[letsgotoofar]

Last but certainly not least, Adje notwithstanding, here comes the third EP. My final disc would reflect anything from the show not on Bat I or Bat II, in show order, for no particular reason other than that I can't figure out how a re-sorted tracklist would make much difference.

My choices for Disc 3 are:

1. Who Needs the Young - Meat Loaf ("also featured on the album Braver Than We Are, in stores now!")
2. Making Love Out of Nothing At All - Russell Watson
3. In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher is King - The Foo Fighters
4. I'm Not Allowed to Love - Marcus Lovett feat. Cynthia Erivo
5. What Part of My Body Hurts the Most - Colm Wilkinson
6. Dead Ringer for Love - The Darkness feat. Lady Gaga
7. It's All Coming Back to Me Now - Cyndi Lauper

My comments, in brief, on each choice:

• Meat Loaf - As I said elsewhere in the thread, using the Whistle example where Meat's track also appeared on another album, it's a good 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' trade, it could promote sales of Braver in addition to pumping up the musical, and Meat does need to be on there somewhere, but probably won't be up to doing anything genuinely new for a while, so this is a way to at least include him.
• Russell Watson - Really, one could get away with just about any Groban type. I picked Watson because he's familiar with Jim's material ("Is Nothing Sacred"), he's got enough rock and/or pop edge to prevent it from getting too schmaltzy like, say, Michael Ball would, and let's not forget that this started as a track by Air Supply; we don't need anyone particularly amazing to do it.
• The Foo Fighters - Somehow I think they've got a bonkers straight-ahead rock vibe that covers the deranged Metallica or Disturbed aspect to the song, and I think they're capable of Weill with the right guidance.
• Marcus Lovett feat. Cynthia Erivo - Erivo continues the trend of a black classical/theater voice on each disc (and she does have a smashing voice, if only she wouldn't keep publicly inserting her foot directly into her mouth), whereas Lovett... well, let me put it this way. I've always preferred the Batman demo version of this song, which was slightly longer (parts were cut for Bat) and a duet, with Lovett doing the male voice on many of said demos. Knowing that the celeb album doesn't always reflect the show version (again, I point you to Whistle), and that this could become a surprise hit outside the album as a duet, I think it's worth a shot.
• Colm Wilkinson - A new song is much more important than any previous hit and it needs the right care and attention. In the case of "Body," it needs someone who is theatrical (it is after all an album devoted to a theater piece), but with just enough rock edge to carry forward the real grit of the song. Colm Wilkinson, in my book, is one of the quintessential theatrical rockers. The vocal quality is rough, but just tender and rangy enough to give the performance of a lifetime. Could be a career-best vocal, frankly.
• The Darkness feat. Lady Gaga - "Dead Ringer" has always been rather an underrated song, in my opinion. Jim has only written three "battle of the sexes" type duets in his career -- "Paradise," "Dance in My Pants," and "Dead Ringer" -- and though he's written tons of duets, he's never touched that particular format again. Three was enough. I think three was enough because "Dead Ringer" was the culmination of the effort that went into the other two: the most condensed of all of them, bursting with energy from the get-go, so overblown it's bonkers, but short. All you really need is a great band and two over-the-top voices. Gaga was an obvious choice, but Justin Hawkins was an out-of-the-blue inspiration that hit me as an inspired pairing.
• Cyndi Lauper - She's got the fragility and smoothness of Celine, and the balls of Elaine. Frankly I'm surprised she never recorded it back in the day. I'll even be so bold as to say that I think this could be the definitive rendition with the right production and arrangement.

And that's all of 'em!