“Cell-Block Tango” by Cast of ‘Chicago’ from Soundtrack of ‘Chicago’

I’m in a rather frivolous mood, so I thought I’d review something humorous. So this one’s for you girls (and the men in your life will probably soon learn to run for the hills whenever you start humming this-and you will)!

‘Cell Block Tango’ is a classic from the musical Chicago, and whilst it’s probably not as well known as ‘All That Jazz’, it’s clever, and far more entertaining.

The song tells the stories of the six ‘merry murderesses’, each performing a verse explaining why they did what they did (and why their victims deserved it). Their reasons range from the reasonably understandable, such as cheating and deception, to the bizarre (teachers take note-start humming this song in class and no-one will ever dare chew gum in front of you again). But each verse, even the more logical ones, have humorous details that will really take you by surprise when you first hear them. It’s funny, defiant and unrepentant.

The basic motif of this song, and its sub-title, is ‘He had it coming’. This is repeated, with variations, in every chorus that intersperses the six vignettes. As the title of the song suggests, the backing is basically traditional tango music, whilst the narrators provide the vocal backings for each other, sometimes in a semi ‘round’ style that is very effective. The tune is terribly catchy.

The main vocals are typical of the genre and of the distinguished cast, good, but secondary to the lyrics. The vocals do, however, suit each of the vignettes perfectly, with each narrator putting plenty of feeling into her story—you can believe her emotion, if not the circumstances! One verse is in a foreign language (Hungarian I believe). Personally I can’t comment on its faithfulness, although I’ve read reviews criticising it as very fake. Unless you know the language, though, I doubt it would spoil it at all for you, although you will have to look up the lyrics if you want to know the details of the verse.

This is a girl’s song that’s bound to come back to you at relevant moments. If you like songs from musicals, I’m sure you’ll like this. If this isn’t usually your sort of thing, try it anyway. And if you’re after a real laugh, look it up on YouTube and watch the cartoon montages that have been put with it. If you don’t enjoy those, I can’t help you!

By Shadow Wolf

Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 9/10