Customer Reviews

Now Is the Hour

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only is the song writing and production on this album stellar, Jennifer's voice has never sounded better! This album is better than I could have imagined. Below is the song-by-song review I posted on Amazon Germany where I bought a couple of copies and had them shipped to the U.S. (love amazon.com and amazon.de).

1) Dream Awake - Great opening, lush piano that leads into some heavier beats and an amazing vocal at the bridge that hints at what`s to come.

2) Betcha Never - First JR song with a Latin dance flavor. Fun and upbeat, and Jenny does a sexy little humming in the middle of the song that is so hot. A friend was in my car while this was playing and he asked if it was Shakira!

3) Windows - Classic new-era JR ballad. Beautiful song with a beautiful, subtle JR vocal that builds to a powerful bridge. Master class from JR to many of the new female vocalists who think the only way to impress us is by doing a bunch of vocal acrobatics. Jenny's vocal is mature, vulnerable and powerful.

4) Down On My Knees - Nearly a club track with a hint of house, but never over the top. Not to reach back to the past, but this is so "25 Lover's 2010" for me. Awesome!

5) Head Above Water - Great song about perseverance (think Des'ree and `You Gotta Be') and Jenny delivers an understated vocal like a good actor playing a part well.

6) I Never Asked For An Angel - Will be a fan favorite. Classic JR ballad, right up there with Hero Of A Fool or Tears In The Rain. Amazing vocal!

7) Echoes Love - All I have to say is Sony, please release this as a single and make a video! This song begs to be played on the radio. It's dance-pop at it's finest with just a hint of a retro 80's vibe and a very catchy chorus. A fun song that makes you want to sing along and move to the beat, much like Madonna and "Sorry" or Kylie and "Love At First Sight". My new favorite JR dance-pop song!

8) I'm Not Dreaming Anymore - Nice mid-tempo ballad. Love the lyric to the refrain.

9) Now Is The Hour - A real departure for JR. A haunting, slow building ballad with limited production to showcase the lyric about living in the moment. JR delivers an amazing performance that has a Streisand quality about it for me. This has an anthem vibe to it like Gloria Estefan and "Reach".

10) Like I Would For You - What a fun song. It's a departure from the other songs. Slightly up tempo guitar based track. I swear The Corr's could easily cover this.

11) Before The Dawn - I will tell you my sister's opinion on this one. She says this song reminds her of a ballad that should be played over the credits at the end of a very romantic movie and it replaces "Credo" as her new favorite JR song.

12) Eyes Of A Woman - Powerful lyric set to a modern dance-pop track. Speaks to seeing the beauty in yourself. Love the musical production on this track a lot and it`s sung in a classic, JR style. Love it!

13) Just This Way - Probably a sleeper track for many, but I absolutely love it. Another slightly 80's retro vibe but still a modern dance track that makes me want to take a drive and crank the radio really loud.

14) Ain't Loved You Long Enough - A love song but this time with a gospel feel, an organ playing and all. Starts slow, but builds to a powerful finish with a huge chorus and lots of emotion.

15) Still - Just piano and JR. Wow! Great way to end the album. A simple, beautiful song that showcases Jenny`s voice, allowing you to really hear every nuance and vocal inflection. This vocal shows that unlike some of her musical peers, Jenny's voice has gained all of the maturity that age and wisdom bring, but without having lost any of it's power or control. Gorgeous song from a gorgeous lady.

Love you JR. Thank you for the music!

I too cannot understand why Jennifer Rush has not 'made it' in the United States. Her voice is phenomenal! I have been a fan of her since I was in my early teens. I can remember listening to her on the way to school each morning, so much so that the tapes eventually warped.

I have subsequently replaced all of these tapes with CDs. Her voice is timeless, and this album is no exception. The choice of songs is rich and varied, and will appeal to a wide audience (see the descriptions of the songs in the review above).

If you want a CD that is well-produced, that contains beautiful music, and superb singing, buy a copy of this.

I recommend going to Amazon.de as it is a lot cheaper.

