Customer Reviews

Symphony

5 star:		(117)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I simply love the CD. Picked up my copy this morning and popped it into the CD player. Wow, totally worth the 4-year wait! I was more than thrilled to hear the eclectic array of songs Sarah has chosen for Symphony. There's an edge to the album, which was coming sooner or later, and I'm relieved to finally hear something a little more close to home, rather than her fully themed albums from before. Symphony offers a little something for everyone. The songs which caught my attention are: Gothica, Symphony, Sanvean, Attesa and, surprisingly, Running. "Sanvean" is a Dead Can Dance cover tune, which is beautiful. Even though I reviewed the MP3 of "Running" and bashed it, I've grown to liking it because of that tribal beat which pops up around the middle of the song. I still think that Gustav Holst's original (Jupiter, from "The Planets") should've been left untouched, but Sarah has put her touch on that such classic just the same.

Symphony is voluptuous and living proof that Sarah is truly the best-selling Soprano of all time. Sarah uses a lot more of her higher, not necessarily operatic range on the album, which is pleasing to the ears, cos she's got a really lovely pop voice too. I haven't heard some notes she belts out, in a long time! The whole ethereality of the photos throughout the digipack & booklet are really nice, though some clever editing & airbrushing has been done, giving Sarah a truly different appearance in the photos. Her blonde wig is interesting with that braid across the front top portion of her head. I don't think she makes a great blonde, compared to her long, cascading raven tresses. And the backdrops...how ethereal and lofty everything seems. I like it. It's theatrical and playful at the same time. Sarah has picked up on a totally different fashion style. I love that white angelic number she wears, looking down upon her altar ego in the red dress down below.

Glad to know that Andrea Bocelli has been brought back to Duet with Sarah on "Canto Della Terra". So pretty and breathy and really packs a wallop of sound! I don't really care for Paul Stanley's voice on "I Will Be With You", compared to the original SB version, sung with Chris Thompson. His is a more soothing, smooth voice. But I realize Sarah was going for something a little more edgier, so I presume that is why they settled with the Paul Stanley version for the album.

Tracklisting is as follows:
01. Gothica - 1:20
02. Fleurs Du Mai - 4:10
03. Symphony - 4:47
04. Canto Della Terra - featuring Andrea Bocelli 3:59
05. Sanvean - 3:50
06. I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go) - featuring Paul Stanley - 04:31
07. Schwere Träume - 3:22
08. Sarai Qui - featuring Alessandro Safina 3:56
09. Storia d'Amore - 4:03
10. Let It Rain - 4:17
11. Attesa - 4:26
12. Pasión - featuring Fernando Lima
13. Running - 6:09

I don't know about the American edition, but my Canadian edition (the cd itself) is glossy red with silver lettering. It's very pretty and unlike any of Sarah's previous discs. I highly recommend purchasing Symphony, because it's really a wonderful album with a lot to offer.
Bonus material is available, through visiting Sarah's official website, once you've purchased the CD.

For fans of Sarah Brightman this latest album may be something of a shock. Unlike earlier works, it is dark, brooding, and at times deliberately uneven. So before you buy, some explanations of what Sarah is doing here might help you appreciate it better. Unfair criticisms have been leveled at Sarah that she is trying to "re-invent" herself here. People making these criticisms fail to realize that Sarah and Frank Peterson, her manager/partner, have always visualized her projects as being separate stand-alone mini-musicals. Eden was themed around Africa/and Nautical motifs. La Luna had a mythological Moon-Goddess theme. Harem was the Arabian Nights. In order to understand this latest work of Sarah's, a fan needs to read Baudelaire's controversial set of poems "Les Fleurs du Mal" (the Flowers of Evil.) In particular, they need to read a poem entitled, "Femmes Damnes" (The Women who are Damned.) Unlike Sarah's earlier works, Symphony is a soul-searching journey through mid-life crisis, mirroring Sarah's own journey through the past couple of years (unfortunately this hasn't been the happiest of times for her on a personal level.) If you read "Fleurs du Mal" (you can order it from [...] for a reasonable price) you will be amazed to see how well Sarah and Frank tied the whole album into the poems, including the cover art and the souvenir booklet insert. Once you acquaint yourself with Baudelaire, the album, art work and photos will make sense to you. So when approaching this latest work of Sarah's remember: 1. It's themed on "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Baudelaire. 2. It's more soul-searching than previous works probably because Sarah had to do some soul-searching herself. 3. It's a stand-alone work, like all of her previous ones, since each album is intended to be a mini-musical of sorts. Fans of Sarah may need to listen to it a few times to get used to her journey here...but the effort will be well worth it. Incidentally, least you worry about Sarah, not all is darkness. Like any dark stormy day, there are flashes of light through the clouds. One song in "Symphony," her version of "Where the Lost Ones Go" by Sissel, was used as the official theme song for the Tenth Pokemon film, "Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkai." So, despite some personal tragedies, Sarah still obviously is maintaining the same sense of gentle wit and humor which her fans have always loved.

