Customer Reviews

Renee Olstead

5 star:		(158)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Like the song that was written for her, "A Love That Will Last", Renee Olstead is here to stay. Unless you know that Renee is a fifteen year old, you have no idea that this marvelous voice belongs to a teenager. She sounds so much older in the arrangements, and her voice is so melodic and stylistic. As some would say, Renee has an arranger and conductor and entrepreneur, David Foster, who ensures that this songstress will be her best.

The songs Renee chose to sing are the standards, the songs that we remember being sung by Ella and Diana. My favorite is the song that was written for her by Linda Thompson, "A Love That Will Last". A new song sung by a new voice, but sounding so sultry and defined. "What A Difference a Day Makes", is one of the standards that stands out- a lyrical salute to the oldies. "Summertime" is graceful and lazy and easy. "Is It You Or Is You Ain't My Baby", is one of those songs that has your toes tappin' and your fingers snappin' to the beat. The other songs are the old standards that we all love: "Taking A Chance On Love", "Someone To Watch Over Me", the old Neil Sedaka song, and "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," Sunday Kind Of Love", "On A Slow Boat To China", "Midnight At The Oasis", and "Sentimental Journey".

This CD is a find; it was a present to me to mark the end of treatment and will always have a place in my heart. This young, fresh voice brings hope and renewal to us all.
Renee Olstead has a future that is bright, and at this young age, she will need guidance and support. She has found this in David Foster. He has assisted in the career of Josh Groban and other young people. This is a CD to be recommended. prisrob

Renee Olstead could turn out to be the discovery of the decade. With a voice as nuanced, versatile and downright charming as they come she's about to set the musical world on fire with the release of her first major-label album.

The fact that Renee's still in high school (!) may give her extra credit, but she doesn't need it. This jazzy-bluesy torch singer can easily hold her own with the big gals like Norah Jones and Diana Krall while evoking the young Doris Day and even Roberta Flack.

"Renee Olstead" has several break-out tunes which stay in your head for hours, including her spellbinding and swirly "Summertime," her impeccably voiced "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" and her deliriously beautiful remake of Maria Muldaur's signature song, "Midnight at the Oasis."

Unlike other famous musical wunderkinds whose precocity (and notoriety) is much more apparent than their artistry, Renee Olstead doesn't overachieve in the slightest. Rather, she is utterly convincing as an assured and adept stylist with an affinity for music given to few.

After hearing this extraordinary album I can fully understand the raves it's been getting from professional critics as well as their collective disbelief that this is "just a kid" singing.

Help me, I'm under Renee Olstead's spell! I've been playing her new CD for like the last 5 hours. This girl is the future of music!

I don't know jazz the way some people do so I can't comment on the specific solo music stuff, but it's all great. The band really cooks! But I was listening mainly to Renee's voice. She sounds a little like Betty Boop in Someone to Watch Over Me, doesn't she? Then she sounds a lot like Jewel on some tunes and a little bit of Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow, but mostly she sounds like herself. She really has an amazingly pretty voice that comes across as both strong and vulnerable.

The best stuff is her uptempo songs. She was born to sing this kind of music like Is You Is or Is You Aint my Baby. Her words just bounce along in perfect syncopation. I wasn't so impressed with Breakin' Up is Hard to Do because, in direct contrast, it drags along. A Love That Will Last is the best of the slow ones and it brings out the deepest emotions.

So ...... I took a break long enough to type this review. Now it's back to the music - Renee's music from which I may never recover!

I heard a couple of her songs while listening to a local station here in Las Vegas that is considered "the old person's station" - I'm 30 and love the music they play, a lot of standard vocalists. Her version of "Slow Boat to China" made me sit up and take serious notice -and even more so when the DJ said she was only 14!!! How could that be?! Such mature talent for such a young age!!! So today I bought her cd and there is not a single song that isn't good - that's a difficult statement to make considering a lot of contemporary artists only offer one or two desirable pieces on their albums. Her interpretations of many of the the songs are impressive. Her vocal talents are incredibly impressive, period. I'm so happy to have found her and to be able to enjoy her voice (I'm currently listening to it for the 4th time in a row! Yes, it's THAT good). Apparently this young lady was influenced by Celine Dion since she was a young child - although, it's interesting because I haven't picked up any Celine-oriented influences, thankfully, because I do not like her singing whatsoever.

Anyway, anyone that loves standards and jazz REALLY will be pleased with this cd. I'm proudly adding this cd to my collection of Sarah Vaughn, Shirley Horn, Lena Horne, A.C. Jobim, Diana Krall, etc.

