Customer Reviews

Sunshower

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

 

 

"Sunshower" is one of those works that is complete and satisfying. Like a fine art painting, every song fits together into this album.

Thelma Houston was the perfect choice for the vocalist. She breathes life and vision into every number.

Jimmy Webb is best known for his work with Glen Campbell and Richard Harris. Arranged and produced by Jimmy Webb, this is his finest work. Likewise for Thelma Houston who holds nothing back. She is in her finest form on every song.

The only dim spot in this album is that it never received the legitimate recognition that it deserved. Recorded as an lp in 1969, it is now available in limited quantities as an import from Japan. The sound of the CD is done immaculately well, resulting better than the original album.

Well worth waiting for, highly recommended for those who love an accomplished R&B female vocalist accompanied by rich arrangements.

This is Thelma Houston at her best! ...the material is top-shelf! I have a vinyl copy and it's easily
one of the most treasured albums in my vast collection. It's a wonder broadway didn't come knocking. Alas, I've read numerous
accounts of why it didn't take off from Dunhill not knowing how
to promote a black female singer to their reluctance to let Jimmy Webb cover his own work with the label and lost interest. Whatever the case there's not a loser in the bunch and sooo many big recording artists covered these tunes shortly after it's release. None came close to the magic that Thelma created. She belted, she growled, she carressed, these lyrics. And with Jimmy's great arrangements it just clicked! What kills me is how this album is mostly always forgotten when Jimmy's career is talked about in favor of his more bigger hits like Galveston with Glen Campbell or MacArthur Park with Richard Harris. Even with something as weird as "Pocketful of Keys" you can't find a better version. Easily i'd put this up there
with Dusty IN Memphis and Aretha's I Never Loved A Man (The Way
I Love You) albums. Peace

"Sunshower" is the most incredible album that legendary composer Jimmy Webb has ever written, arranged, and produced in his long and brilliant career! As Jimmy stated on the original album sleeve "I hurry to present Thelma... the most prodigious talent I have ever encountered" and Miss Houston more than lives up to this proclamation. Never have I heard a more brilliant marriage of artist and material and this work for many collector's has been an example of singing at it's finest since it's original release. Upon original release radio didn't know what to do with this classic but word of mouth spread like wildfire that Thelma Houston's voice was one of the all-time greats and not to be missed! Immediately I ran out and purchased what quickly became one of my all-time favorite female vocal albums ...I purchased numerous copies so that I would never be without a fresh copy. ... Stirring and soulful is "Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon" and hauntingly beautiful is "To Make It Easier on You" with a vocal that is magnificent. Many have done "Didn't We" but this is the definitive version with an ever so fine vocal that is unforgettable. "Mixed-Up Girl" is sung with such heartbreaking passionate longing that it is totally stunning. By the time you get to the gorgeous "Someone is Standing Outside" you know that this is a solid collection with no throw aways! Thelma really lets it rip on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and this version is a notch up from the original and really cooks and is a gas!!. Another glorious heartbreaking vocal goes deep inside "This is Where I Came In" and deep anguish through the haunting "Poketful of Keys". "This is Your Life" is an epic ballad with a beautiful passionate vocal that pleads to a wayward lover and is breathtaking in its beauty. Another cooker in this magical collection is the hard rocking "Cheap Lovin'" and the closer is the spiritual "If This Was the Last Song" which ends on a passionate high that soulfully breaks into "Somebody is Standing Outside". Get this fast while its available because they don't get finer than this!! ...

I'll be brief and general since prior reviews are detailed by song. I married in 1969 and my late husband and I searched the
web and phoned music stores across the country for more than
two decades for the cd to no avail...the record being old and scratched. I saw Thelma on tv recently and decided to check for Sunshower again. Who thought to check Japan? :-)

Music being all important to me for 58 years, it's difficult to
say it's my favorite album, but I did think to say it which proves how great it is and how very much it means to me. I see
each cut as a joyous vignette from Jimmy Webb and Thelma.

I pray my husband, Louie, who has been in heaven for seven years on Tuesday, August 9th, is listening with me.

This is a most extraordinary album. After thirty plus years, it still sounds as fresh as the day I first heard it in the 1970's.
Jimmy Webb, at the peak of his powers, after his rather pretentious (but still wonderful) collaboration with Richard Harris, crafted an album for Ms Houston that, not only compliments her voice, but is melodically the most satisfying thing he did since the Fifth Dimension's 'The Magic Garden'. The arrangements are also a contributing factor in this most special of projects. The ice-like setting of 'Pocket Full of Keys', the gospel-infused 'Someone is Standing Outside' and the Las Vegas setting of 'Everybody gets to go to the Moon": this was a tunesmith at the top of his game. One has wait until Mr Webb solo project 'Lands End' to hear anything as completely satisfying.
If one had to quibble, one might wonder why we needed another reprise of 'Didn't We' and 'Jumping Flash Flash' sounds as out of place as 'Ticket to Ride' did on 'The Magic Garden'.
But these are minor blemishes that can't mar a truly great album. Its lack of success upon its release still remains one of the great musical mysteries.
If you want quality pop music, do not deprive yourself any longer.This is magic stuff.

