samwescott 's review for:

Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell

5.0

emotional informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

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God, this was so cool. I discovered Anais Mitchell back in like 2013 or so and Hadestown, which I thought was just a concept album, was an instant favorite that I played over and over. I was so excited when I realized that it actually had a whole play attached. When I finally listened to the live Off-Broadway album, it took me awhile to get used to the new songs and performances and I was surprised by some of the lyric changes. I honestly still haven't seen the musical performed (not comfortable at indoor events because of Covid) and I haven't listened to the final Broadway album because the idea of hearing all my favorite songs changed again felt overwhelming. 

So this book was essentially made exactly for me. It was so cool to hear Anais herself discuss the timeline of writing the songs and adjusting them over and over again. Hearing her very considered reasoning was cool and I was absolutely fascinated by the struggle between musicianship and poetry and dramaturgy. It was so deeply interesting. 

And I cannot recommend the audiobook highly enough. Anais makes a great narrator, especially when she slips in and out of humming and softly singing pieces of music and then actual clips from the live album are also included. It was a beautifully crafted experience, listening to the audiobook. 

Honestly, so good. Definitely the best book about writing I've ever read.