Symphony is Sarah Brightman's first studio album in 4 years, so it's been quite a wait! The last time we heard her was on Harem, which was an incredible concept album. Now comes Symphony, and yes it's a good album, but still falls short of where it could've been.

The album begins very strongly, with the haunting instrumental "Gothica" intro that segues wonderfully into the dramatic "Fleurs du Mal". This is by far the best track on the album. It's thrilling, dark and possibly one of the best songs Sarah has ever done. Once it's over, it slows down for the beautiful "Symphony", which has totally grown on me. After this one, the album sadly falls apart a bit. We're treated to some beautiful duets, and some soaring arias, but the album doesn't quite attain that fire that started it. "Canto Della Terra" is pretty good, but it builds up too soon and too dramatically. It almost takes you by surprise, especially since Andrea Bocelli's voice overpowers Sarah's. "Sanvean" is nice and haunting, but goes nowhere. "I Will Be With You" is a good song that strongly reminds me of her album, Fly (except softer). It's one of the better songs on here. After this is filler: "Schwere Traume", "Sarai Qui", "Storie D'Amore". Those songs are just bland. It picks up again with the beautiful "Let It Rain", slows down again with "Attesa", then back up again with the GORGEOUS "Pasion". The album ends with the upbeat "Running", which is clearly an attempt to recreate her earlier hit, "A Question of Honour" from the Fly album. But while "Running" is a good song, it's not as striking as "Honour" and fails to reach that mark.

This album has great potential, but it doesn't capture me the way that Eden, La Luna or Harem did. Still, I find myself listening to it a lot because it IS pretty, just not epic like her previous records. This is sad because the amazing photography and album art/packaging suggests an album of tremendous quality. However, I was definitely left wanting more.

...but alas, I must *for the first time ever* give my beloved Sarah's SYMPHONY a rating below her worth. I don't know if it's just because I've grown away from the classical crossover genre and am therefore not in the right mind-set for such an album but on first listen it did absolutely nothing for me. Luckily after a few more spins it is starting to grow on me; however, the songs did not touch me on quite as profound a level as say EDEN and LA LUNA. It's still nice to hear new material from the angel of music, though. Sarah Brightman is and always will be my favorite singer. She's got such a light, ethereal quality to her surprisingly powerful voice that just fills me with an indescribable feeling of warmth. She's an equally great performer and I look forward to seeing her live again.

SYMPHONY is, as ever, a diverse piece of work. "Gothica" is a wonderful interlude into the symphonic metal ballad of "Fleurs Du Mal" which made me think I was listening to Nightwish until Sarah's siren voice chimed in. "Symphony" is a lovely pop song that leads into my favorite song on the album, "Canto Della Terra" with Andrea Bocelli. It's spellbinding and epic, and I personally enjoy this duet of theirs more than the overplayed "Time To Say Goodbye" (albeit they're both very good).

Unfortunately the slower classical numbers didn't do much for me as they usually do, but other favorites include her edgy pop/rock duet with Paul Stanley on "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)", initially released with Chris Thompson on last year's Pokemon soundtrack, as well as the hypnotically gorgeous "Let It Rain". I even enjoyed her daring cover of Dead Can Dance's "Sanvean" which is one of my all-time favorite groups. At first I was skeptical, and by no means is it better than the original, but I never listen to a cover song comparing it to the original. There's absolutely no way to compare her voice to Lisa Gerrard's anyway because like night and day they are completely different, so for what it's worth Sarah has hauntingly made it her own with beautiful, breathy vocals and lush, atmospheric strings.

Overall, not her best work to date but enjoyable all the same. And inside you'll find Sarah in an angelical white corset-styled dress with her darker alter ego in a sinful red gown, all amidst a very fantasy-esque backdrop ala Lord of The Rings. Not sure I care for her as a blond too much but that is irrelevant. :)

I would like to preface this review by letting you know that I love Sarah Brightman. While I appreciate all her work, I find myself more intrigued by her "themed" crossover albums (La Luna, Harem, Eden, and Fly). I love and respect her traditional albums as well (Classics, Time to Say Goodbye), but I do not find them as riveting.

This new album, "Symphony," covers a really broad spectrum of musical genres. It reminds me most of her Diva (greatest hits) album, because it strattles the line between her attempts at traditional, classic music and some crossover pop stylings. And, for a sampling, it is wonderful! Each of the songs has rich, beautiful melodies and Sarah sounds wonderful.

