De-Lovely - Various Artists

It is the rare occasion that finds me buying a movie soundtrack. The main reason for this is that many have some silly background music tracks added to them that frankly, aren't all that fantastic musically, and were probably added just to have enough sound-bites to justify putting out an album. Oh, sure, the soundtrack for "Good Morning Vietnam" is one exception - but who doesn't enjoy hearing Robin Williams doing his run-off-at-the-mouth ...
...Another exception is this CD - the soundtrack for De-Lovely. You see, from the moment I saw this movie, I knew I was going to buy the soundtrack. I've always loved Cole Porter songs, and this was a way to get a nice collection while also getting an interesting combination of artists performing them. Here's what I think of this CD.

First of all, the line-up of artists performing these tunes is a real mixed bag - well known singers, ... more

It is the rare occasion that finds me buying a movie soundtrack. The main reason for this is that many have some silly background music tracks added to them that frankly, aren't all that fantastic musically, and were probably added just to have enough sound-bites to justify putting out an album. Oh, sure, the soundtrack for "Good Morning Vietnam" is one exception - but who doesn't enjoy hearing Robin Williams doing his run-off-at-the-mouth shtick in addition to some great Rock & Roll? Another exception is this CD - the soundtrack for De-Lovely. You see, from the moment I saw this movie, I knew I was going to buy the soundtrack. I've always loved Cole Porter songs, and this was a way to get a nice collection while also getting an interesting combination of artists performing them. Here's what I think of this CD.

First of all, the line-up of artists performing these tunes is a real mixed bag - well known singers, along with lesser known ones, along with a smattering of the actors from the film. The complete list of performers and the songs they preform is:

Robbie Williams - It's De-Lovely
Alanis Morissette - Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)
Sheryl Crow - Begin the Beguine
Elvis Costello - Let's Misbehave
Kevin Kline, Peter Polycarpou & Chorus - Be a Clown
John Barrowman & Kevin Kline - Night & Day
Ashley Judd & Tayler Hamilton - True Love
Lemar - What is This Thing Called Love?
Mick Hucknall - I Love You
Diana Krall - Just One of Those Things
Caroline O'Connor & Chorus - Anything Goes
Kevin Kline - Experiment
Vivian Green - Love for Sale
Lara Fabian & Mario Frangoulis - So in Love
Natalie Cole - Every Time We Say Goodbye
Jonathan Pryce, Kevin Kline, Cast & Chorus - Blow, Gabriel, Blow
Kevin Kline & Ashley Judd - In the Still of the Night
Cole Porter - You're the Top

See what I mean by a mixed bag? I may be showing my ignorance, but there are some names here that I never heard of - such as Lemar and Vivian Green - but both of these renditions were smashingly done, with spot-on vocals that's made me look these singers up to see if they've got any CDs of their own out there that I might want to purchase. (They both do, and by the way Lemar's full name is Lemar Campbell.) Vivian Green's "Love for Sale" is so terribly compelling to listen to, due to the raw emotions she puts into this song, that I often replay that track several times, just for the pure joy of it. As for Lemar, his "What is this Thing Called Love" is also among the best tracks of this album, and another one to put on repeat - and often. What makes it more special is that this song has some very difficult changes in tone, and Lemar stays smoothly on pitch throughout. Truly a professional job, by someone with a voice as smooth as silk.

Another unknown - to me, at least - was Diana Krall. I'm of two minds about this track. On the one hand, "Just One of Those Things" is one of my favourite Porter songs (who can resist a song with a lyric "trip to the moon/on gossamer wings"?), and I'm happy to hear it sung both as a type of ballad, as well as with a jazzy lilt to it. I'm also quite taken by Krall's vocal quality, which has a fascinating rough quality to it that is engaging, rather than irritating. But I'm not completely sure how comfortable I am with the phrasing she used in her version here. I think she took it a touch too syncopated for my taste, but I'm not ready to hold that against her. The biggest problem with this song is that Krall seems to hit some bad notes a couple of times, because of the way she phrased it. While this is a track I don't often repeat as soon as its finished, it certainly isn't one that I've ever skipped over listening to.

Of course, there were a couple of tracks that turned me off a touch. For instance, Mick Hucknall's attempt to sound like Nelson Eddy worked a bit too well for me - since I never cared much for Eddy's voice. As a result, this is one track I always skip over when I'm listening. Another problem was with Mario Frangoulis' part in this version of "So in Love". I'm sorry, but I've yet to find anyone who comes close to the mellow tones and brute strength of vocals that Howard Keel brought to this song - or any other song Keel ever performed, for that matter. Of course, with Keel no longer being with us, it impossible for him to come back from the dead to record this for the movie. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if he passed away just before or just after this film was released. Still, even if he was still around before the movie was released, he probably would have been too old to revive his Kiss Me Kate role for this movie. Never mind. The point is, Frangoulis hit a couple of pitchy notes here, that all but ruined this passionate ballad for me. Still, if I sing along, I can drown those bits out, and anyway, Lara Fabian did a lovely job singing Kathryn Grayson's part in this duet.

