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 | Title : Romance on Film/Romance on Broadway
Author : Michael Feinstein
Release Date : 20001010
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $24.98
Amazon.com Price : $21.92
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Editorial Reviews :
Cabaret singer turned crooner Michael Feinstein continues to pay tribute to the American popular standard in his two-disc set Romance on Film, Romance on Broadway. The first disc features Feinstein in front of a live audience singing mostly well-worn ballads from classic films (exception: you may not immediately associate Michel LeGrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman's 'How Do You Keep the Music Playing?' with the 1982 Burt Reynolds-Goldie Hawn vehicle Best Friends). The second disc is a studio recording filled with ballads and the occasional swinger ('Taking a Chance on Love') from Broadway shows. Accompanied by different combinations of horns and rhythm, Feinstein often stretches a song out to six or seven minutes, thus allowing for relaxed tempos, granting solo opportunities to his first-rate instrumentalists (including pianists Alan Broadbent and Marian McPartland), and indulging his fondness for what he calls the 'sighing moment'--when he puzzles the audience with an unknown verse to a song, and then gives them the familiar, satisfying, well-loved chorus. Feinstein might rely a bit too much on his falsetto and there isn't the same sense of wit and adventure of his cabaret years, but this is a classy, enjoyable album for late-night listening. --David Horiuchi
Buyer Reviews :
Years ago I tended bar in an establishment that today is commonly referred to as a 'Cigar Bar.' It was an enjoyable past-time and not only did I learn much about the art of 'mixology' but part of that education included dealing with the many nuances that make up human nature and how to deal with the broad array of client's that walked through our door. One type of customer was the gentleman who, down on his luck, ( and after having one or two drinks too many! ) insisted on telling you his cares and woes ( especially dealing with romance and his views on the opposite sex! ) in great detail and hopeing for a little empathy and understanding. And while I understood the need for a little human commiseration ( don't we all! ), and as a bartender that was the riguer, there was a small part of me that wished to inform the heart-broken drinker that perhaps it was time to 'throw caution to the wind', so to speak, and as the song goes 'take a chance on love' once again. Empathy being one thing but.... I can tolerate only so much brooding! Now, I relate this story to you simply because after listening to Michael Feinstein's performance on ' Romance on Film/Romance on Broadway ' I am reminded of that disgruntled gentleman at the bar, drink in hand, insistant on sharing his tales of 'love and romance' and his less than sterling thoughts on these rather abstract subjects.
I will confess upfront that I truly did wish to enjoy this two disc set more than I, in reality, actually do. I've long been a huge fan of Mr. Feinstein and own several discs of his as well but, for the most part, almost everything included here sounds as if it's all been done many, many times before. And, sadly, it has. Michael sings in his usual warm and earnest tones and there's no small amount of love/affection that he feels for these songs ( and each individual composer! ) but for my taste it all seems rather lagubrious at times. Starting off disc one with one of my favorite's ' The More I See You ' Michael slows down this selection to a lovely ballad and is able to put a wonderfully exotic spin on a song that I thought I knew so well, awarding the song a certain 'sexy' feel that comes across deliciously well. But, unfortunately, things do tend to get a bit 'sticky' after that. Obvious parallels will be made when tackling standards such as ' All The Way ', ' The Second Time Around ' and ' The Way You Look Tonight ' and although Michael handles these selections with his usual ease and competency he seems add little else. At this point it simply begs to be asked that if a singer, while no doubt having his heart in the right place, can not tackle an age old classic from a fresh perspective, than where is the motivation? It's wonderful that these songs are still being played today but I simply request that the singer dig a little deeper emotionally and bring something new to the table. The tunes to be found here are generally very well performed and impeccably played but I kept getting this sinking feeling that Michael is simply trying far too hard to convey some sort of true/real emotion that, for the most part, seems less than genuine. I'm not suggesting that he's being even slightly disingenous....simply that he appears to be 'acting out' the emotion that he thinks he should be feeling in each song. While listening to Billie Holiday's ' Lady In Satin ' one can hear a singer who, while no longer capable of singing as beautifully and elegantly as in years past, is nevertheless able to transcend that shortcoming simply by awarding each track with an almost gut-wrenching honesty and heartbreaking emotion that she so obviously feels in each selection. And, speaking only for me, that honest, intuitive feeling that exists is much more important that just being able to competantly relay a song's lyric's. Sentimentality in itself is fine but with the countless renditions of these songs available to the music lover I simply require the performer to perhaps 'put themselves out there' a little m back
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