Unsuspecting Hearts

Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 26, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B000028TV8
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,075 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Friendship/Friends to the End

2. She's Gone

3. Pretty Women

4. The Alto's Lament

5. Unsuspecting Hearts

6. I'm Past My Prime

7. Losing Track of Time

8. What You Don't Know About Women

9. I Don't Know How to Love Him

10. Solid Silver Platform Shoes

11. My White Knight

12. The Miller's Son

13. Live With Somebody You Love

14. The Last Duet/Enough is Enough

15. Old Friend

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Beautiful and Wonderfully Crafted, December 13, 1999

By 

K. Alford "WriterBearSF" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unsuspecting Hearts (Audio CD)

What a wonderful surprise! I was suspicious of this follow-up album. After Side Show and Duets, I smelled a quick-buck marketing scheme in the works. Bravo to both artists for turning in warm, heart-felt performances and giving us some great listening material as a result. Skinner and Ripley's blend cannot be beat. I've yet to hear two female performers who better compliment each other's style. And the solo material nearly eclipses the shared songs. Emily Skinner's rendition of Sondheim's "Miller's Son" made my eyes snap wide open. The liner notes are correct -- she is Petra. And Alice Ripley in "Losing Track of Time" wraps herself around the lyrics and illustrates how delicious the line between pain and joy in love can be. Don't pass this one up.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Unsuspecting Hearts" Will Grab YOUR Unsuspecting Heart, July 8, 2000

By 

Glen C. Pruitt (Lewes, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unsuspecting Hearts (Audio CD)

I must admit that I didn't know who Emily Skinner and AliceRipley were before I bought this CD. Selecting this album was a clearexample of serendipity! It's a wonderful mix of tunes, some familiar, some not. Regardless, the songs are exquisitely performed by Emily and Alice! My favorite cuts are the title song and "Losing Track of Time" (both power ballads). I also like the last two songs: "The Last Duet" (written by Barry Manilow --- a comic duet that he performed with Lily Tomlin) and "Old Friend". On the CD there's a bonus track, too! It's hidden after the last song. Just let your CD continue playing and you'll hear "Em & Als" goofing around and sharing a slightly off-key rehearsal tape. What can I say? These women are gifted, funny, dramatic... and this album has some mighty fine performances. Get a copy... you won't be disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A step up...but not a leap..., September 7, 2000

By 

"gypsykevin" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unsuspecting Hearts (Audio CD)

This CD suffers from the same problem 'Duets' (their first album) did: Really bad arrangements and poor orchestrations. Both medley's are predictably arranged and 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' suffers the worst over-orchestrated syndrom.

The song selections are poor, and a few shouldn't have been recorded. 'Solid Silver Platform Shoes' and 'The Last Duet/Enough Is Enough' just don't fit into the flow of the album. 'My White Knight' is also a poor choice. 'I'm Past My Prime' is cheesy at best, and feels like it's been strained into a duet.

I think it's great when singers choose songs that have been previously unknown so I was excited to hear 'Unsuspecting Hearts'...a beautiful song, but the arrangement demon killed it with a too long instrumental bridge.

Solos were a nice change of pace. Emily shines with 'The Alto's Lament', and vocally succeeds with 'The Miller's Son' (although the latter suffers from over-orchestrations again). And Alice does great with uknowns like 'She's Gone' (cut from Side Show), and 'Losing Track of Time'...but, as I already mentioned, 'My White Knight' just didn't work.

This and the last CD have failed to produce the kind of connection Emily and Alice displayed in their Side Show recording. I really would like to see them recreate that, and ditch the arranger and instrumentalists of 'Duets' and 'Unsuspecting Hearts'.

Finally, there is a bonus segment (similar to their first album). But where 'Duets' had a fun bonus, this one is more like an inside joke that doesn't really work.