Customer Reviews

And So Is Love

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am listening to And So Is Love as I write this. When I got the cd yesterday, the first thing that impressed me was how beautiful Rita looked on the cover. I looked at the song selection and almost was alarmed at what at first glance seemed an uninspired selection. Leave it to Rita to take these very well known songs and turn them into unique newly realized pieces. Rita's warm,smoky, caramel tinged voice works wonders on these tunes. Standout tracks include Cry Me A River(Rita has always reminded me of Julie London, so this cut is particularly appropriate), I Don't Know Enough About You, and my two favorites...Don't Smoke In Bed and Don't Go To Strangers. Rita's southern roots show to wonderful advantage throughout this beautiful collection, darlin'. A special shout out to all of the excellent musicians accompanying Rita, especially Terri Lynne Carrington's drums and Herb Alpert's stunning trumpet work on Estate. Thank you Concord Records for signing Rita! And to everyone reading this, if you buy only one standards cd this year, you owe it to yourselves to purchase And So Is Love.

Born in 1945, at age 60, Rita Coolidge makes a tour-de-force recording with "And So Is Love." On the jazz label Concord, Coolidge's vocals bend around a classic like "Cry Me A River" and milk the drama from the lyric with a small jazz combo. While Carly Simon's new "Moonlight Serenade" uses a wall of strings, Coolidge keeps the arrangements simple with a few players than makes you feel like you're in an intimate setting, a small club with a truly talented vocalist. One of the newer songs is Boz Scaggs' "We're All Alone" that Rita effectively re-tools into a jazz setting, similar to Paul Anka's recent "Rock Swings" effort of taking rock tunes and recasting them in a jazz context. Herb Alpert guests with trumpet on the lovely "Estate," "How your golden sunlight bends the willow, Your blossoms send your perfume to my pillow for who could know you half as well as I?" Les Brown's "Sentimental Journey" pulses with new life with Alan Pasqua's piano urging Rita's sultry alto to caress the familiar lyric, "Got my bags & got my reservation." Peggy Lee's "I Don't Know Enough About You" has the witty lyric and Rita's coy vocals, "You've got me in a spin, Oh, what a stew I'm in." "Don't Smoke In Bed" packs a dramatic wallop with this classic breakup song. This is a handsome sounding set, perfect in song selection and Rita Coolidge's ability to deliver the emotional payload. Enjoy!

Rita Coolidge has always been one of those category-defying singers. Her voice stands out whether it blues, ballads, rock, or pop. Now you can add jazz to that list of music genres.

At the onset of this cd, Rita promises she'll "love you like nobody's loved you - Come Rain or Come Shine." This line opens the door on one of the most amazing collections of jazz tunes. Rita is in complete control of each song - nothing is overdone. There is no struggle between vocalist and band. Everything is so perfectly balanced.

Anyone who has seen Rita perform in recent years knows that Rita is a huge fan of Peggy Lee. No surprise that a few of Peggy's great tunes are delivered here so smoothly suggesting Rita has been singing these songs her whole life - I'm sure she has.

One of the coolest things Rita has always done with her records is let you think you know a song and then deliver it in such a way that you wonder if you'll ever hear it without thinking of Rita's version again. She never fails to take a song and immediately make it her own. In AND SO IS LOVE, Rita succeeds again and again. Song after song. Her talent shines.

Rita's closing words on this record some up the experience and offer some advice if you want an opportunity to hear some great music live and in person... "Don't go to strangers, Darlin', come to me."

So many "old" stars coming back with standards - too many?
I thought so, but I tried Rita anyway, and LOVED everything about this CD. Number 1 favorite is still Boz Skagz (sp) "But Beautiful"

Rita has done it again ... simply stunning from start to finish ! Rita's voice is the great centerpiece of this new collection of songs. Rita is truly doing things with her voice now, that she has only hinted at in the past. She sounds warm, passionate, and exhilirated by the material.Favorites are "Cry Me A River", Peggy Lee's " I Don't Know Enough About You", "More Than You Know". A triumph for the great, underrated Rita Coolidge. I hope Concord Records gets behind this recording, I see another Grammy award in Rita's future ! Cd packaging is beautiful, really first rate. Wow !! what a beautiful picture on the cover. The last song, "Don't Go to Strangers " will become a new Rita classic !! This cd is wonderful, "And So Is Rita "!

"And so is Love", the CD is an amazing and stunning piece of work. Rita's vocals, the selection of material, the artistry of the band... When I purchased the CD I expected a strong effort and good performance of many timeless standards... What I got was something far different, Timeless standards done in a completely unique way, with arrangements that have all these years kept Rita a brilliant and shining star. This album is a must for anyone that enjoys music thats not just for head banging...The CD will tap into emotions that many have even forgotten that they had.... Well worth the price... This is a CD that won't just take up space in your music collection... Nope this one will get played, time and again.

Rita Coolidge sounds as good as she always has. In fact, her voice has aged nicely with occasional husky tones -- aged like a fine wine. But, I was sorely disappointed in this album. I knew that Rita had interpretive skills, but it seems they weren't allowed freedom within the arrangements here, which had a tendency to sound too much the same -- almost to a droning point.

Not to say that this album falls short of high points, though. Her re-working of "We're All Alone" is a turnabout from her hit version, making this version tantamount and one that overshadows her hit, as well as Boz Scaggs' original. Another excellent track is "I Don't Know Enough About You," which shows that Rita can swing in a sultry way.

I'm glad that I purchased this album, even though it didn't live up to my expectations. I still have high hopes that Rita will record another in this genre, but hopefully her arranger(s) have more variety and creativity in future arrangements.

Rita's rendition of "Cry me a River" brought tears to my eyes; it really is that good.

this CD is a class act---from a classic singer---rita coolidge
has a smoky, beautiful voice---made to sing jazz standards--
this CD has the sound of the great jazz singers--imagine a
smoky jazz club with rita coolidge singing classic jazz--what
is so good about this CD is the jazz band has solo's in every songs---this CD sounds good as you listen to it---but it also
sounds great as background music---a great CD from a great lady
rita coolidge

Rita Coolidge still has the most beautiful voice in the music industry, in my opinion as an instrumental musician. She has an unparalleled ability which compels the listener to feel the emotion of the music. However, this CD misses what has made Rita Coolidge great. Such a collection of jazz standards as this can be heard live on any Saturday night in almost any hotel lounge in America or elsewhere. The songs do not sparkle, in spite of the fact that Rita is singing them and is backed by talented, though mainstream and predictable, jazz instrumentalists. There are no blue notes anywhere. There are no surprises. Every piece is straightforward and would probably play well to the "over eighty" crowd. There are times when arrangers deliberately try to exude sophistication, and it just doesn't work. Rita Coolidge's voice is naturally sophisticated, and such projects as THINKIN' ABOUT YOU and OUT OF THE BLUES show it. In my opinion, the best arrangement of "Bring It On Home to Me" that has ever been done appears on OUT OF THE BLUES. To be sure, the marketing staff of Concord will sell this collection, but it does not reflect the soul, spirit, or skill of Rita Coolidge. At least they did not attempt a jazz version of "I Stand In Wonder." As far as this CD is concerned, I believe that Rita was simply the victim of some bad advice.