Megan Mullally & Supreme Music Program - Big As a Berry
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Free Music Notes for Big As a Berry
Free Music Review: Wonderful
Hit: 5 Stars
I just love her voice.
She's talented, powerful, lovely~
You are never gonna regret buying this amazing CD
Free Music Review: amazing
Hit: 5 Stars
Megan has a surprisingly beautiful voice. Purchase this cd if you like old songs done a new againFree Music Review: As good as it gets.
Hit: 5 Stars
A complete joy to listen to. I'm wanting more from you Megan. Bring it on. I can take it.Free Music Review: Megan bursts with energy and pushes her range...
Hit: 4 Stars
With her first CD, "The Sweetheart Break-In Project", Megan Mullally showed the world she was more than just a sitcom personality and reminded us that she had once been a Broadway musical performer and that she could also make magic in the studio. She wowed us with a diverse set that showcased her marvelous vocal as well as emotional range.Well, she's done herself one better with this latest release where she seems to channel everyone from Bernadette Peters to a young Bette Midler and even at times, the one of a kind Dusty Springfield. While this CD isn't perfect, it's close.
The CD starts out beautifully with a stunningly energetic (with her voice mixed way back) take on Lennon/McCartney's "Bathroom Window". This one should go alongside Elis Regina's classic take on "Golden Slumbers" and Aretha Franklin's version of "Eleanor Rigby" as one of the 3 best Beatles' covers by a female pop singer.
She also handles the two Bobbie Gentry numbers, "Ode To Billie Joe" and "Fancy" with tremendous sincerity and never seems to sing/talk down to her subject matter, something a less experienced singer might do. (However, the mixed way back voice is used again with less degree of success in "Fancy", sometimes making the lyrics hard to hear. Something you don't really want to happen in a story song.)
But my favorite moment on the disc is when, almost channeling Dusty Springfield in her intensity and use of the drawn-out, slow vibrato, she coos and beckons on Randy Newman's "Real Emotional Girl". This is the highlight of the disc and shows Mullally at her most vulnerable and intimate. Too bad it's also one of the shortest songs.
"Lament" is also beautifully heartfelt and interestingly, it segues nicely into "The Grand Tour", which she attacks with all the gusto and twang necessary.
Finally, her take on "Danny Boy" has moments of brilliance, although towards the end she comes off just a bit too brassy for my taste when perhaps a softer touch would have been more appropriate.
Overall, this is an excellent sophomore effort for Mullally, and while it occasionally puts her alongside Broadway divas who have attempted pop efforts (like Bernadette Peters and Betty Buckley), Mullally somehow comes out as more original. She is much more a Bette Midler than a Bernadette Peters, in that her persona and vocal range almost beg for more variety and an occasional bawdy song or choice from left field. She often seems better suited to bridge the divide between Broadway and Pop than her predecessors and even adds a depth and range more reminiscent of the pop singers of the 50s and 60s, that were always expected to traverse several styles of music on their albums.
There are also a few song choices ("My Dear Companion" and "Barbara Song" seem out of place) that are not 100% on, and some of the production actually muffles her exuberant abilities, but nevertheless, I'm eagerly awaiting album three!
Free Music Review: Deliciously off the beaten path
Hit: 4 Stars
Don't buy this CD expecting to hear Karen from TV's Will & Grace. Megan Mullally is quite competently so much more than that (and the character of Karen alone is a lot to live up to!). And don't buy this CD expecting to be able to talk about it at the office water cooler, because I'll bet not a lot of people will be buying it (they're just not ready!).I thoroughly enjoy listening to this CD, but it definitely won't appeal to everybody. Several of the tracks have a "retro" feel to them (Bathroom Window, Fancy to name two). One even has a country flavor to it (My Dear Companion). And it's plain to see that Megan Mullally is a fan of songs that tell a story, at least in this collection.
These are all covers that have been done (some of them numerous times) by other singers in other genres. But I can honestly say I've never heard any of them done in this way. Megan Mullally's interpretations are, to me, artfully wonderful, welcomingly diverse, and sophisticated in their simplicity. Where she draws her inspiration from, I don't know, but it sounds as if her muse is rooted just this side of sanity (and I won't say which side I'm on...LOL).
My favorite is the last track, Take It With Me. It's simply a beautiful piece, and when push comes to shove, Megan Mullally has a beautiful voice. That she can sing beautifully but chooses to sing expressively indicates to me that she is an artist. She is more concerned with telling a story or conveying an emotion than she is with appealing to the masses or being "correct."
To behold a rose is a beautiful thing. But for a rose to be held, you must feel the thorns gently piercing your flesh. And not everybody wants to do that.