‘Wicked’ recap: All things Oz
“Wicked: For Good” is finally here. Here’s where Part 1 of “Wicked” left off.
Something “Wicked” this way comes not only at the movie theater, but in the music world as well.
“Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack” drops 11 songs nestled in the second volume of the film, with a pair of them new creations from Stephen Schwartz, the maestro behind the Broadway musical.
Stars Ariana Grande (Glinda), Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), Sexiest Man Alive Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Ethan Slater (Boq), Marissa Bode (Nessarose) and Jeff Goldblum (The Wizard of Oz) all receive their spotlight moment with vocals both powerhouse and pensive and an orchestral backdrop anchored in drama.
There are no unlistenable songs on the soundtrack, which is not a surprise given the success of the Broadway pedigree that precedes it. But something has to be at the bottom of the list, so here we go.
‘Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack’ songs, ranked
11. ‘Thank Goodness/ I Couldn’t Be Happier’
Grande, Yeoh and the cast bop through a swoopy and smiling swell of strings as Glinda introduces Fiyero as her betrothed – and then everyone starts trash talking Elphaba. But Glinda is so besotted with Fiyero and his sweetness that she can sing with a straight face, “Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.” Anyone seen Mickey Mouse? Sounds like a new Disney World ad is ready to roll.
10. ‘March of the Witch Hunters’
The cast of the film, led by Slater’s Boq, spills their vitriol toward Elphaba, chanting to kill her because “wickedness must be punished.” The music echoes “No Good Deed” as the newly turned-to-tin Boq spits his angry words about what Elphaba did to him (though she was really trying to save his life) as well as a (soon to be cowardly) lion cub.
9. ‘The Wicked Witch of the East’
It’s a triumvirate of a song, with Nessarose expressing how she pines for the feeling of when Boq first danced with her. Elphaba chimes in, but the spotlight stares down Boq as he shatters Nessa’s hope when he informs her that he’s departing to tell Glinda of his love for her (“I lost my heart to Glinda the moment I first saw her”). Suffice to say, Nessa doesn’t appreciate this confession.
8. ‘As Long As You’re Mine’
Erivo and Bailey make worthy duet partners in this starry-eyed ballad. Hints of foreshadowing ride in with the minor chords, but not before Fiyero responds to Elphaba with his own tale of being under her spell.
7. ‘The Girl in the Bubble’
One of two new songs written for the film, the pillow of waltzing strings sweep luxuriously as Grande’s voice takes on the wide-eyed wonder she frequently projects on red carpets and in morning show interviews. It’s a sweet, if empty, sensation hearing Glinda realize she’s, “Full of magic and glory and love … blissfully floating above.” The literal high point of the song comes when Grande’s voice reaches its stratospheric potential.
6. ‘Every Day More Wicked’
Crashing orchestration ushers in the soundtrack’s first track, the tempo increasing with urgency before the cast, including Yeoh, offers a choral caution about what is to unfold. Glinda and Elphaba pop in with their respective vantage points as Elphaba tries to highlight how the Wizard is a fraud. The symphonic overture turns whimsical to introduce Glinda, who, as a giddy chorus reminds her, is “the goodliest.” Grande glides in with her honeyed tone before the song returns to its ominous vocalizing.
5. ‘No Place Like Home’
Well, if you’re going to crib a “Wizard of Oz” line, it might as well be one of the most famous ones in movie history. Of the two new songs on the soundtrack, Erivo benefits with the stronger track. She is plaintive and blunt as the song unfolds, wondering, “Why do I love this place, that’s never loved me?” But while the sentiment that “Oz is more than just a place. It’s a promise, an idea” is hunky dory, the song wallows in mediocrity, with prose being shoehorned into something lyrical. Piano and a pulse kick in on the second verse when “Home” veers into a self-encouragement anthem, which of course, Erivo carries gamely to the end.
4. ‘I’m Not That Girl (Reprise)’
A holdover from “Wicked: The Soundtrack” in the first film, the reprise of the thoughtful ballad returns Grande to tearful whispering. Her clarion voice is at its most lovely for a few seconds when she sings sans musical accompaniment. But the orchestrations are equally dreamy, particularly the gently plucked acoustic guitar and French horns that coat the song’s coda.
3. ‘Wonderful’
Goldblum imbues his Wizard with the kind of oily charm that preys on the gullible and weak-minded (“Show them what’s the score, they’ll believe it even more”), pinpointing how easy it is to swindle people when they are being told what they want to hear. The song also allows Goldblum – a serious jazz musician – to high-step through a tune so jaunty, you can almost picture Bob Fosse hands waving in the background. Grande and Erivo reprise part of “Defying Gravity” within the song, but it’s the Wizard’s summarization that sticks: “The truth is not a thing of fact or reason/The fact is just what everyone agrees on.”
2. ‘No Good Deed’
The thundering drums that intro the song signify Elphaba’s wrath as Erivo gives voice to a cauldron of rage and confusion, her voice turning ragged in desperation. “No good deed goes unpunished, that’s my creed,” she determines. But instead of being mad at herself, Elphaba sinks into her complex emotions as she asks rhetorically, “Was I really seeking good, or just seeking attention? Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice cold eye?” It’s a thoughtful lyrical injection and sets Erivo up for a stunning final note.
1. ‘For Good’
There are two defining songs in “Wicked” world: “Defying Gravity,” the thrilling centerpiece that closes Act 1 of the stage show as well as the first volume of the film, steamrolling insecurities with its bold message of empowerment. And “For Good,” the tenderhearted Elphaba and Glinda duet that defines their friendship. The melodious ballad bullseyes how we learn from those in our orbit, sometimes inadvertently. How a path taken (or not) can redefine your life. How some relationships get into your bloodstream, because just when you thought you’ve learned everything in life, along comes that person who alters your course. For better. For worse. For good.
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