Audra McDonald - Build a Bridge
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Audra McDonaldEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Music Label: Nonesuch
Soundtracks:
- God Give Me Strength
- My Stupid Mouth
- Build A Bridge
- Cradle And All
- I Wanna Get Married
- Dividing Day
- My Heart
- Damned Ladies
- Wonderful You
- To a Child
- Bein' Green
- Tom Cat Goodbye
- I Think It's Going To Rain Today
Free Music Notes for Build a Bridge
Free Music Review: A siren smothered
Hit: 3 Stars
Once again one of the most beautiful voices in musical theater wraps her mezzo around a mix of quasi-theater and pop songs. When it works--in the dual Laura Nyro songs, and the surprising, thoughtful rendition of John Mayer's My Stupid Mouth (note to singers: words matter, acting counts)--McDonald achieves a glint of the delicious friction she unfurled on her most satisfying outing, 2001's Happy Songs. But the CD buckles under repetive, uninspired arrangements, making McDonald's vocal gifts feel like useless beauty; it meanders when it should soar; it lulls when it should cut like a knife to the heart.
Build a Bridge Poster
Audra McDonald's Build A Bridge recreates a remarkable program of songs she premiered to great acclaim at the premiere of the American Songbook Series for Jazz at Lincoln Center. As the album title suggests, she combines material from precious young songwriters like Rufus Waiwright, Nellie McKay and even John Mayer with the work of frequent collaborator and Broadway innovator Adam Guettel, Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach, Laura Nyro, and Randy Newman.Audra McDonald may well have the best voice and interpretative skills of all current musical-theater singers. This album, though, is oddly disappointing. McDonald's gorgous soprano is as pure as ever, but her feisty attitude and sly sense of humor are less in evidence than on previous recordings (just check out "A Little Bit in Love" on a studio recording of Wonderful Town). On this pared-down sounding outing, the tunes mix pop-rock songwriters both contemporary (John Meyer, Rufus Wainwright, Nellie McKay) and old-school (Neil Young, Laura Nyro, Randy Newman--though Dusty Springfield's version of Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" remains the definitive one), along with composers from the artier side of musical theater (Adam Guettel, Ricky Ian Gordon). Things start off great with a haunting take on Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello's "God Gave Me Strength." Highlights include a poker-faced version of McKay's parody of 1950s matrimonial bliss, "I Wanna Get Married" and Wainwright's tango-ish "Damned Ladies." But Doug Petty's arrangements and production are too monochromatic, and the songs quickly meld into each other--typically, Nyro's "Tom Cat Goodbye" feels a bit flaccid. Someone please get McDonald a huge orchestra for her next outing. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
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