Some people might be put off by some of Kevin Kline's singing as Cole Porter here - since its been said many a time that Porter wasn't much of a singer, and that Kline equaled his vocal ineptitude. To tell the truth, of all the recordings I've heard with Porter singing, I found Kline's voice to be easier to listen to than Porter's - for the most part. The exception here is when he sings with Ashley Judd (also not known for her musical abilities) in "In the Still of the Night". Mind you, one should keep in mind that when this song is performed in the movie, its done when Porter is an older man who is expressing his love for his dying wife. Taking that into account one shouldn't expect it to be completely in tune, and it is the mood that comes through here despite the errors in vocal precision.

In Kline's other offerings here - "Experiment", "Be A clown" and "Night & Day" - the first two of this list work very well, and as I already mentioned, I think he bested Porter himself. As for his duet with John Barrowman in "Night & Day" there are those who might be put off by the version here being exactly the one they heard in the movie. This means that there's some of the movie dialogue included in this track. Personally, I liked this, especially since there's a lovely transition where Kline's voice fades and Barrowman's voice comes through with its full beauty. Its here that I would like to mention that Barrowman is as close to a Howard Keel as I've heard or seen in a very long time, and I hope he gets both more stage musicals and movie singing parts in the future. In fact, I've just put a CD of his into my Amazon.co.uk wish list (my birthday is June 26th, in case anyone was racking their brains about what to buy me - hint, hint)!

By the way, Kline also sings in "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" but you can hardly hear him behind Jonathan Pryce and the rest of the cast. Anyway, this is Pryce's song, since according to the movie, Pryce is supposed to be playing the part of 'Gabe' - which seems a veil that is pretty thin for the Angel Gabriel (coming to take Porter to his 'maker', I suppose. Sorry, I don't know much about which angels do what, so if I'm mistaken here, please correct me on this). I have to admit that Pryce does a pretty good job with this song, and I'm sure you'll be singing along with them. However, one should note that this tune is an extremely energetic show-stopper to begin with, so it's almost impossible to ruin - unless he had gone totally off-key - which thankfully, he did not. Good for Jonathan!

Speaking of actors trying to sing, Ashley Judd's contributions here with her part in two duets - "In the Still of the Night" and "True Love" - are far from musically perfect. Even so, her innocent voice doesn't ruin either of these pieces, and actually makes "True Love" all that more charming - since it is sung with a young girl. Not much more one can say about Judd here, except that she really shouldn't think about changing careers - acting is still her forte and she should keep it that way.

As for imitators, Caroline O'Connor did her best to sound as much like Ethel Merman singing "Anything Goes" from the musical of the same name. She succeeded in this effort, and while I didn't mind it at all, some people would probably have preferred to hear O'Connor's true voice instead. I've actually heard this song on stage (when I went to see "Anything Goes" in London) and I loved it there, without the impersonation. Still, I think it works just as well here with O'Connor using her "Merman voice".

The 'big-name' singers on this album come off beautifully. These being Robbie Williams, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello and Natalie Cole. I could find absolutely nothing to fault any of their performances, and it is probably this collection of 'stars' that helped make both the movie and the CD so successful. I particularly like Crow's rendition of "Begin the Beguine" which is a vocally difficult song to sing, but Crow pulls it off without a hitch, and with precisely the haunting quality that this song begs for. Natalie Cole's slightly child-like voice doesn't detract from the maturity of the song "Every Time We Say Goodbye", and she proves here once again that she is every inch her father's daughter (for those not in the know, that would be Nat King Cole). You'll feel that Morissette is truly enjoying the playful lyrics "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)", and my impression is that she's winking and smiling at us while she performs - which is just as it should be. In fact, both Williams and Costello seem to do the same with their songs "It's De-Lovely" and "Let's Misbehave" respectively. Of course, one can hardly sing any of these three songs without a touch of humour, since that's how Porter wrote them.

Lastly, but not least, the final track is an old recording of Cole Porter himself singing his beguiling song "You're the Top". Rumour has it that he wrote dozens of verses to this song, and their cleverness is unsurpassed - even by Porter himself. With this track we find out exactly how un-musical Porter really was - and to be totally honest, it wasn't all that bad (hell, I've heard worse get into the final stages of Fame Academy and American Idol). At least if he knew he was about to go a tad off he had the grace to wing it by 'talking' the lyric. And even when that failed, he made it up in spades through his inimitable charm and honest enthusiasm.

For those who are interested, you're not going to get all the lyrics to all the songs with this CD. The copy I got is mostly cardboard and the only insert is a small pamphlet with the list of songs, shots of each of the performers of the songs, and some pictures from the movie. Nothing to write home about, but who cares, really?

So what's bottom line here? I love this CD. Its quickly become a favourite of mine, and I'll take it in the car with me - even bring it to work (when my boss is abroad, of course) to listen to. I've listened to this so many times I've learned ever nuance and lyric by heart, and I'm still not tired of it. So, if you're like me and you loved the movie, you'll adore the soundtrack. If not, then I'll just have to write a review of something that might appeal more to you. Fully recommended, but only four stars for the few foibles mentioned above.

Thanks for reading!

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Technical Stuff:

You can get this on Amazon.co.uk, new for £11.99 or used from £4.62, but I don't see it on CD-Wow.

Here's a nice site for anyone who loves Cole Porter or just wants to learn more about him and his music - http://www.coleporter.org/
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