Quirky, Intelligent, and a Very Good Start
Ms. Mazeppa | Chicago, IL | 02/19/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When you look at Sutton Foster's career so far, you have to wonder if her Magic 8-Ball is broken or what. I can't recall a more talented singer/actor who has been in such a string of shows ranging from mediocre to really quite bad. It speaks to her talent that she's thus far managed to rise above her material, usually becoming the best thing about the show. Whatever she's in, she gets attention for her comic timing, her clean bright vocal quality, and the thread of quirkiness she seems to weave through every character she plays. One really couldn't guess if eccentricity is something Ms. Foster brings to each role or if every producer on Broadway simply yells, "Get me Sutton Foster!" whenever they have to cast the part of a freak who sings like an angel. I've come to think of her as Kelli O'hara's wacky cousin--the one who spends a lot of time in the attic and the family only speaks of in whispers.
So this is what happens when the eccentric cousin gets her own album. It's weird. But fun. But weird. And yeah, she sings like an angel.
I listened to Sutton Foster's solo debut recording four times this morning, trying to pin down a certain familiarity in her sound. True, there are moments when I could swear I'm listening to a CD by any given interchangeable star of the Lawrence Welk show (i.e., technically efficient and as vanilla as the day is long). But before boredom can set in, her phrasing and the thoughtful arrangements belie the simplicity on the surface of her voice. Vanilla yes, but there's something special underneath it. That's when it hit me: She's got the Doris Day gene. Sutton Foster has this virginal voice that she can shift startlingly into maturity and apply with withering irony. Which is why she can get away with a recording that opens with Duke Ellington, closes with Rogers and Hammerstein, and accompanies both with banjos. See? Weird. But fun.
If you love Doris Day, you'll love Sutton Foster. And I, for one, love Doris Day.
But if you're looking for a show-tune album, this ain't it. True, the final track is "Oklahoma". Yes. "Oklahoma". From the show. (See weird/fun/weird references above.) She pares it down and belts it six ways to Sunday. But it's clearly a joke, and a funny one at that. Now speaking as a show-tune geek who's spent the better part of her adult life griping that these theater singers aren't recording enough theater music, I can't help but sense that Ms. Foster has thwacked me upside the head with the message, "You want a show-tune, here's ya a show-tune!" Point taken. The fact is, there are several theater songs here, but the arrangements and delivery are more intimate than broadly theatrical. Which is fine. Years of therapy have freed me from the need to hear endless belting.
Other tracks are equally interesting choices. Most notable is "Sunshine on my Shoulder", an early John Denver hit. Now I have to admit here, I have secretly loved John Denver from childhood, but I can think of about forty John Denver songs that might be better choices than this one. In fact, for years I've been sending telepathic messages to Betty Buckley urging her to record an album of John Denver covers (although she doesn't seem to check her telepathic messages) and "Sunshine on my Shoulder" was never among them. The song might have worked better were it placed elsewhere in the line-up. It follows the smart, loopy arrangement and lyrics of the smart, loopy Christine Lavin's "Air Conditioner". "Sunshine" doesn't stand a chance next to this four-drinks-into-the-Cabaret-act classic. That error points up the only real problem in the recording: It doesn't hang together as whole quite as well as one wants it to. Where's the producer on this recording? Who was in charge of unifying the project?
Most tracks here are really beautiful. Stand-outs include "Warm All Over" in a decidedly non-show-tune treatment, Duke Ellington's "I Like the Sunrise" (utterly gorgeous, this one); Roger's and Hart's "My Romance" in a sweetly ironic pairing (it's the Doris Day thing) with Maury Yeston's "Danglin'"; Craig Carnelia's "Flight", sung as a duet with Megan McGinnis; and a gutsy version of Patty Griffin's "Nobody's
Cryin'".
