Prelude: The Best of Charlotte Church

Charlotte Church

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 26, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00006LFGG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,440 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #2 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( C ) > Church, Charlotte
  #8 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( P ) > Paris Symphony Orchestra

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Need more evidence of the record industry's obsession with youth? Consider that budding Welsh diva Charlotte Church was a ripe, old 16 when this, her first greatest-hits anthology was released. Spanning her first four releases, as well as some outside collaborations and unreleased material, this 18-track collection underscores the soprano's seemingly boundless potential--as well as some potential career obstacles ahead. Her crystalline, still-maturing voice is best showcased on classically oriented works like Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu," Franck's "Panis Angelicus," and her now-ubiquitous rendering of Delibes' "Flower Duet." She also excels on folk traditionals such as "She Moved Through the Fair" and "My Langan Love." But overwrought productions like the already-dated "Dream a Dream" and "Habanera," a faux-flamenco take on Bizet, nearly get the best of her. Still, her promising duet with fellow young phenom Josh Groban on "The Prayer" and her mature, dreamy reading of A Beautiful Mind's "All Love Can Be," as well as strong performances on the previously unreleased "It's the Heart That Matters Most" and "Bridge over Troubled Waters," are ample evidence of her potential for rewarding pop crossover--if she doesn't retire by 21. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 1, 2002

By	Margo Lansing (Wheaton, Il) - See all my reviews

As a singer of light classical and pop, I was disappointed to hear Charlotte's progression (digression) from a child prodigy to what amounts to being a pedestrian vocalist. I concur with another reviewer who suggested they should have re-issued her first CD "Voice of an Angel". However even that work could not even hold a candle to 12-year-old Aselin Debison. Charlotte needs to go to a conservatory of music and attempt to recapture whatever she had early on. Prelude can only be interpreted as a prelude to retirement.

53 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Whose Best??, November 26, 2002

By	Eloise Delong (Houston, Tx) - See all my reviews

A review of the songs in Prelude suggests to me that most were someone elses best and not Miss Church's. Of particular note is the song Pie Jesu which Miss Church claims as her "theme song". In fact, the song was originally written for and became the theme song of Sarah Brightman. A listen to this piece done by Ms Brightman, which is here on Amazon[.com], will also demonstrate that Sarah Brightman's version is vastly superior. The majority of other songs fall into the same category including Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Having heard all of Miss Church's CDs, I would have thought that she would have included some traditional Irish songs herein including Danny Boy and Carrickfergus which she performed reasonably well on her 1st and 4th CDs. But she opted to include those songs which others have done previously and in a manner which is vastly inferior to the originals or subsequent renditions.

There certainly is a place in music for Miss Church, however you will not find it here in other than traditional Irish Folk.

55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Prelude???? To What???, November 27, 2002

By	Pat Jones (USA) - See all my reviews

The title of this album struck me as a contradiction so I thought I would check it out. A more appropriate name would be "Postcript" As an artist on the way down and out, I can't imagine what would be next other than a long lay-off to get her voice together. Another problem here is that Charlotte gives us too many songs which are from the most recent period when her voice was just a whisper of what it was as a pre-teen. We needed to hear more from her first two albums when she was something of a wunderkid, belting out big-time vocals with a little body.

I see this CD as being coveted by only the most die-hard of Charlotte's fans. It really brings us nothing new and reminds us of what happened to her voice through abuse and overuse.