My only qualm with the album is that it doesn't have a specific tone. While I love a grab bag of music, this album doesn't seem cohesive in its structure. There are hard rock tracks, dance numbers, traditional pop songs, and fully orchestrated Italian duets. Don't get me wrong: I adore Sarah's willingness to blend music and cross genres. I just don't think it works on ONE album. I usually pop this disc in to listen to the three dance/crossover tracks (Le Fleur de Mal, Let it Rain, Running), then take it out. Or I pop it in and only listen to the slower, classical songs (the duets). I doubt many people would enjoy listening to this album all the way through. It is not like "La Luna" or "Harem" in that it follows a journey and tells a story. It is a complete mish-mash of different things. And, while I enjoy each track separately, I wish Sarah would have taken a more specific direction with the album.

I still recommend purchasing this album; just be ready for an extremely diverse collection. You probably won't let the whole album play (especially if you are in the mood for a certain type of music), but each of the songs is wonderfully crafted and should be enjoyed on its own terms.

This cd was well worth the wait!! I bought it really early this morning right as the stores were opening, and I have to say that I am completely blown away once again. There isn't one song on this entire cd that I dislike, each one has it's own unique quality about it. This new theme of hers is awesome.....I swear this woman can create any style of music she wants and make it her own every time. The artwork and pictures are absolutely stunning, its a lovely new look for her =). So go pick up this cd, you will not be disappointed!

Though not my favorite voice, I have to admit Brightman chooses great songs to perform on her albums. However, I much prefer the duets and her classical-pop/original songs over the ballads and solely classical renditions. This is true for the album "Symphony" as well.

The duets are all gorgeous (there are a whopping FOUR duets), especially with the impressive orchestra backgrounds on most of them. The best one by far is "Sarai Qui" featuring Alessandro Safina; it has more passion than even "Pasion." Another pleasant surprise is "I Will be With You" - a duet with Paul Stanley. It sounds particularly "pop"-y, but it's an energenic and melodic song that's fun to listen to. My favorite solo piece is "Symphony."

As for the ballads like "Sanvean," "Schwere Traume," "Storia D'Amore," and "Attessa," while pretty, I felt they were in need of an extra boost of instrumental background. It's easy to lose interest in listening to those songs. Of course, 9 amazing tracks out of 13 isn't bad at all. What most impresses me about Brightman is that the songs she sings in each individual album are eclectic and unique, even when they're remakes. I rate this album, then, below "Time to Say Goodbye" (which I think is her best), and tied at second with "Eden," though right now I'm giving "Symphony" more playing time than either.

I received Sarah's new album Symphony recently. It's great!! I love it!! The wait was well worth it to listen to Sarah's new album!! Sarah , you did it again!! Thank you Sarah!!!!


My favorites are Sarai Qui( I love Sarah's version so much better than Faith Hill's version. Alessandro Safina has a beautiful opera voice. I enjoyed listening to him and Sarah together.) , Fleurs Du Mal, Canto Della Terra( Sarah singing with Andrea is always great.) , Symphony, Running , Attessa ,and Pasion. I loved the whole album, but those songs were my main favorites!!

Congratulations Sarah!!

I recommend this album to every fan of Sarah's. It's a wonderful cd!!

Sarah Brightman has worked steadily to change the public's perception of classical music and create her own style of modern/pop classical. The infusion of pop and dance selections with classical works has defined her and selitified her position as the most succesful soprano in history. Symphony is no exception.

Brightman explores her darker side in this selection, with a very moody lyric. "Fleurs du Mal" sets the gothic mood with a very powerful guitar driven performance which is given the full orchesta treatment, agian fusing the more modern sound with a classical operatic sound. The innocence and sadness of the albums title track "Symphony" comes across as very genuine to the listener. Brightman goes another round with Andrea Bocelli on the absoultely stunning, epic duet "Canto Della Terra" and revisits an English hit for Faith Hill, "There You'll Be", this time it is a duet with Alessandro Safina in Italian "Sarai Qui". The album also showcases some strong classical selections including "Sanvean" which actually is a lyricaly lighter moment on Symphony. Unlike previous obvious themed based projects from Brightman, where setting the theme was done through artwork and tour showcasing, Symphony brings across a rock and Gothic metal sound with the albums darker theme being showcased through the powerful lyrics, a true professional triumph.

I will leave to others to explicate this cd in depth and detail, I will share merely my intial emotional response: I love it, it is brilliant, it raises my consciousness in places to a nearly divine level, and I would die for Sarah!