CD Details
Synopsis
Amazon.comJulie Andrews's early film successes (The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins) were a mixed blessing. They turned her into a screen star of the greatest magnitude but they also landed her with the image of the bright, nicely spoken nanny with a song for every occasion. In these estuary-voweled times, her crystalline diction might be less fashionable than ever. But years of lampooning have tended to obscure the fact that she is also one of the greatest musical stars of the 20th century, a highly skilled interpreter of lyrics and a fine actress. In 1994, she returned to the recording studio for this polished selection of Richard Rodgers standards, including "The Sound of Music" and "Edelweiss," as well as a sweeping medley of waltzes (written with Oscar Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim), and some beautiful ballads ("My Funny Valentine" and "If I Loved You"). Inevitably, the voice is darker in places, an unfortunate reminder of future problems that would lead to a musically disastrous throat operation. But the control and phrasing are as sharp as ever, maturity has brought new texture to her reading of the material, and the whole production drips with class. --Piers Ford
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CD Reviews
THE LEGENDARY VOICE: JULIE ANDREWS Rick Sanchez | San Antonio, TX United States | 09/09/2002 (5 out of 5 stars) "If there were an ideal voice that I think anybody would die to have it would have to be Julie Andrews' voice. Her voice exemplifies the perfect technique that every vocalist strives for. Diction, Vowel choice, Consonance, Word Painting/Coloring, Phrasing, Dynamics, Wide Range, Flexibility, and HEART! This is one of the greatest recordings of Andrews. Her crystal clear voice combined with great orchestral accompaniment is absolutely lovely. It would be hard to pick my favorites out of this album, because each song is so meaningful that you don't want to leave it out. So I'll pick a few. Obviously the Opening is definitely a favorite, it has always been since I saw the movie when I was so young I can't remember how long ago. The Sound of Music is the SOUND of great MUSIC. Julie's voice is probably perfect for any ballad, but I would have never imagined how much I would adore her belting voice. Her belt is nothing less of her classical voice, still keeps the same focus and HEART if not more. Great examples for this are I WISH I WERE IN LOVE AGAIN, THIS CAN'T BE LOVE, BEWITCHED, and COCKEYED OPTIMIST. It is simply beautiful and definitely BROADWAY.This CD is filled with many treasures. Julie Andrews with her voice, her performance stamina, and her delivery is a LEGEND."
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