Album review: PLAYING WITH FIRE, Center Stage Records
With less than a week until Halloween, the release of Playing With Fire has come at the perfect time with its haunting concept, drawing inspiration Mary Shelley’s timeless novel, Frankenstein. Playing With Fire is the new musical theatre concept album created by multi-talented duo JC Chasez and Jimmy Harry, released by Center Stage Records on 25 October, now available to listen to on all platforms. The album consists of 16 original tracks and features the vocals of Cardamon Rozzi, JC Chasez and Lily Elise to bring the modernised musical take on a much-loved sci-fi story to life.
The album opens with the overture ‘This is How the World Ends’, a ballad-like song that sets up the storyline of the musical and introduces listeners to the talents of each vocalist. From there, each song is a whirlwind combination of catchy, albeit occasionally cliché and repetitive, lyrics. Reimagining Frankenstein feels incredibly relevant in our current society with our growing reliance on technology and curiosity towards AI, and the electronic pop of the soundtrack fully transports Shelley’s concept to a modern-day audience.
When you think of Shelley’s Frankenstein, a ground-breaking science fiction book that redefined the parameters of the genre, it is unlikely that the first character who springs to mind is Elizabeth, Victor Frankenstein’s adopted sister and eventual wife. She is commonly one of the more overlooked characters, alluded to on track 4 of the album when Elizabeth (Lily Elise) sings “I digress, I’m sorry/This is not about me.” Lily Elise really is the star of this album and fully deserves the titular song ‘Playing With Fire’, within which her impressive vocal range takes on a playful twist of a modernised Christine from The Phantom of the Opera mixed with the sensitivities of Eliza from Hamilton during ‘Burn’. Elise’s characterisation is simultaneously complex, raw, vulnerable and lovable, packed to the brim with emotional depth; she is undeniably an incredibly important talent to watch out for on the musical theatre scene.
Some of the stronger songs on the album include the duets between Elizabeth (Elise) and Victor (Rozzi). At the end of ‘Broken’, their satisfying and experimental harmonies create an interesting and demanding musical dynamic. This leads nicely into the following song ‘The Beginning’, another duet from the same characters, within which their beautiful blend of vocals creates a softer song with strong undertones of romance. Completely different in tone from the aforementioned duets is the song ‘Father’, which features characters Adam, Creature and Frankenstein. It truly is the climax of the album and serves listeners an angsty, rebellious quality.
Overall, JC Chasez and Jimmy Harry’s concept album for Playing With Fire breathes new life into a literary classic that maintains a strong preoccupation on the concept of death vs immortality. There are clearly stand-out hit songs that’ll be sure to go down in musical theatre history as performer’s go-to audition pieces, yet other songs feel more like placeholders and would require the other elements of theatre to really get them on their feet. All the singers involved are incredibly talented in their characterisations.
A fiery and experimental musical sensation, with signs of promising potential, that reimagines a hugely popular sci-fi hit.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Heidi Downing
For more info on Playing With Fire, please click on the link below: