Search - Eileen Farrell :: Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

Indispensable. A knockout!

Joseph Triebwasser | New York, NY United States | 05/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time you hear this CD, you'll probably be most struck by the first track - a beautiful, heartbreaking, even overwhelming rendition of "Blues in the Night" - as glorious a celebration of female pop vocal prowess as has ever been recorded by anyone, anywhere. But as you continue to listen to and live with "The Eileen Farrell Album", you'll discover that that "Blues in the Night" is merely the first among equals in what is actually an entire (generous) CD's worth of dynamite covers that function almost as reinventions of a treasury of pop and jazz standards: Basically, every track is a showstopper.
P>The care that all these artists took to make every moment count is evident throughout the album: Nothing is taken for granted; every song has been rethought, and many are given distinctive interpretations that make the often thrice-familiar numbers seem fresh and even new. Never have you heard "My Funny Valentine" (here done with unique bluesy embellishment) or "The Man I Love" (sung fast, with a bongo accompaniment) done as they are here. But nothing sounds forced or arbitrary; nearly every choice, from the most conventional to the most daring, works.On almost any other album, any one of these performances (in superbly engineered sound, by the way) would be the high point. Here, the embarrassment of riches is such that you'll find it difficult, in the end, to choose a favorite. My preference? Probably the scintillating, uptempo version of Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer's "I'm Old Fashioned" - the recording, by the way, used in the opening credits of the gay-mobster comedy "Friends and Family".This CD will make you giddy with delight."

The best female singer of the 20th century

Jocelyn Price | St. Louis, mo United States | 01/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forget Barbra. Forget Celine. Eileen Farrell puts them both in the shade. Her tone is gorgeous, her rhythms are spot-on, her diction is crisp, her interpretations are sly, sexy, enticing. As other reviews here have mentioned, Farrell was also a world-class opera singer who brought her enormous artistry to the American popular song. Rudolf Bing, then the general director of the Metropolitan Opera, looked down on her pop singing, but that didn't stop her. She sang well into her sixties (maybe beyond...I'm not sure), with the same style and grace you hear in these recordings. Eileen Farrell died recently, so we won't hear the likes of this voice again. Treasure this one."

Absolutely Stunning. A Must-Have!

George C. Glass | Ridgeland, MS United States | 01/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Any fan of the late dramatic soprano's operatic artistry should also have this album to demonstrate how equally adept she was in the realm of classic pop music. You will flabbergast your friends by switching from, say, Verdi's "Ernani, Involami" to "Sunny Side of the Street" (both recorded in 1959), because there is no way someone not in-the-know can tell they are the same artist. On this album she simply sounds like a incredibly versatile big-band singer, not an opera singer who is slumming out her repertoire...."