sci-fi one at that. It's very keyboard and synth heavy with some kind of narrator. By the end, it sounds like the score to a movie that will lead us into some sort of grand adventure. Very nice.

The first song is "Rolling Stock" and it has a pretty rocking intro. This song is sung by Greaseball and his gang of thugs. Oh, and they're trains. Diesel trains. This song has sort of a David Bowie sound to it. I cannot say that is a bad thing. The character seems pretty full of himself and seems to believe he'll never lose a race.

Enter our hero, Rusty, with the song "Call me Rusty". He's a steam train, apparently. Greaseball and his posse try and intimidate him. Rusty is confident for a rusty engine. He seems like our typical 80s hero, only, of course, he's a train. You go, steam train.

"A Lotta Locomotion" introduces us to the Coaches, and they don't seem to be as confident as he is in his ability to race. The song is pretty poppy and shows us the personalities of the Coaches. We have Ashley, the smoking car who is trying to kick the habit. Buffy, the buffet car who offers snacks. Dinah, the dining car who lends an ear. Finally, we have Pearl, the "new" girl. I'm guessing she's the leading girl. Er, coach.

Next, we have what sounds like another villain song for Greaseball, "Pumping Iron". He's got a rock theme, it seems. He's taking the diesel thing to sound like a greaser.

The next song is "Freight", which introduces the boxcars. I really like the guitar in this song. There isn't much to say about this one, really.

The next song, "AC/DC" introduces us to Electra. He's a showoff like Greaseball. He's got a pretty sexy voice. I like this song a lot, though the synthed voices can be a little grating. I like his use of "AC/DC" to refer to his use of electricity and also his sexuality. Oh, did I mention he was an electric train? His components do a lot of the singing for him. According to the plot synopsis, he's a new challenger in the race that's coming up.

Next, we have "He Whistled at Me". Pearl seems to have dreams of a steam engine that will whistle for her. Man, I'm digging the synth in this show. She runs off to pair up with Electra.

Finally, we start "The Race", which on versions that are not the one I have, is apparently called "Heat One". It starts with the narrator character starting the race. This has something of a disco sound to it, and it seems easy to dance to. Oh, and supposedly, this scene has Greaseball and Dinah cheating. That's not cool, guys.

"There's Me" has Dinah and Greaseball arguing about the cheating. Dinah isn't happy about it. Wait a second, the melody sounds a bit like a Phantom of the Opera song. Nicely done, Webber. This is sung by C.B., who I don't believe I remember. The song is pretty and sounds like your classic musical ballad song.

Ooh, the next song is a blues song called "Poppa's Blues". It's very soulful and teaches us about the blues. You've got to love blues songs in musicals. There's some awesome piano and harmonica in this one. Rusty says he doesn't really want to race unless Pearl will race with him. Poppa offers up another coach for him, Belle the Sleeping Car. Which segues into...

"Belle the Sleeping Car" I bet you didn't see that coming. I really like her voice and she explains the story of her life. She used to race with Poppa and Rusty asks to race with her and she accepts.

Next we enter "Starlight Express". In this song, I believe Poppa has been knocked out of the race and nearly killed. He tells Rusty to believe in the Starlight Express, which I assume is some sort of train god. :p Not a bad song at all. This finishes off Act I.

Act II starts with "The Rap". Guess what kind of song it is. Anyway, it has the characters arguing about whether or not Rusty can take Poppa's place. They decide that he should. I've never been a rap fan, so I can't say I'm a fan of this song, especially it seems like one of those rap songs that older people try to imitate whenever they want to seem cool these days.

The next song, U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. has Dinah singing about Greaseball. It's a parody of D.I.V.O.R.C.E. It's pretty funny.

After this, we have a reprise of "Rolling Stock". It has the girls convincing Dinah that she can make Greaseball jealous if she races with Electra.

Next, we have "CB". It starts off sounding like "There's Me" and "The Rap". From what I gather, CB is fond of causing disasters for fun. I like this one because I get to hear more Electra. :)

"Right Place, Right Time" is a rap about racism...I think. It's not bad, but it's pretty forgettable.

After this, we have another plea to the train god with "I Am the Starlight". The train god appears before Rusty and tells him that he has the ability to be Starlight himself. It gives Rusty faith in himself and he now has determination. I like the train god's voice. This sounds a lot like songs from other Webber musicals, but I really dig it.

Then we have a "He Whistled at Me" reprise. My favorite thing about this song is the Cockney accent of the character singing with Rusty...that I still can't identify. This is one of those musicals that I really need to see in order to identify the characters well. Dinah complains that Electra can't whistle at her.

Up next is "Race: The Final". Electra, CB, and Greaseball all crash; Rusty rescues Pearl from Greaseball; and he wins! Again, we have a lot of synth and keyboard with drum machines. I can't imagine how other people would feel about this, but because I'm a big fan of New Wave and 80s pop/rock, I rather like it.

"No Comeback" is a very cool song. I can't really explain what it is about this song that I like, but I guess the fact that it's a tirade by Electra makes me like it. That train has a sexy voice. The song itself reminds me of "Danger Zone" for some reason.

"One Rock n' Roll Too Many" has the cast laughing at the condition Greaseball is in. This is another song that reminds me of the kind of song you'd hear in Grease.

"Only He" is a power ballad delivered by Pearl. It's your basic 80s power ballad sung by a woman...and there's nothing wrong with that. She really tears it up in this song. :)

"Only You" gives us a duet between Rusty and Pearl. Now they're together. Aww. This song really soft-rocks the house. Not being a fan of soft-rock, I can't say I really like this one, but story-wise it's sweet.

"Light at the End of the Tunnel" sounds like a gospel song praising the train god and it brings a message that many steampunk aficionados would agree with. This song is pretty funny to me. Control gets angry that they're not following it any more. Woot, renewable energy in the form of steam. What a way to end the show.

Starlight was an interesting musical. I don't think I'll likely find another musical like it (barring anything that Webber ever does, considering his shows tend to sound the same when Tim Rice isn't involved.) I'm glad to have heard it and I like it, but I wouldn't consider it a favorite. Here's a short clip of AC/DC:

If you can find a better version, please tell me about it and I'll embed that one instead. :)