The debut solo recording from cabaret artist Lee Lessack has received rave reviews worldwide. Featuring standards by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and contemporary gems by Allan Rich, Ann Hampton C... more »allaway & Jimmy Webb.« less
The debut solo recording from cabaret artist Lee Lessack has received rave reviews worldwide. Featuring standards by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and contemporary gems by Allan Rich, Ann Hampton Callaway & Jimmy Webb.
"This first album of Lee's is simply stunning. His command of his own voice and control of the emotive material far surpasses anything I have previously heard. If God has a voice, it MUST sound very like this. His treatment of Jonathan Wesley Oliver Junior is poignant and understated. There are no bad tracks on this album, each is rich in quality and skill. It sounds like a carefully chosen fifth or sixth album....if Lee ever has to do a greatest hits album, he will have to include them all. Buy it!"
Rich, lush voice sings into your heart
Diane Graham | 01/13/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lee Lessack wraps his warm, rich voice around your heart as he sings poignant lyrics of unusual songs. His delivery is sincere and honest. A magnificent voice. I have had his cd for six months and still play it as much as I did when I first got it. You will return to it over and over, whenever you really want to feel the feelings that he feels."
The perfect companion in the car or at home
Diane Graham | 01/01/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It is such a pleasure to listen to this recording. Not only is it refreshingly different from the commercialized fare that is so prevalent, but it is a wonderful showcase for Lessack's lovely voice and for an astonishing variety of songs, from the old spiritual, "The Water is Wide" to the standard "Out of this World" to many songs not familiar to most listeners."
Very Highly Recommended
David L. McDaniel | Champaign, IL United States | 02/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The cabaret-style easy listening album is not an easy concept to pull off successfully without audience interaction - just ask Michael Feinstein - but Lee Lessack succeeds by matching his impeccable tenor with first-class songwriting. Some songs are familiar, by the likes of Rogers and Hammerstein, and Mercer and Arlen; others are from newer discoveries, like David Friedman and Ann Hampton Callaway (a respected performer in her own right). But even the finest lyrics can fall flat if not delivered with heart and soul, and Lessack pours all he has into this collection. His style is simple; you won't hear many vocal flourishes or other "show-off" stuff here. Lessack shows respect for the lyrics and interprets them instead of overpowering them. The regretful "In A Perfect World" makes an indelible impression (God knows we've all felt this way a few times), as does the love-at-first-sight "Ten Minutes Ago" (pulled from the television musical version of "Cinderella").But the tear-jerking highlights on this album fall at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, and Lessack interprets them with subtle and honest vocal nuance. The wrenchingly romantic "What I Was Dreaming Of" is little more than a small happy-ending fable, but Lessack brings it to sparkling life. "Jonathan Wesley Oliver, Jr." delivers a tale of a life lost to AIDS with an emotional wallop that will remain with the listener long after the last note fades. This album moved me to tears not once, but twice. I can't recommend it more highly."
The best cabaret recording I have ever heard!
David L. McDaniel | 11/01/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I own a decent amount of cabaret cd's, but this is the best I have ever heard. Mr. Lessack's voice is beautiful, and fully suited for this type of music. I especially enjoyed his rendition of Tom Andersen's song "Johnathan Wesley Oliver Jr." This cd is a "must have" for any fan of cabaret."