LULLABIES OF BROADWAY

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Broadway, almost by definition, is an elitist place. It's located in a single area in a single city; the tickets are pricey, and the shows often appeal to glitzy, tuxedo-wearing values from a seemingly bygone era. But two of Broadway's biggest recent hits, the rock opera Rent and the tap-dance epic Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, in some respects stand in opposition to all that. Rent is about fighting landlords and hiv; Noise/Funk is about struggling with the Man, racist cab drivers and whitewashed history. Still, despite the populist appeal of these shows, you can see them in only one place, in one city; and--with a few exceptions--a good pair of seats is going to cost you around $140. The characters portrayed in these shows couldn't afford to see them. But then again, the same is true of Les Miserables and Cats.

In any case, the release of the Broadway-cast albums of Rent (out next week) and Noise/Funk (in stores now) makes the music and messages contained in these two shows available even to people without gold cards and/or a 212 area code. Do they work as albums in their own right? Noise/Funk at first would seem unrecordable--the show, which stars tap-dancing whiz Savion Glover, is about dance, about movement, about flashing, stomping, whirling feet. A recording of a dance seems as useful as a photograph of a symphony. But tap dancing is percussive, rhythmic, noisy. To hear Glover's feet banging away is to feel his passion, his intent; visuals would be nice but aren't necessary. Noise/Funk is a historical work, tracing the black experience from slave times to the present through tap dancing, and much is expressed in the songs that Glover dances to. Gospel/Hip-Hop Rant is one of the best tracks here, deftly juxtaposing the pleading, lamenting sounds of gospel with the rougher, younger sounds of rap.

Rent is also a problematic show to record. Some of its songs meander with the plot, although in live performances the cast is able to make most of them work by means of raw energy, youthful good looks and old-fashioned showmanship. There are plenty that hold up well on record, however, such as One Song Glory, a brave, bold blast that compares with some of the best tunes on Jesus Christ Superstar, the pioneering 1971 rock opera. However, neither Rent nor Noise/Funk is as bold musically as JCS was in its day. Noise/Funk sounds a little stuffy compared with current hip-hop releases like A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life, while Rent lacks the raw sonic invention of, say, the Smashing Pumpkins or Beck.

Rent does end on a high note: R.-and-B. superstar Stevie Wonder, who doesn't appear in the stage version, delivers an uplifting version of Seasons of Love, one of the show's signature pieces. Arif Mardin, who produced the album, says Melissa Etheridge and k.d. lang were also approached to guest-star on the CD, but Wonder had the only schedule that allowed it. He's all that's needed anyway. His rendition of Seasons of Love is soulful, disarming--and something you haven't already heard even if you saw the show on Broadway.