Customer Reviews

Ultimate Divas

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

 

 

Over the weekend I heard what was apparently a pre-release copy of this CD while enjoying an afternoon beer in a neighborhood bar in Santa Monica. Aretha's live performance of Nessun Dorma really caught my ear...such spontainaity and passion in her singing. What was this?! Aretha singing Puccini...and a tenor aria at that?! The bartender was busy and couldn't open the CD player to show me the disk, so I went home, jumped on the Internet and this is what I found: "at the 40th annual Grammy awards telecast in February, Aretha stepped across a world of musical boundaries with her performance of "Nessun Dorma," the heroic aria from Puccini's final opera. "Turandot." Aretha agreed at the last minute to step in for ailing tenor Luciano Pavarotti and "stole the Grammy awards show," wrote Steve Jones in USA Today. "The Queen of Soul," Jones noted, "sang the unknown Prince's signature number in Pavarotti's key (three steps lower than her own) with a 72-piece orchestra after a mere eight minutes of preparation backstage."

Aretha also performed this aria a number of other times during 98/99 so until I get this CD I can't be sure this is the Grammy performance, but by the sound of the orchestra backing her in the recording, the live audience, and the "go-for-it" quality of the singing, I'm fairly certian this is it...a priceless gem that proves once again: nothing beats genius blended with a spontaineous magical moment!

Clearly there are two standards for evaluating a hits collection such as "Ultimate Divas," which proclaims that it has assembled the greatest female vocalists of our time (The first caveat is that you have to have been around for about a half-century for Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Judy Garland to be a part of "our" time). The first and most important standard is whether or not these are indeed the greatest female vocalists that you could put together on one album (the second caveat seems to be that the singers are of child bearing age as of 1999, since the wunderkind of the bunch is either Toni Braxton or Mary J. Blige, but I am not looking up dates of birth). This album starts with Billie Holiday and ends with Aretha Franklin, it has Lena, Horne, Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald, you get Tina Turner and Diana Ross, there is Annie Lennox and Toni Braxton, and you have Patti LaBelle and Whitney Houston and that still leaves four more. Who is missing? Well, Barbra Streisand is the obvious voice choice for me; my kids would probably say Mariah Carey and if you are talking women of power there would be Madonna and Janet Jackson. But even if you do not think the talent level grades out at A+ it still has to be a solid A.

The other criteria is what the Divas sing on this album. Of the 17 Divas less than half are signing their signature tunes. Getting "yes" votes on the topic would be Billie Holiday's "My Man," Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather," Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow," Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It," Annie Lennox's "Why," Diana Ross's "Touch Me In The Morning," and Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart." This is not to dismiss the rest of the tracks. Ella Fitzerald's "Someone To Watch Over Me" is a personal favorite, and "I Have Nothing" shows off Whitney Houston's voice as well as anything. The rest are fine, but the treat for me is Aretha Franklin's "Nessun Dorma," which I remember from the 1998 Grammy Awards.

The Queen of Soul was already scheduled to sing one song and when Luciana Pavarotti bowed out at the last moment she not only agreed to sing another song in his place, she sang his song. If you have ever heard Pavarotti you have probably heard him do this tenor aria from Puccini's "Turandot" because it is his standard encore piece. I thought hearing Franklin do "I Had a Dream" from "Les Miserables" on the 1992 Inaugural show was a treat, but this was just awesome. I would have graded "Ultimate Divas" out at 4.5 overall but I have to round up just because you get this track. For everybody else my best advice is to pay attention to the first criteria and not the second. On this collection you probably have the songs you really like, so picking up this album is your opportunity to example your notion of Diva-ness. Give Britney, Christina and the rest of the youngsters and go for the finely aged voices from the past.

This is a great CD! I am a music lover of all types. And to have a single CD that includes Billie Holliday and Mary J. Blige (Wow)!!!!!!! I bought a copy for all of my frineds becasue no one would believe me. It's a great way to appreciate women such as Ella , Billie, Patti, and others for the ways they have shaped the music we listen to!

Sometimes, various artists compilations seem to click in, once you feel that certain kind of rhythm. In the case of a diva, you have to let it touch you straight from the heart. With this case of divas collections, you must enjoy all of them, not a couple like I do. This Divas collection, is just another example of what should try to make up a various artists compliation, a good head, and a good knowledge of what a diva is.

With the various artists collection Ultimate Divas, is a sampler containing some of the biggest hit divas in the music industry. Although in my case, I would buy it, if I can find it. There are so many divas to really choose from, with some of their biggest songs, from Patti LaBelle's If Only You Knew, to Annie Lennox's classic ballad, Why. There are also some of the greatest movie ballads on there, including Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing from The Bodyguard, and the late Judy Garland classic, Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Although this collection is nice as part of the clearance rack, there could be a second volume of this Divas collection in the works. There were so many overlooked divas that could've been added like Vanessa Williams, Mariah Carey, Natalie Cole, and even Anita Baker. Hopefully, Arista will put that into consideration.

I truly enjoyed this album. The cuts by Ella Fitzgerald and Toni Braxton (who would've thought about the two of them being on a CD together!) were my favorites. I love Judy Garland and the old Billie Holiday cuts also. But, I do wonder, who in the world thought Annie Lennox belonged on this CD? What makes her a Diva? All the other women on the CD at least can sing and carry a tune. Yikes. Almost blasphemous to put her song on a CD with the others. But, overall, a great CD!

Okay so many of the important women pop singers are represented but they aren't singing their best songs and it's a stretch to call some of these singers Ultimate anything. If you want ultimate, look for indivdual albums or the ultimate Diva record:
Lena Horne, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn, that's cooking.

A pretty impressive album and the use of the word "Diva" is aptly used here with maybe the exception of Toni Braxton (who is a great singer) but has she had the longevity to justify a Diva title? of course an Ultimate Divas II might address the omission of Celine Dion,Cher and as a personal note i would like to have seen Nina Simone's "My baby dont care" as a footnote Artetha Franklyn performing "Nessun Dorma" was/is incredible and a nice ending treat.

Nessun dorma is a more than beautiful aria, but sung like gospel soul...? That was different. If you like gospel, you will love it. If you are an opera singer, you will run down the street screaming with your hair on fire!

I watched the Grammy's the night Aretha performed her recording on this album. It brings tears filled with emotion to my eyes as I listen to it again and again and again! I believe all the artists deserve to be on this album. Aretha has sung with many of them including Sister Diva Annie Lennox. They are all talented enough to have had the spotlight shared "together" on this CD. I believe Arista should produce another album so that the other Sister Divas (Mariah, Madonna, Cher, just to name a few.) which did not make this first cut should be giving their shared spotlight "together" as well. I realize a CD can only hold 74 mins so I understand why some could not make this first cut. Anyway, Go buy this album! Believe me, you will not regret it after you hear the last song! Enjoy!