Search - Sheena Easton :: No Strings

Sheena shines like never before

Brian R. Sakowicz | 01/10/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Throughout her career, Easton has somehow managed to explore a wide spectrum of musical genres without ever once earning the earnest respect of critics. This collection of standards, while by no means perfect, would easily have changed that if anyone had heard it. On the eleven tracks, from the ubiquitous "Someone To Watch Over Me" (has anyone not recorded this song?) to the more swinging and refreshingly pessimistic "Never Will I Marry," Easton displays a tremendous control over her voice that is rarely seen in pop artists today (Mariah and Celine don't know the meaning of subtlty). Easton has the confidence and poise to let the material shine, and it only serves to make her sound like a superstar. If she decides to go further down this path in the future, there is no doubt she will earn the praise that so easily comes to less deserving voices. "No Strings" is an highly engaging record with which many will rediscover this talent."

Easton's "No Strings" Provides a Gorgeous Sound

Arthur Blenheim | Boston | 12/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THIS IS THE ALBUM that proves Sheena Easton deserves a spot among jazz music vocalists. But, one does not need to appreciate jazz to understand it. This is bona-fide, opera-quality shimmering, but it is veiled in discreet, romantic attitude and by her contemporary pop reputation. I had liked a couple of her 80's tunes, but I had no idea she was capable of sounding this adult-like. She completely blows out of the way other pop artists who try converting over to classic-jazz improvisational singing without even the remotest consideration for them. Considering her pop career won't be necessary, unless one looks for support.



She is a true bird of song here, and pulls off even some of the harder tricks of female singers who have sung embedded in the acoustic jazz medium for all of their careers, subtly accentuating the nuances of classic jazz very well. I wish everyone who reads this article of mine would pay the money and listen to this CD because the world would be a sincerer place. She has a gorgeous voice which I had not really noticed until I heard my dad playing the CD. Listening to this, I might think of Julie London, and I like Julie's old recordings. But, new recording technologies tend to emphasize voice flaws much more than old recordings that might cover problems. Easton might actually have a better voice than Julie. Yet, the surprising thing is HOW ACCESSIBLE this disc is--meaning even AVERAGE EARS, young and old, can immediately grasp, appreciate, and comment at how WELL she sings. I listen to all forms of music including jazz like Gershwin and Ellington; I have an opera- and symphony-experienced youth. Check out track five. She's got THE NOTES.



She hits the romantic, husky lows and the grand highs perfectly. Her trills are simply to die for, or to cry for, and she nails them all! Yet she does this with such class and respect to jazz as to beg a highness to the art. She never, ever once seems insincere. She does the tunes in character like the fingers on an acclaimed concert pianist--going between the subtle, low and romantic to the stressing magnitudes in exactly the right moments of change. How strong her artistry is, and what a great sound. To like the CD, one does not need to like jazz, but only to know what good singing sounds like.



The accusation that Easton sounds like a teen is utterly ridiculous! Now, people who appreciate Jazz have different tastes, just like anywhere else. It is possible in a vast knowledge of jazz music to dismiss other music arriving at the destination of such passionate embodiment when it does so directly with eloquence instead of bulk. Whether one believes Easton sounds like a teen would be a person's opinionated description of Easton's sound, but saying so does not mean she is bad. The person who wrote this sounds more influenced by his high personal convictions about what Jazz is supposed to be, according to HIS standard rather than based on her range of vocalization. Perhaps he should test-listen the CD again. This is not Sinatra in front of a large orchestra; it is a woman in front of a small one without strings--hence the name--and her loud-power rivals the brass instruments. Blame the mixing of the recording if you want, but Easton has got the pipes pop artists only dream of having. Heck, give me a teenager who can sing this music with such directness to passion, and I'll take it! Her vocals are a lot more developed and much deeper than their face value. Here, Easton has range enough to shatter a champagne glass.



The voice of Linda Rodstadt, whose personality I embrace dearly, is simply not as good as Easton's upon direct comparisons. Diana Krall is probably Jazz's largest-selling name today, but Krall uses illusion to cover her voice flaws and incapacities. I like Krall, but she's not a great jazz artist. Natalie Cole may be the daughter of Nat King Cole, but I include her in my convictions about pop artists who turn to jazz: Natalie picks GREAT songs to sing, but her vocal LACKS DISCRETION. The difference between Natalie and Easton is like the difference between a trombone and a French horn! Jazz may appreciate the former, but greatness comes from the latter. Easton gives you pearls."