The album is absolutely a songwriter's showcase. You get dazzling lyrics all over the place. The cleverness of Jeff Blumenkrantz' lyrics for "My Heart was Set on You" almost overshadow the suspiciously Disneyesque rigor mortis of the melody. And there's even a Noel Coward song in the line-up, for cryin' out loud. All the more reason I wished the whole thing was a little more cohesive. There is a motif of wishfulness that she's clearly getting at, and perhaps it's part of that unique Sutton Foster escaped-from-the-attic charm that so many songs seem to be elbowing each other in a bit of a jumble rather than sliding into a more smooth composition. That's where a great producer and a senstive musical director should come in. She should have been able to record the album of her dreams, teeming with internal contrasts among songs to show off the richness of her personality. And it should not have to feel so incongruous as this one does. I realize this is more or less a quibble in the grand scheme of things, and I'm probably just being needlessly cranky. But CD's ain't cheap, and fewer and fewer of us are buying entire albums, instead opting to download MP3 singles. It seems to me if you're going to bother recording a collection of songs, there should be some kind of synergy to it that makes it matter that we should listen to the whole, rather than assemble our own parts. They are mostly very, very good parts on this recording. On the next one (which I'll buy), I hope the parts add up to a more well-organized whole. I fully expect her to be turning out increasingly brilliant recordings decades into the future, and this first one is a very good start.
And yeah, I am sending this message telepathically to Sutton Foster. I suspect she may be more inclined to occasionally check her telepathic messages than most Broadway divas."
Great Old Style Vocals
AlohaCyclist | Seattle, WA USA | 03/02/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a fan of Sutton Foster, so I eagerly awaited her first solo cd. It has all the wonderful qualities of her voice and personality. They are not a collection of Broadway tunes, however some go back over 50 years. If fact, the songs are almost chronological in order starting with 1944's "I'm Beginning to See the Light". The first songs had been recorded by such voices as Ella, Barbra, Sinatra, Doris Day, Mel Torme, & Tony Bennett. Note: I said VOICES. Sutton Foster has a voice and a talent which puts her in this league.
While too many "singers" shout, Sutton can belt out a note. When other "singers" talk the quiet notes, Sutton can sing in a whisper. If you don't know what I mean about talking notes rather than singing, listen to Fred Astaire & Judy Garland in "Easter Parade" when they sing the line "Walk up the avenue" three times changing from talking to singing. Judy changes from A to B to C, yet Fred's voice only allows him to go from A to B.
What Sutton also does is sell the song not just show off her voice. These songs have meaning and a story even if it's just plain fun like "Air Conditioner" and Sutton's well known version of "Oklahoma!" The last note/word on the cd sums up Sutton's personality perfectly.
If you loved another Broadway star's first album, Many Patinkin, you'll love this. They both do a lovely version of "Once Upon a Time" from the 1962 Broadway musical, "All American" (Ray Bolger & Eileen Harlig).
Sutton Foster is the 21st Century version of the 19th Century artist Jeanne Samary (Google the 1879 Renoir portrait in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia). Sutton is an artist who makes everyone around her better without realizing just how talented she is.
Added March 18: Happy 34th Birthday, Sutton!"
A LOVELY SURPRISE. BEEN WAITING SINCE "MILLIE"
W. Budris | Rosedale, NY | 11/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In just doing a generic search for artists I've been waiting for some solo efforts on, lo and behold, one came up for Sutton Foster. I'm so surprised I didn't know about this sooner, as this album has been out since Feb 2009. I met Sutton once after one of her final performances in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (seeing her perform twice during the run, with the first time being opening weekend). My one question was "Will you be recording a solo album soon or is one in the works?" Her reply then was, "I'd like to and hoping to do one soon." All these years later after several other cast albums and guest appearances, her debut CD is here, and it is a delight.
After sampling songs, I had to run to B&N to see if it was there, and it was. Sutton can really sing anything, and it really shows on this collection of songs. There are sweet ballads, fun jumpy numbers and a couple of of witty ditties which ignite Sutton's great comic timing in song. Listen to "Air Contitioning" and you'll hear why.
Sutton covers the Great American Songbook, Broadway, pop, you name it. All delightfully done. I like happy surprises and this is a great one for me."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1
