The End of the Yellow Brick Road: How the Wiz soundtrack compares to the Original Wizard of Oz

The End of the Yellow Brick Road: How the Wiz soundtrack compares to the Original Wizard of Oz

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGxBx8RzzrM[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THbY7EL8k5w[/embedyt]

The Wiz soundtrack marks the end of the yellow brick road and what the expected path for classical theater music sounded like. In addition to the overall plot of the movie incorporating the pain, struggles, and realities of Blacks, the musical compositions and struggles reflect African American musical and cultural values. African Americans continue to incorporate their performance style and traditions into music. Compared to the original Wizard of Oz, whose compositions were classical and contemporary, The wiz incorporated pIvotal genres of music that are expressive to the Black culture. These genres included: Disco, R&B, Pop, and Soul. The songs on the Wiz embodied the African Americans performance style of dancing and using motions to express oneself. Blacks use body language to enjoy themselves and have a good time in addition to the music. The Original soundtrack of the Wizard of Oz did not have songs that had a pitch or tone that promoted rhythmic movement. In addition, the wiz incorporated both modern and past genres speaking to Blacks ability to acknowledge and build off of genres to create new ones, and how intertwined our genres can be. The lyrics of the soundtrack especially spoke to the feeling nd sentiments of Black culture and enjoying ourselves through the struggle. The Wiz songs are more upbeat and are different across the soundtrack while the Wizard of Oz songs are relatively the same and have the same sentimental feeling. The soundtrack of the Wiz embodied the culture of Black music at the time, especially since the records were produced by Motown. Key songs that show the difference between the two soundtracks and culture are Ease on down the Road and the Yellow Brick Road. The Wiz changing The Yellow Brick Road to Ease on Down the road alluded to the language and culture of Blacks. The song emphasized that although there are struggles and barriers, Blacks are resilient and always triumph in hard situations. It touched on the fact that the culture of Blacks is to carry everyone’s burden and to help each other along the way. It shows the love and care amongst Blacks. The original Soundtrack entitled follow the Yellow Brick Road alluded to how simple the path is for whites as they simply had to follow the path laid out to them. The success of the Wiz soundtrack speaks volume to the creativity of Black music and how pivotal blacks impact on musical theater is.

What's your password?

Login to your account

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.