The Performance is just Brilliant!!
G. Carter | Temple Hills, maryland United States | 12/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Performance, Shirley's first cd of new material in twenty years is brilliant and what a gift for her fans who waited for this! This cd contains great songs and the musicianship is outstanding! The sound of this cd is excellent great mastering, Shirley's incredible voice is out front, surprising her vocals are very restraint, (I guess there was no need for Shirley to prove she's a powerhouse) my favorites are 'Almost There', 'This Time', 'Our Time Is Now', 'No Good About Goodbye', 'The Girl From Tiger Bay', and the fantastic 'The Performance Of My Life', I think all Bassey fans will not be disappointed with this cd!!"
Love her or loathe her !
pp777 | New York, NY | 01/24/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is Shirley Bassey's first full-scale studio album in two decades.
It's a contemporary collection, but instead of resorting to Mark Ronson (Version) or other remixers du-jour, she mines the talents of a collection of disparate, yet established songwriters.
It's produced by David Arnold, reigning music supremo of the James Bond franchise, and is crammed with new songs by a slightly odd assortment of writers including KT Tunstall (Drastic Fantastic), Richard Hawley, David McAlmont (of McAlmont and Butler), Rufus Wainwright(Release the Stars), Tom Baxter and more. There's even a comeback by John Barry and Don Black, who wrote "Diamonds Are Forever" for Bassey in 1971 and contribute the newly penned "Our Time Is Now".
It sounds exactly as you'd expect it to sound. She doesn't have to try anything new. She is what she is and if even if she did attempt a different direction with this album it probably wouldn't be remotely credible.
At 72, Britain's most successful female artist sounds as commanding as ever, but her songwriters threaten to steal her thunder.
She still packs plenty of vocal wallop, as she demonstrates on the opener, Tom Baxter's "Almost There". You can see right away where he is going with the line "I'm not quite so young, I'm not quite so foolish in my defence", but Bassey makes subtle work of its rather mournful tone before soaring on the big orchestral finish.
The turned-to-11 string arrangements could fuel space travel, so there is little room for restraint.
However, the image of Bassey as feather boa'd drama queen with orchestra has its limitations.
Things are saved by Manic Street Preachers' wistfully autobiographical "The Girl From Tiger Bay", which echoes Bassey's turn on Propellerheads' "History Repeating", while Pet Shop Boys (Yes) continue their healthy track record of writing for female icons, providing the quintessential grandstanding finish with "The Performance Of My Life".
Another highlight is the flamenco-esque "Apartment", where Bassey finds the skip of a woman half her age ( ("I'm running away from Cinderella, don't want to go to Rapunzel's hairdresser") : the veteran diva's wittiest lines come from the pen of Rufus Wainwright, who trades fairy tales for real estate.
KT Tunstall's "Nice Men" plays to Bassey's own sense of self-mockery. Another highlight is the beautifully controlled rendering of the tremulous, melancholic "After The Rain", written by Richard Hawley. Framed by piano, cello and the sparest cymbal scrape, Bassey sings "This girl just can't take it any more" from a part of herself we simply haven't heard before.
In all, there are no surprises from the album. It sounds exactly as you'd expect a Shirley Bassey album to sound. Respect where it's due, though - after fifty years in the music industry she still has a voice that could melt ice.
But this time it is to the writers' credit that their Bassey is a far more fascinating, multilayered creation than the vampish, diamond-encrusted persona of folk memory and that these performances and the album "are more about soul-baring integrity than retro camp". - Fiona Shepherd
Get the Party Started
Nyman & McAlmont: The Glare
"
Indeed
grooverider | Toluca Lake LA | 02/07/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For a woman who has nothing to prove to anyone, Dame Shirley Bassey proves that at 72 years of age she has made the album of her life. She probably could not have recorded this album earlier in her career. Listen to the sheer force coming out of your speakers, the gale force that forces you to listen to "This Time". I was almost literally blown away by the power and majesty of her unique gift, the gift that transcends what comes over you when you realize that she is giving us something quite magical. Thank you Gary Barlow (Take That) for writing such a powerful song for Dame Bassey.
Produced by David Arnold ("James Bond" film composer) and accompanied by a 40+ piece orchestra, the songwriters include KT Tunstall, John Barry, Don Black, The Pet Shop Boys and Rufus Wainwright.
Loved the flamenco guitars on Wainwright's "Apartment" and how on "Almost There", Dame Bassey's vocals go from oh so soft to an emotional crescendo at the end. The tailor made "Girl From Tiger Bay" (which she performed on "The Graham Norton" show), written by the Manic Street Preachers and David Arnold is another highlight.
My favorite Shirley Bassey album. If Susan Boyle can have a hit album, my wish would be that this album could reach such a large audience, too. The Performance of My Life, indeed!"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
