Customer Reviews

Come Rain Or Come Shine

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Bobby Caldwell is what the music industry has needed for a long time. He captures the essence of the lyric much like Sinatra did... his phrasing is emphaized with the big band sounds of "yesteryear" ...There was Sinatra....There was Darin...and now there is Caldwell. He brings to the listner all the things one wants to hear form the past yet he is of the NOW! He is unique... in that he shows his concern for the listners ears. He knows what he is doing and I wish him untold success. He fills the void for Big Band singers and makes us eager to hear more. Keep it up Bobby .... we need you!

I've been a fan of Bobby Caldwell ever since I heard him sing, What You Won't Do For Love..I'm a musician myself and wanted to know more about this guy.. I then Found out later he's a white guy with a lot of soul, class, and just plane talent.. He plays many different insturments on his CDs as well as a great singer-song-writer and an entertainer. (saw Bobbie on stage perfoming with a mutual friend of mine, Lonnie Parlor, in Vagas, Rat Pack Is Back ) Bobby is a killer singer on this CD as well as Blue Condition. I would like to see Bobby write more of his own material like the old standards, combined with more hipper-jazz-stuff like he used to do, on some of his older CDs. Some of are my favorites are... The Real Thing, Promises, All or Nothing at All, and Heart of Mine...KEEP 'UM COMMING , BOBBY.....

I think this album is the complete package. He chose the right songs and the arrangements were the best. I felt like a lot of time and effort went into this album and it shows. "Caldwell has perfected the musical art of Seduction" on this album and I hope he continues with this type of music as it fits him perfectly.

This CD is magical. I listened to this CD and let me tell you, its unbelievable. Forget about comparing Bobby to Frank S., he's got a style all his own. I think their both great but Bobby's range in terms of musical genres is unbelievable... This coming from someone who grew up on Hip-Hop music and the likes of Grandmaster Flash. I'm proud to own this album!!!!!!

Bobby Caldwell has found his niche. A modern jazz artist best known for his big hit "What you won't do for love," Bobby demonstrates he can play with the "big boys." This CD is the best "tribute" to the swing era giants that I've heard in a long time. You certainly hear the influences of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin... but the delivery is fresh and new. Quick! Add this one to your collection now.

In this album, old and good songs seem to have been revived by Bobby's excellent vocals which touch a chord within us. when I listen to Frank.S.(such as "The Rat Pack"), it reminds me of old&good days of USA, but when I listen to this album, I feel something "today" on the gorgeous bigband jazz tunes, even though some of these songs use the same arrangement as Frank's original style's. When Bobby sings these masterpieces,these become Bobby's love songs,his vocal sounds like the picture of his heart there. So I feel the breath from all the songs. It lets this album be something contemporary ....... That's amazing! This album shows us he is a really superb vocalist.Good songs are succeeded like Bobby, like telling story.... What a dandy album he made!

I grow weary of those who complain that Caldwell "sounds like a Sinatra". Bobby shares the same background as Eckstine, and Torme' in that they were Jazz musicians before they hit it as singers. Of course their intonation is improvisational, but anyone listening to Indian Summer (my favorite) on this CD and thinking that Sinatra would sound the same is poorly mistaken. Bobby has good "ideas" in the jargon of the Jazz musician. Don't fault him for that.

On the heels of Bobby Caldwell's knockout live big band performance on "Jazz Central" on the BET Jazz Cable Channel, this studio CD arrived with most of the same songs and arrangements intact from that sizzling hour-long TV appearance. So I bought it. And what a magnificent CD, it is. We're seen a bevy of singing stars doing their "standards" albums to extend their careers, but many have fallen short of the mark because they floated on the surface of those beloved Tin Pan Alley songs. Not so with Caldwell, he gets INSIDE of each song, physically and musically, with the same 'flare for the dramatic' that helped Sinatra, Bennett, Darin and others sell these songs. And Bobby's great big band and exceptional arrangements elevate this CD into the 'Must Have' category for any music fan. My Pieces D'Resistance: "Beyond the Sea", "Come Rain or Come Shine", and "The Best is Yet to Come".

Not only that, this is Caldwell's second CD in this genre following another fabulous big band "standards" CD called "Blue Condition" from 1996, which contains killer versions of "I Concentrate on You", "Don't Worry About Me" and "Street of Dreams" as well as a "Girl I Dream About" that is simply sensational.

Look for the repeated telecasts of that BET Jazz Central appearance and you'll want both "Come Rain or Come Shine" AND "Blue Condition" too. Bobby has continued to develop his style, since his R&B mega-hit "What You Won't Do For Love". This blue-eyed soul meister is a natural for the 'standards' and he doesn't compromise his voice and phrasing to imitate anyone. Even Alicia Keyes and Lou Rawls gush over Bobby's performances. And don't miss Bobby on the concert circuit, especially with his former protege' smooth alto saxist Dave Koz.

This really is "Blue Condition, Volume Two," a sequel to Bobby's first, exemplary collection of standards. The arrangements are even more lush here, many based on the charts of Nelson Riddle and Billy May, and Bobby's singing even more persusasive. His original insights into the lyrics and melodies of some of these songs are remarkable and most effective. Bobby's habit of including tracks from previous albums on new releases, which inevitably weakens the overall project, continues here with "Beyond the Sea," already played to death on radio, making a reappearance from "Blue Condition" (who did he think hasn't heard this already?) and "Come To Me," one of his earliest recordings, tagged on the end totally out of synch with what precedes. At 11 new recordings barely 40 minutes long the album without the repeats is short but, then, the expense of this kind of project, with its enormous bands composed of topflight musicians, is over the top. "April Moon" is a brilliant composition and holds its own with the timeless standards. This is a wonderful album by an original artist. It echoes the great standard pop albums but does not imitate them. Sinatra would approve.

So what if he uses the same charts as Sinatra? This guy has something, & he's the only shining star that can carry the torch in the jazz/swing venue. Bennett? Connick? Forget it! This guy's the real deal. Wait 'til the Yuppies take Music App. 101 - He'll be huge!