Shelley
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Special Delivery
This new CD is a studio recording of the song list from Colm Wilkinson’s recent concert tour. It is aptly titled, with a balance of standards from Broadway musicals to selections including Rock and Roll, traditional Irish songs, and Contemporary pop tunes. Just as the previously released CD “Some of My Best Friends are Songs,” this recording is remarkably clean; with every vocal and musical nuance audible. The musical arrangements (many by Steve Hunter who worked on “Best Friends”) support Colm and his backup vocalists; they never overwhelm. Interpretations of show tunes, from Chess, Camelot, West Side Story, South Pacific (and an unexpected choice of “Old Man River” from Showboat) reveal the incredible dynamic range of Colm’s voice There are, of course, the obligatory songs which have become his standards (“Music of the Night” and “Bring Him Home”), but these renditions remind us why he was chosen to do those roles. Interspersed with the Broadway selections are a variety of songs ranging from a bluesy version of Tennessee Waltz, a rollicking Whiskey in the Jar, to a poignant Danny Boy. Personal favorites on this album are the heartfelt “Wind Beneath My Wings,” the brilliant combination arrangement of John Lennon’s “Imagine” with Tom Paxton’s “Peace Will Come,” and the stunning “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. This is a compilation that anyone familiar with Colm Wilkinson would love to have. Many of these songs have been hoped-for recordings by his fans. If there is anything that is lacking, it is that the recording does not have any of Colm’s own compositions (some of which featured were on “Best Friends”). If you are not familiar with Colm, whatsoever, and you had to choose one CD from his discography, this would be the one to buy.
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Pat Cerasaro broadwayworld.com
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Cool, Considerate Colm
The grand-master of the mega-musical, having originated some of the most memorable heroes and misunderstood monsters of the genre - such as The Phantom, Jean Valjean, Jekyll/Hyde, and Che (Guevera), amongst others - Colm Wilkinson is a calm, cool, collected beast of a performer: able to affect an almost animalistic intensity as well as a soft, beguiling, if bespoke, sentimentality, both at the same time. He is known for being an emotional, evocative and committed performer, occasionally to the detriment (and, equally as much, to the benefit) of less-than-stellar material which simply cannot sustain or contain his fierce and ferocious vocal attack. Truly, the better the material the better he comes across performing it, but he is also capable of a few card tricks that mask the flaws of his fodder and it is with those time-worn ticks that the only questionable aspects of an otherwise strong, solid collection of songs are revealed. What some may find bracing in his performance and singing style, others find endlessly endearing, and this album goes quite a long way to win over those who have not yet warmed to his myriad gifts, though at first glance that may not be immediately apparent. Wilkinson does not sing songs, he attacks and embodies them, and in the process he elicits layers of meaning and sentiment that may have lied dormant to the less attentive listener, or unrecognized altogether given the emphasis on music over lyrics in much of the material he performs (and mega-musical scores in general). Let it be said that this is far and away his best solo effort so far, certainly as far as US releases go, and I'd even go so far as to say it contains many of his best vocal performances to date on record. While there are few surprises in the song-stack, it is the way in which he makes the music work for the character that is his best asset and by the album's conclusion we are reminded how much he is missed on Broadway, having been absent for nearly two decades. The ferocity and intensity with which he devours this material is absorbing and effective.
Wilkinson is one of the last great performers left (who is consistently performing) of the mega-musical generation of musical theatre performers and it is to his credit that he has managed to become a better vocalist and an even more emotionally evocative performer as time has worn on, while many in his position have destroyed their instruments merely by singing the treacherous scores of many of those shows with improper technique. Few well-known tenors can hit and sustain the notes that Wilkinson can, and fewer still at around sixty, and it is to his estimable credit that in the twilight of his years he is better than he has ever been before both as a vocalist and musical interpreter. Also, and maybe most importantly, few performers can put across a song the way Wilkinson does and this album is a pleasure to listen to if only because it is proof that a performer can actually grow, mature and change over time to the benefit of the material and the performances themselves. Indeed, the combination of this seasoned performer with compelling material creates a combustible combination and reveals the man behind the monster of the mega-musical, whether he be The Phantom, Jekyll, Hyde or Colm to be just about the best we have got. Just Colm, man or mythic musical monster, is just right.
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