Renee is an outstanding new talent! I rank her near the top of of today's many female jazz/standards singers, such as Diana Krall and Jane Monheit. Renee stands out because she has more "attitude" and a healthy touch of "bravado" than most others - sort of like a female Sinatra. That, together with the big band sound on some tracks, is OUTSTANDING!!! Renee also sings warm, heartfelt, touching, gentle ballads. There's one corny pop song which doesn't work for me, "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." Renee's singing style gives a contemporary sound to some old standards - a very "kewl" style as my kids would say. To Renee: Your strength is in your unique and "kewl" interpretation of big band songs and standard ballads and bluesy songs. Try out more Sinatra-style arrangements. The ones most like that on this CD are awesome! You can bring many wonderful "standards" to a whole new generation! Skip the light-weight modern pop stuff. Hopefully for all of us, Renee will sing like this for a long, long time!

Renee Olstead is the real deal! Who knew this sitcom star ("Still Standing") had such a great voice. This new singer takes a collection of great standards, intermixed with a couple of newbies, and makes them her own. She's a pop singer with a jazz sensibility that is absolutely intoxicating. One can only hope that her record company will promote her as well as Norah Jones was promoted by her label. This is a fresh take on titles from the Great American Songbook, with arrangements that match.
Her duet with Peter Cincotti on "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" is worth the price of the CD all on its own! A wistfully done "Someone To Watch Over Me" is equally great. Listen to her rendition of the Barry Manilow song "Meet Me, Midnight", and tell me that you aren't hearing a new singing star being born!
This is one terrific CD!

I never would write a review, good or bad, about any performer, but I just felt that I had to get my two cents in about Renee Olstead. If this CD were vinyl, I would have worn it out at this point. As both a musician and a fan of popular standard and show tunes, I can safely say that someone has finally raised the bar for the first time in many years. How is it that, with all of the "lounge singers" who appear in NYC nightclubs, professing to be the savior for the gendre that a 14 year old kid can sing circles around all of them. Renee is truly a band singer, and she plays her voice like an instrument. Her scat is worthy of the legacy of her predecessors, like Sarah and Ella; listen to her follow the wonderful orchestra (especially in the Barry Manilow song), phrase and note. Her rendition of Sunday Kind of Love has taken a song which a Dinah Washington would have rendered with far less power and technique, and today's singers would ruin in wailing all over the place (e.g. American Idol), and made it what it should have been all along, heartfelt. And even the pop songs, like the Maria Maldaur, is right on the money. This is what today's singers should aspire to become. I have given a burn of this CD to Skitch Henderson, and I hope that if she is ever on the right coast, she will be invited to sing with the New York Pops at Carnagie Hall. That is where she should perform.

I'm 15 just like Renee, I listen to a wide variety of music and I can name the great ones like Sinatra, Streisand, Fitzgerald and Vaughn. To this list I will now add Renee! She was born to sing and it shows in every last note. I think my generation has found it's greatest representative to the world of music. The CD is fantastic. Summertime will just about blow your mind. Is You Is Or Aint My Baby will grab you by the ear and spin you round. I Want A Love That Lasts is soothing and sweetly touching. Some to Watch Over Me is from another world! Breakin Up is Hard to Do makes the most out of this song. Sentimental Journey is a joy ride. Renee, if you read any of this you have made major fans out of people our own age. We will support you every step of the way!

I never watch the Today show, but yesterday was one of those rare occasions when I did. What luck... I saw Renee Olstead sing and had to run out and buy her CD. I never buy a CD like that... goes to show what an impact Renee made. With so many Pop singers singing the same old music Renee's singing and music is refreshing. I play in a Jazz Band(Big Band Music) and this CD reminds me why this music is so good. It is so hard to find a great jazz singer these days... but one has been found. Renee is spectacular!

I just love it when I discover a new and dazzling talent, and Renee Olstead certainly falls under that category! I saw a rave review about Renee in Liz Smith's gossip column and ordered this cd on her recommendation. From the first moment of the cd to the last, I could not believe my ears. This young woman is so talented, it has to be a gift from God! I love her voice, I love her phrasing -- she just "has it"! I have read other reviews discussing Renee's age and the sophistication of the songs she sings. I have listened to this cd over and over, and my conclusion is that she truly understands of what she sings! My favorites are "Summertime" and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," because they show the full range of Renee's incredible voice. However, there is not a song here I don't love. To think that she is 14 years old -- her potential is off the charts! I just gave copies of this cd to two friends today, and the clerk at Borders told me Renee was selling fast -- I got the last two copies in the store. God bless you, Renee! Keep centered and get the best career advice available. I know we will be seeing much more of you in the years to come.