"Sunshower" has got to be one of the greatest vocal triumphs ever captured in a recording studio and now mixed to perfection for all lovers of great singers to savor and enjoy for all time.
Thelma Houston possesses a stunning voice of complete beauty with passion & soul behind this glorious gift awesome to behold...the lady can sing anything and involve the listener in a way completely engrossing ultimately creating an magnificent magical musical experience beyond compare...composing legend Jimmy Webb knew he heard a voice so incredible that he was inspired to write a collection of classics and what Thelma & Jimmy accomplished in studio is this now legendary collection that would have been huge if given airplay but nevertheless has become a highly regarded musical treasure and well known vocal masterpiece.
Pointless to go in to each classic gem as they await the lucky individual listener to marvel over & dive in and have a musical feast unlike any other...all performances are fine and tremendous and the longing plea in "This Is Your Life" & "If The Was The Last Song" so profoundly moving as are all performances and bonus tracks in this masterful collection. "Jumpin'Jack Flash" turned inside out with a brilliant performance so riveting it must have stunned Mick Jaggar and Thelma shines in Laura Nyro's "Save The Country" making both classic songs her own.
Bravo to Thelma Houston & Jimmy Webb for making a satisfying life changing classic to savor & enjoy for all time and seasons of life...

We normally think of Jimmy Webb as a singles artist, at least his 60s work, because of the slew of hits he wrote for Top 40 bands. "Up Up and Away,"? or "McAurther Park" are more than hit songs, they are American cleches still plastered all over the radio.

But Webb could work magic with albums, to. Along with the Fifth Dimention's Magic Garden, Thelma Huston's Sunshower is ample proof of this. Webb wrote and produced most of this record, and the songs are linked in mood and sound if not thematically. There are ballads, and more energetic orchestral arrangements, but the album is united by Webb's unique sense of arranging, and his unique use of chords in his writting. He just never sounded like anybody else.

Thelma Huston carries off his work perfectly. Her voice is strong yet melodic, and full of subtlety. She is not a crooner or a belter, but her clean delivery is a perfect counterpoint for the complexity of Webbs densely orchestracted sound.

When most albums by "pop" artists were two singles and a lot of filler, Sunshower proved that this type of music has a lot more possibilities. Webb and Huston are brilliant enough to carry it off.

I bought this album when it dropped--twice--loaning it to friends with whom I wanted to share the musical magic. Neither album was returned, and I have regularly searched music stores and sellers for a third replacement for NEARLY 40 YEARS. Thank you, Japanese producers, for reissuing this title; thank you, Amazon, for listing it. Buy this today! Ms. Houston's flawless voice and artistry transcend time. It is a gift to have a disc containing 11 songs written by Jimmy Webb, arguably one of the greatest composers of our time. Every song is fabulous. If you like Patti Austin, Cassandra Wilson, or any of the other mature R&B or smooth jazz divas, add this to your collection. Thelma Houston's "Sunshower" is their harbinger.

I'm blown away by the Jimmy Webb produced SUNSHOWER CD by Thelma Houston. At first, I was afraid it would be a little too tame for my taste, going by the track previews here on Amazon, but I should've known better with Webb producing and arranging because those previews cut-off before the tracks whip into a frenzy.

Thelma belts, growls, testifies, going up the scale and down, and holding the notes like a true singing diva, proving that she was so much more than her monster disco hit, "Don't Leave Me This Way," that would come years later. Just listen to her vibrato on "(The) Good Earth." Now that's talent, mixed with technique!

Her cover of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is just as good as the original, and "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon (By The Light Of The Silvery Moon)" reveals a vocal talent that should've made her a household name. "This Is Your Life" is another gem on this fantastic reissued album and "Cheap Lovin'" has the soulful conviction and gusto, along with powerhouse vocals, usually reserved for the likes of Aretha Franklin or Janis Joplin. Houston proved on this debut album that she was equally effective singing ballads or up-tempo rock numbers.

Although the original album was produced in 1969, it doesn't really sound dated--to my ear.

Another reviewer pointed out that Webb was probably trying to find his Dionne Warwick (to his Burt Bacharach), and thought it was Houston, but according to the liner notes written by Charles Waring (writer for MOJO, among others), SUNSHOWER bombed when it was released.

It's really a shame that the record company didn't know how to market a talented artist like this, back then, which is probably why the album flopped. Of course it could've been the dramatic changes that were occurring in music in 1969 that led to the album's failure, but thanks to Soulmusic we have a reissue to enjoy and discover all over again.

Also included on this CD (besides the foldout booklet with present day-2010-liner notes by Waring) is six bonus tracks that were only issued as singles on the ABC/Dunhill label.

Thelma Houston tries out her vocal prowess with some Jimmy Webb tunes. Not only is every song (except for one, a spirited cover of The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash") written by Jimmy Webb, he is also the main producer on the LP.

As to be expected from a Jimmy Webb product, it's strange in places and somewhat out of left field, but that's what makes it intriguing. Houston wraps her voice around several Webb classics, and seems to have the most success with "Mixed Up Girl", "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon" and the title track, "Sunshower".

On other tracks, especially "Didn't We" and "Someone Is Standing Outside" and "Cheap Lovin'", she seems lost as to what Webb wants her to deliver. While the vocals are always top notch musically, emotionally Houston sometimes seems too detached from her material.

This hard to find album was first brought to my attention because Dusty Springfield supposedly discovered both "Mixed Up Girl" and "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon" by listening to this record. Dusty's covers seem to capture Webb's bizarre/other-worldy style better than Houston's versions here.

Somehow, it seems Webb's music requires a more skillful singer with a larger emotional range. Houston tries her best, but she is no Dusty Springfield.

Overall, a very good album. If Houston had just had a bit more emotional maturity in her delivery, it would be a 5 star affair.