Customer Reviews

The Champion Season: A Salute to Gower Champion (Live at the Cafe Carlyle)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another CD of Barbara Cook's that we can rave over! However, this one is different in many repects. On "The Champion Season..." we get a rare glimpse of Barbara's joy in celebrating Broadway musicals that can only be captured on a live recording. Her other live CD's are gorgeously sung but this one is exhuberant and full of fun and whimsy. Here Barbara lets her voice soar in music she clearly adores. She engages all our emotions in this heartfelt and fitting tribute to a very talented man-Gower Champion. A particular favorite track of mine is (#10), I Got Lost in His Arms/Time Heals Everything). This CD is the next best thing to seeing Barbara live! A precious gem of a recording!

Barbara Cook is one of the marvels of our present world - her voice, feeling, rhythm, intonation, everything is perfect. On this live disc, which captures some of her between song talking, we also get to hear her delightful reminiscences of Gower Champion. Her talking voice and what she has to say are as beautiful and expressive as her singing, so that on repeated listening, one never tires of the talking. The songs are a mix of well known and not so well known, all sung beautifully with the always perfect accompaniment of Wally Harper. Theirs is truly a musical match made in heaven. While all the songs are lovely, I have to single out "They Were You", a gorgeous song which has never been sung more beautifully. Miss Cook never ceases to be a revelation. If you ever have a chance to see her and Wally Harper at the Carlyle, drop everything else you had planned and go to see them. You won't ever forget it.

THIS BRILLIANT , SHINING STAR NAMED BARBARA COOK DOES IT AGAIN ! HOW LUCKY US MERE MORTALS ARE TO HAVE HER RADIANCE HERE WITH US ON THIS PLANET !

I anxiously await each new album by Barbara Cook. An this is no dissapointment. Her voice seems to get better each year! Run or "click", don't walk to buy this album. It is absolutly wonderful. Filled with conversation about Gower Champion, you hope that the album would go on and on. what a gorgeus voice.

I was present at the Caryle the night this recording was made,and,as usual,this magical pairing of artists made your time well spent.I've laughed with their jokes,cried from some sad songs,and just plain loved their musical artistry from Reno Sweeney's to Carnegie Hall and every cross street in between.Time spent listening to their music is like a personal visit with old friends.

Can this woman do no wrong? This new album seems to indicate that she cannot. She has this way of making you feel that you are in a small, intimate room where she is singing just for you; the chat between songs is wonderfully personal bringing in her and others' reminiscences, not just the usual "this song is by .....". Wally Harper accompanying Barbara is his usual wonderfully understated but perfect addition to her performance. I had the pleasure of seeing Barbara last summer in a "Master Class" at London's Donmar Warehouse where she tok a bunch of young singer/actors through their paces - dressed simply in a sweat suit andsneakers she was an inspiration to the young people and to the audience. Seeing her again later in the week in performance was equally inspirational and electrifying. Long may Barbara Cook reign as queen of the divas!

Barbara Cook's program of theater songs is beautifully sung/acted. The arragements and accompaniment by Wally Harper are truly wonderful. This is one of their finest programs, and that is high praise indeed. Barbara and Wally are peerless performers. This live recording captures much of the magic of their touching and thrilling concert.

Barbara Cook is sensational and everyone seems to agree. The songs are well known which usually is a negative for me, but anything sung by Ms. Cook seems fresh (So nice to hear "They Were You" sung straight and so beautifully). But the best aspect of the recording for me is to hear Ms. Cook and Mr. Harper in their "natural habitat", they seem so relaxed and the crowd (if the Carlyle can be said to hold a "crowd") reaction is great. I've been lucky enough to see Ms. Cook and Mr. Harper many times at the Carlyle. My favorite rememberance was during a rare flub of a verse by Ms. Cook which elicited a loud, short "HA!" from Wally. The smile and look from Ms. Cook to her long-time accompianist was worth the price of admission. This CD captures for me that kind of comfort and relaxed elegance and excellence that make this duo so pleasurable.

Wow what a wonderful cd I love it from top to the bottom,do yourself a favor and pick up this cd you'll love it,just fab

What a great disc. Barbara Cook is in great voice and the material is well suited for her. I look foward to her next disc even more than I always do.