What people search:
 | Title : Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein
Author : Rodgers, Richard
Release Date : 20020312
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $11.99
(33
%)
VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE |
Editorial Reviews :
Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein ... and if they could hear this collection, they would love her right back. The curly-haired, honey-voiced Tony-winning star has been more closely associated throughout her career with Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman, but she's perfectly suited to the grand waltzes and introspective moments of the R&H canon. 'If I Loved You,' 'It Might As Well Be Spring,' and 'Something Wonderful' would probably make anyone's wish list for this combination of star and songs (a list that would also last much longer than 46 minutes). Other welcome selections include 'Some Enchanted Evening,' 'Out of My Dreams,' the little-known 'I Haven't Got a Worry in the World' (from the play Happy Birthday), and the inside joke of 'There Is Nothing Like a Dame,' all supported by the baton and orchestrations of Sondheim favorite Jonathan Tunick. This is a warm valentine to the beloved songwriting team.
Buyer Reviews :
Mostly this album is dead-on right in its interpretation. This is not surprising from two such Broadway veterans as Bernadette Peters and Jonathan Tunik. They understand that there is very little you have to do to a Rodgers and Hammerstein song but trust it. R&H have already done all the work with their wonderful,sensitive and revealing music and lyrics. All the singer has to do follow their lead and she can't go wrong.
Peters approaches the songs with simplicity and honesty. She even proves herself to have quite a lovely legitimate voice in her stunning rendition of 'If I Loved You.' Her 'Mr. Snow' is so perfect it makes the listener wish she had had the opportunity to play Carrie Pipperidge at some point in her career.
The only time Peters misteps is where she doesn't trust the material. I was excited to see that she had chosen 'The Gentleman is a Dope', thinking she would be a natural to sing this song. Unfortunately she plays up the anger instead of the hurt. Rodgers has already written the anger into the music for her. Peters also puts her campy, vampy spin on 'There is Nothing Like a Dame' which is a good attempt and probably works much better in front of a live audience than on a studio recording. It doesn't quite have the desired affect here which
is a testament to how integral R&H songs are to their plot. It is very difficult to take them out of context and give them an imposed meaning.
The CD ends with 'Something Good' as a 'birthday kiss' to Richard Rodgers who wrote both the music and lyrics for this song. This is unfortunate because it is one of his more mediocre songs written to replace the even worse 'Ordinary Couple' in the film version of SOUND OF MUSIC. The CD, while very enjoyable, is a bit ballad heavy. I wish Peters had chosen a few more playful, up numbers. I particularly would have loved to hear her sing 'It's Me' from ME AND JULIET, a song about an actress. Just imagine her singing these lyrics: 'who is that delectable dame/ cool as cream and hotter than flame/ Who, who could it be?/ It's me, it's me it's me!' Ah, well...maybe she'll do it on the sequel album 'Bernadette Peters STILL loves Rodgers and Hammerstein'. ;-)
(by Michael Bartoli)
back
What people search:
|
|
