Customer Reviews

Greenwich Time

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

 

 

A friend gave me Rebecca Luker's Cole Porter CD for my birthday back in 1996, and I've been a casual fan ever since. While that CD and "Leaving Home" have their moments, "Greenwich Time" is something else entirely - a challenging, beautiful collection of eclectic material creatively arranged and stunningly sung. Luker has given thought and care to her approach with each song, and the material she has chosen is brilliant. My favorites are ballads like "Have Had" and "Out of Love," while "Lovely Lies" dives deep into the conflict the character feels between her traditional Southern upbringing and her more liberal leanings. Bravo to Luker and her collaborators - this is a theater CD for the long term.

So many of the tracks were new to me and she made them perfect (as if they were old standards to me) upon the very first listen. Not everyone can do that. Rebecca is so special and she has stunning taste. Two of the tracks were not ideal for me and three of them were so good I had to play them over 12 times in a row. I'm so glad she made this album.

Didn't know any of the music..listened and was mesmerized. Her voice is so pure, the music so relaxing...recommended

I have been a big fan of Rebecca ever since I saw her Tony-nominated performance as Magnolia in the fine 1994 revival of Show Boat which ran for almost 1000 performances. I have the cast album and I don't think she is second to Kathryn Grayson or anyone else in the role when she performs "Make Believe" or "You Are Love."

But, as I look back almost 15 years, it appears that she has never realized the stardom for which she seemed destined with her beauty of figure and voice. I remember reading an interview where Rebecca said that she wanted her career to extend to TV and movies, as Kristin Chenoweth and Audra McDonald have done in recent past. That has not happened. Subsequent to Show Boat she had the female lead in two decently successful revivals: The Music Man and The Sound of Music, which both resulted in cast albums. In between she gave a memorable performance in the ENCORES weekend revival of The Boys From Syracuse. She created one of her signature songs here with Rodgers & Hart's "Falling in Love with Love" and was equally impressive leading a threesome in the joyous "Sing for Your Suppper." (See YouTube) But she has never won a Tony. Even more to the point, Greenwich Time is only her third album to be released in all these years, while dozens of inferiors push out an album a year.

Thus I am surprised that she chose to include on the album a selection of songs of which most will not be familiar with even one, accepting the risk that the album will not be a commercial success. And almost all the songs are ballads. Listened to individually, most of the performances are at least fine. Loved "Ohio, 1904" and "Summer with You." A few times when I had the album playing in the background while working it seemed to me that the ballad after ballad was a bit monotonous.

I also could have done without the two confessional "singing the words" pieces "Lovely Lies" and "He Never Did That Before." I rather liked the thought that, growing up in the deep South, Ms. Luker was a little more conservative and possessed a little more dignity than the "Sex and the City" crowd to whom she was playing to with these songs. But that of course is just my prejudice.

By no means can Rebecca Luker's career be seen as anything but a great success and I think that she may go on to be one of our greatest cabaret performers. Could she have been as fabulously popular as Kristin or Audra? Perhaps she did not want to be. Now, apparently, happily married and fifty years old, if she wants to give exposure to songs that she loves that have been neglected than that is what she will do. And her fans will follow her and that sublime voice.

I have never had the opportunity to hear Rebecca Luker live but through the years I certainly have listened to her sing on musical theater recordings. I have always been very impressed with her vocal talent and technique. This CD is well worth every penny just to hear how beautifully she performs each song. Her phrasing soars and her interpretations are extremely moving. I am especially touched by "Remember", "Unusual Way" "Ohio, 1904" and "On My Way to You". Having said that, listening to any of the songs on the CD is truly a joy.

BRILLIANT!! Having lived in New York for several years (since relocated) I can think of no more quintessential recording that captures life in NYC in the early 21st century. Rebecca's beautiful voice is matched only by her phrasing. The lyrics come alive. I have never heard "Unusual Way" done more profoundly. I adore this album and strongly recommend it to anyone wishing for a perfect soprano who knows how to sing a lyric.

Here is another top rate artist.
It seems all the great ones are doing an album for PS classics.
On all these albums most of the songs are rare and unheard.
Most of these are songs are difficult for me to absorb.
However 2 songs UNUSUAL WAY from 'Nine' by Maury Yeston and an unheard song by
John Kander "Summer With You are fabulous.
There are always these types of songs on PS classics worthy of your time.

I am a big fan of Ms. Luker's and would argue she has one of the most beautiful voices ever to grace Broadway. I understand that artists like to break out of their usual genres every now and again, but the majority of these songs fail to do justice to the vocal lyricism and gorgeous timbre for which she is best known. While I will give it an occasional listen, this CD is not one this soprano will be singing along with again and again. Finally, if one is to judge an artist holistically- vice just musically in this case-- I would add that some of the overt political statements in one song in particular left me feeling queasy, and I found myself wishing she would stick to singing roles like Lily and Fiona.