Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warm, wishful and sophisticated, 17 Sep 2007
This is a remarkable new turning point for Stacey Kent.
For the past 10 years, she has been mainly singing numbers form the great American Songbooks. However, on this CD, she sings lesser known beautiful songs (such as 'Landslide'), 3 French songs ('Ces petits riens', 'Samba saravah' et 'La saison des Pluies' - my French friend told me that her French is very very very good) and 3 numbers from the songbook ('Hard hearted Hannah', 'Never let me go' and 'What a wonderful world') and even 4 originals (Jim/Ishiguro) for the first time in her career. She did sing Bacharach, Paul Simon and Carole Kind in her another wonderful album "The Boy Next Door", but this CD 'Breakfast on the Morning Tram' has a fresher approach.
When I first listened to the CD, I felt she sounded so airy and free. I am sure she enjoyed the challenge, but I guess the holy ghosts from the past haunted her when she was singing the old tracks - I am sure Ella (who I adore from the bottom of my heart!), Sara or Billie crossed her mind, and she needed to present her new interpretations of the classics. She, without a single failure, managed to give a fresh life to every single song she has sung so far. But by introducing newer songs, I guess she managed to set her free even more. Listen to `Landslide`, she sounds so natural and more of herself. I adore the way she sings this beautiful song without any pretension whatsoever.
Put this CD on when you notice the first sign of the autumn in the air. Put a gardi on and go to the garden, and listen to the CD in the sun. I am sure you will also agree that this CD is warm, wishful and sophisticated.
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5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bland, Empty, Forgettable., 11 Oct 2008
What an extremely disappointing album. I loved here previous albums. Her beautiful voice and her take on some wonderful standards. This albums is full of what I call single notes songs. They are tuneless and without melody. Stacey's voice and the excellent musicianship of her backing group lift it just a little but are wasted on these bland and empty songs. None of them are memorable and even the well known "Hard Hearted Hanna" and "What A Wonderful World" do little to turn this into a CD worth playing again. Please, please Stacey, come back to songs with soul, melody and a tune.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A beguiling and different album from Stacey Kent, 6 Jul 2008
Stacey Kent's highly polished albums of standards are extremely listenable if at times over-glossed tributes to the genius of the Great American Songbook. I have always had a few reservations about this particular musician, but on this new album I have to say I am completely won over. The unique feature of this project is, of course, the addition of four very evocative and melodic original songs by saxophonist/hubby Jim Tomlinson and lyrics by Kazuo Ishiguro. These songs are quite literally tailor-made for Kent's brand of reticent romanticism, and her singing on these numbers has a special personal quality. Sometimes her albums of standards have the feeling of a production line (though, admittedly, a very expert production line); these new songs prompt her to express something fresh. I particularly enjoyed "I Wish I Could Go Travelling Again".
The other cuts on the album are equally pleasurable, and again it's nice to see her tackling something a little off the beaten track: the delightful samba from "A Man and a Woman" is a real highpoint, and I am always pleased to hear a lovely reading of the beautiful Bergman/Mendes "So Many Stars". Stevie Nick's "Landslide" also makes a strong impression, for all it seems to venture into Norah Jones territory.
Overall, this CD is a treat from start to finish, a highly musical and intelligent collection of excellent songs. At Amazon's price of under a fiver, you can't really say no.
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