Search - Annie Ross :: Music Is Forever

Avoid

Roger Clemmons rognyro@hotmail.com | 02/10/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Annie Ross perform in London, sitting at the table next to Cleo Laine & family incidentally, and cringed when she did some of the songs that appear on this album. The problem here, where she proves she can still have success with the Short Cuts soundtrack, is not the decline in the quality of her voice but the choice of a lot of kitsch songs - ie the horrific title track - full of 'I knew all those famous jazz people way back then' stuff or tired versions of her cool songs from 40 yrs ago. I left my copy at home when I changed countries. She is still a great artist but the 50's records or the Short Cuts soundtrack are the ones to go for."

A Terrific Singer, Stylish and Touching

Roger Clemmons rognyro@hotmail.com | 12/22/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My introduction to Annie Ross's singing and stage presence was the Robert Altman film Short Cuts in which she played a jazz singer and was seen performing in a jazz club throughout the movie. I bought the soundtrack and loved Conversation on a Barstool and To Hell with Love and thought the way she sang each song was cool, inspiring, emotional, personal, and sexy. I loaned this album, Music is Forever, to my singing teacher who loved Annie Ross's work from the 50's and 60's and she didn't like it because on this album Annie Ross sings songs she made famous ages ago but her voice now isn' t the fancy instrument it once was. My singing teacher would rather listen to Cleo Laine. For me, Annie Ross's singing on this album is more in the Billie Holiday mode, exhibiting a good rhythmic sense and jazz phrasing and focusing on relating the meaning of the words and the story of the song from her perspective."