Customer Reviews

Where Time Stands Still

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this recording so much that I am thinking of having mine framed and then buying another one...very stylish. I had seen Howard as the phantom over Christmas of 2003 and was in one of those "state of shock" moments after. Then, I found out that he had a CD and man...did I ever go through the roof! I bought the CD and I think it has been playing on my stero since then (Jan 2004) non-stop.

The only reason I rated this item 4 stars instead of 5 was because I had wished that there were more phantom songs on it...but enough about that.

On this CD he has combined two of my favorite songs "the music of the night" and "unexpected song" in a rather interesting way and I have no clue how, but it just really worked...very creative idea. Even if you haven't heard Howard sing, well then you should buy this album...and if you have...well then you should buy ten of his CD's and give them to all of your friends.

Not only does Howard have a beautiful voice he is a pretty snazzy looking guy and if your looking for some good pictures of him...buy the CD and if your like me everytime you open the case you practically faint. I have already scanned in the cover and made a 30inch x 30inch poster of him and put it in my room. So, see all of the things that you can do with Howard's CD besides listen to it over and over and over. Buy the CD NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a marvelous collection of songs sung by one of Broadway's finest voices. I have heard him perform live and this cd captures the magnetism of his performances.

My husband gave this CD to me for my birthday a couple of months ago and we can't stop listening to it. Howard McGillin's voice is so gorgeous and expressive. You just kick back and take a little romantic journey! The song selection is amazing, too! Not just Broadway love-songs, but some great pop songs too. The way he sings the lesser-known songs have made them instant classics in my eyes, and the better-known songs have been given a little twist so that he's kind of reinvented the wheel. Beautiful. One great example is "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera. (I saw Howard McGillin star in that show on Broadway, and he blew me away. Talk about the Angel of Music!) The song is partnered with another big Andrew Lloyd Webber hit, "Unexpected Song" and it's so powerful the way to two songs play off of each other. I can't get enough. He makes you hear things in the music that you've never heard before.

My girlfriend is dancing to the "My Romance" track at her wedding. My husband and I dance to it in our living room. What can I say? The coolest thing is that my parents love the CD, my husband and I love the CD, and my 16-year-old niece loves the CD. It's a classic. It's too good not to share, so, though I've never posted a review before, I'm doing it now. I'm back to make my 8th order...my favorite gift for the people in my life. Get it for your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your Mom and Dad, your young buddy who wants to be an actor...they'll love it.

Now that Howard McGillin is starring in the new Stephen Sondheim musical, BOUNCE, can we look for an all-Sondheim CD soon? I'll be the first in line to buy!

This is the type of recording that works its way into your unconscious, so that you begin hearing it in your head, and often at the oddest times. Howard McGillin is a Broadway veteran (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes, Phantom of the Opera) with a haunting tenor sound that caresses the notes, and an actor's insight that adds poignant depth to classics like "My Romance," "Not While I'm Around," "Lucky To Be Me," and especially "Why Did I Choose You?" Non-show songs include James Taylor's "The Meaning of Life" and two new (to me) gems, "Power of Two" and "Time." Outstanding in every respect--including the wonderful instrumental backing.

I have seen Howard in several Broadway shows and have always been impressed
with his intimate presence. He is such a tender and romantic performer; and
all of these songs reflect that. I have uploaded the entire CD into my IPod,
and always gently swoon when he comes on. What a great performer!

Howard has a great voice. id recommend this cd to anyone. He has a great voice for broadway a nice storng and even singing voice that can be really emotional. Id highly reommend it

Howard McGillin's album is show-tune vocal display. McGillin's trained voice reminds you of Matt Bogart, Simon Bowman, John Barrowman and Sean McDermott (all of these guys played Chris in "Miss Saigon" variously). The voice McGillin uses is unpretentious like the abovementioned gentlemen and can be touching in ways that will surprise you. Like his version of James Taylor's rarely performed "The Secret O' Life" and even the Indigo Girls' "Power of Two". His best moments are in showtunes like "I'll Tell The Man in the Street" and Sondheim's "Not While I'm Around;" the latter dovetailed into "Good Thing Going". He is less effective in older showtunes like Irving Berlin's "Isn't This a Lovely Day" -- one should not oversing this song because the wit might be dissipated. But the other older showtune he is more successful is "All The Things You Are" -- after all this song was first sung onstage by Gordon McRae, a baritone whose voice more than resembles McGillin's. On a personal level, I rarely find an album where my two favorite songs are sung (except in Andrea Marcovicci's "Sings Movies"): "Two for the Road" and "The Folks Who Live on the Hill". While there are other male crooners and theatre-trained singers whom everyone may like, McGillin will please almost everyone who likes their music free of melismatic vocal flights.

Residing half-way across the country from Broadway, I came across Howard McGillin's work by chance. Now, I can't stop playing this album. The stunning power and clarity of Mr. McGillin's voice are apparent with the first phrase sung. An appreciation of his phrasing and delivery soon follow and, since these are wonderfully emotive love songs, all of this pulls you pleasantly in.

Those familiar with Broadway music will appreciate Mr. McGillin's presentation of Sondheim, Rodgers and Hart, Hammerstein, Bernstein, Berlin and Kern. Also included, though, are captivating songs from Emily Saliers, James Taylor, Henry Mancini, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Some of the less familiar pieces take a while to touch you. Once they do, the way Mr. McGillin offers them, they, too, won't let go. You have never heard these songs sung so well. With repeat playing you appreciate things you didn't even notice at first, the sign of what a good selection of material this is!

I mostly wanted to hear Mr. McGillin, as Broadway's Phantom of the Opera, sing "The Music of the Night." The song is not featured in its entirety here (a very minor and the only disappointment of the album) but mixed with another Lloyd-Webber piece, "Unexpected Song". The combination actually works nicely and makes those parts of "The Music of the Night" included even more impressive when contrasted and blended with the other. Personal favorites also include Stephen Sondheim's "Not While I'm Around" mixed with his "A Good Thing Going", Chapin-Carpenter's "Where Time Stands Still" and the enchanting rendition of the Michael Leonard-Herbert Martin song, "Why Did I Choose You?"

While this album may ideally be appreciated over a candlelight dinner for two in love, I will tell you from personal experience that it is also plenty enjoyable heard while driving to work in a snowstorm. Now there's a voice and album worth hearing!