De-Lovely

First of all, the line-up of artists performing these tunes is a real mixed bag - well known singers, along with lesser known ones, along with a smattering of the actors from the film. The complete list of performers and the songs they preform is:

See what I mean by a mixed bag? I may be showing my ignorance, but there are some names here that I never heard of - such as Lemar and Vivian Green - but both of these renditions were smashingly done, with spot-on vocals that's made me look these singers up to see if they've got any CDs of their own out there that I might want to purchase. (They both do, and by the way Lemar's full name is Lemar Campbell.) Vivian Green's "Love for Sale" is so terribly compelling to listen to, due to the raw emotions she puts into this song, that I often replay that track several times, just for the pure joy of it. As for Lemar, his "What is this Thing Called Love" is also among the best tracks of this album, and another one to put on repeat - and often. What makes it more special is that this song has some very difficult changes in tone, and Lemar stays smoothly on pitch throughout. Truly a professional job, by someone with a voice as smooth as silk.

Of course, there were a couple of tracks that turned me off a touch. For instance, Mick Hucknall's attempt to sound like Nelson Eddy worked a bit too well for me - since I never cared much for Eddy's voice. As a result, this is one track I always skip over when I'm listening. Another problem was with Mario Frangoulis' part in this version of "So in Love". I'm sorry, but I've yet to find anyone who comes close to the mellow tones and brute strength of vocals that Howard Keel brought to this song - or any other song Keel ever performed, for that matter. Of course, with Keel no longer being with us, it impossible for him to come back from the dead to record this for the movie. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if he passed away just before or just after this film was released. Still, even if he was still around before the movie was released, he probably would have been too old to revive his Kiss Me Kate role for this movie. Never mind. The point is, Frangoulis hit a couple of pitchy notes here, that all but ruined this passionate ballad for me. Still, if I sing along, I can drown those bits out, and anyway, Lara Fabian did a lovely job singing Kathryn Grayson's part in this duet.

In Kline's other offerings here - "Experiment", "Be A clown" and "Night & Day" - the first two of this list work very well, and as I already mentioned, I think he bested Porter himself. As for his duet with John Barrowman in "Night & Day" there are those who might be put off by the version here being exactly the one they heard in the movie. This means that there's some of the movie dialogue included in this track. Personally, I liked this, especially since there's a lovely transition where Kline's voice fades and Barrowman's voice comes through with its full beauty. Its here that I would like to mention that Barrowman is as close to a Howard Keel as I've heard or seen in a very long time, and I hope he gets both more stage musicals and movie singing parts in the future!

Speaking of actors trying to sing, Ashley Judd's contributions here with her part in two duets - "In the Still of the Night" and "True Love" - are far from musically perfect. Even so, her innocent voice doesn't ruin either of these pieces, and actually makes "True Love" all that more charming - since it is sung with a young girl. Not much more one can say about Judd here, except that she really shouldn't think about changing careers - acting is still her forte and she should keep it that way.

The 'big-name' singers on this album come off beautifully. These being Robbie Williams, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello and Natalie Cole. I could find absolutely nothing to fault any of their performances, and it is probably this collection of 'stars' that helped make both the movie and the CD so successful. I particularly like Crow's rendition of "Begin the Beguine" which is a vocally difficult song to sing, but Crow pulls it off without a hitch, and with precisely the haunting quality that this song begs for. Natalie Cole's slightly child-like voice doesn't detract from the maturity of the song "Every Time We Say Goodbye", and she proves here once again that she is every inch her father's daughter (for those not in the know, that would be Nat King Cole). You'll feel that Morissette is truly enjoying the playful lyrics "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)", and my impression is that she's winking and smiling at us while she performs - which is just as it should be. In fact, both Williams and Costello seem to do the same with their songs "It's De-Lovely" and "Let's Misbehave" respectively. Of course, one can hardly sing any of these three songs without a touch of humour, since that's how Porter wrote them.

For those who are interested, you're not going to get all the lyrics to all the songs with this CD. The copy I got is mostly cardboard and the only insert is a small pamphlet with the list of songs, shots of each of the performers of the songs, and some pictures from the movie. Nothing to write home about, but who cares, really?

Thanks for reading!

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Technical Stuff:

Here's a nice site for anyone who loves Cole Porter or just wants to learn more about him and his music - http://www.coleporter.org/
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