Happy listening, and thanks Jenny for another superb album; your music is fantastic.

this is Jennifer Rush and only Jennifer Rush can create, sing, and perform such a fresh sounding, excellent,

CD. her singing has only gotten better and the production of this CD is pure genius. the quality of the sound

is so sharp and the songs are the best. every song is great. "echoes love" has hit written all over it, i could

just think of a great music video for this song. there are singer's and believe me i love great singers male

and female but Jennifer Rush is in a league by herself. every aspect of this CD was put together with such

precise care. we have the great dance songs which have always stood up as something different than other dance

artists with such a unique. different, flavor to them. and the ballads are exquisite, i love the natural balance

of dance songs and ballads. just listening to this CD lifts me and is everything i expected it to be. there is no way

i can choose a favorite song and i like that. so great to have a CD with 15 songs which are so different and

yet fall into place so easily. the opening song "dream awake" is just a beginning to a clear example that this

is just a special CD especially to this fan who has been watching her website since the end of last year (2009)

following every clue, every detail of this release. and i will say it was worth waiting for it.thank you

amazon.de and amazon.com for getting me this CD! and to jennifer's great website which is pure class. and

to the jennifer rush team, songwriter's, producer and to Jennifer Rush you always seem to amaze me with your

talent which only gets better

This is one of the greatest female voices of all times who co-wrote and sang the worldwide smash ballad "Power Of Love" in 1984.

How she has not conquered the U.S. market is a mystery that is beyond belief.

This is a great CD release by the American-born, German based singing sensation, Jennifer Rush titled "Now Is The Hour". Her great voice is as sharp as ever & album is reminder of the greatness of Jennifer Rush, with her previous hits/classics including "Power Of Love", "Destiny", "Ring Of Ice", "I Come Undone" & "Now That Is Over". Solid tracks from this CD include, "Head Above Water" (an excellent track, great vocals & powerful lyrics, my favourite track from this great CD & hence the title of my review), "Ain't Loved You Enough" (an amazing great ballad, my second favourite song from this CD), "Dream Awake" (a great opening track, let's you know Jennifer Rush is back with a 'bang' : great sound, production & amazing vocals by Jennifer Rush), "Windows" (a great ballad), "Down On My Knees" (a great dance track), "I'm Not Dreaming Anymore", "Now Is The Hour" (a great title track with great choir vocals), "Eyes Of A Woman" & "Like I Would For You". There is no weak song on this CD : 9 out 15 solid tracks & 6 ok songs.

Overall rating is a a well deserved 5 stars rating of this varied, but well balanced album by Jennifer Rush, she is back with a solid release, highly recommended listening!

This is the best Jennifer has ever sounded. The production level is superb. All i can say is do not hesitate i first heard one song on the radio and rushed out to buy it. My favourite has to be " I never asked for an angel". Lyrics are superb and Jennifer delivers you an angel in each and every word. I listen to this albumn daily for two months now.

I have loved Jennifer Rush since I first heard Power of love. I have tried to get all of her albums, and this one is definately worth the wait. I just happened to stumble on it, and I was wowed with the first listening. Head above water is a very uplifting and inspirational song. My favorite though is Ain't loved you long enough. I don't usually like listening to the same song more than once at a time, but I always repeat this one. This is a must have in your collection.

I have been a hardcore fan of Jennifer's since 1985 and this CD is well worth the 10 plus year wait since her last release. It seamlessly fuses rock, dance, pop, gospel and ballads into a complete barn-burner! The production is very, very modern and sophisticated, while keeping the warmth we have come to expect from her very unique voice. Why she is not a superstar in the US still amazes me. This would appeal to any fan of Celine Dion, Annie Lennox or other similar Divas of that kind.

She has worked with the biggest names in the production and vocal industry over the years and has maintained her huge audience throught the Germanic countries. Hopefully with the right marketing and a stroke of sheer luck, US audiences will finally have a chance to hear and fall in love with the voice that those of us fortunate enough to have long since discovered. Do not miss this album! I think it it is the most complete album she has ever done (and that is saying something).....