TABOO (Original Broadway Cast)

Boy George's musical-theater debut has been unfairly maligned. Set in the glamorously decadent London nightlife of the early 1980s, the show is unquestionably hampered by a weak book. But Boy George's original score (which is credited to his actual birth name of George O'Dowd) boasts several strong pop songs and generously spread-out tour-de-force numbers among a handful of performers. The plot follows the rise to fame of Boy George (impeccably channeled by Euan Morton) and his interaction with lovers and hangers-on, friends and foes. One of the most striking characters is Australian-born performance artist Leigh Bowery, confusingly played by Boy George and Matt Lucas, who took turns during the London run and who both appear on this cast album (George sings 'Everything Taboo,' for instance, but Lucas gets the striking, Cabaret-like 'Ich Bin Kunst'). Confused yet? Well, that's Taboo for you. But never mind the plot. There's plenty of cool, theatrical tunes on this CD, which is more than you can say about most contemporary shows.

1. Freak / Ode to Attention Seekers
2. Stranger in This World
3. Safe in the City
4. Dress to Kill
5. Genocide Peroxide
6. I'll Have You All
7. Sexual Confusion
8. Pretty Lies
9. Guttersnipe
10. Love Is A Question Mark
11. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
12. Church of the Poison Mind / Karma Chameleon
13. Everything Taboo
14. Talk Amongst Yourselves
15. The Fame Game
16. I See Through You
17. Ich Bin Kunst
18. Petrified
19. Out Of Fashion
20. Il Adore
21. Come on in From the Outside