Etta James - All the Way
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CD Details
Artist: Etta JamesEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2006-03-14
Music Label: RCA Victor
Product features:
- Etta James - All The Way
- All The Way
- Stop On By
- Strung Out
- Somewhere
- Holding Back The Years
- Imagine
- I Believe I Can Fly
- It's A Man's Man's Man's World
- Purple Rain
- What's Going On
- Calling You
Music reviews of All the Way
Music Review: Taking Diversity "All the Way"
Rating: 4 Stars
Prime Cuts: I Believe I Can Fly, Holding Back the Years, All the Way
Though she has shed more than 200 pounds, James has not lost an iota of her consummate and passionate delivery. "All the Way" is not only pregnant with her signature vocals, but it is also arguably this three-time Grammy winner's most diverse CD. Though she had been able to remain a vital voice in music catapulted by her R&B hit "At Last," "All the Way" is quite a departure from her soul and blues roots. Being an ambitious attempt of covering contemporary tunes from the likes of R. Kelly to Prince to Simply Red to show tunes from "West Side Story" and "Baghdad Café," this is a lushly arrangement collection with a slick and jazzy underpinnings. Produced by James' sons Donto and Sametto and longtime musical associate Josh Sklair, such a gamut of tunes ought to satisfy both long-time James' fans as well as new fans.
Perhaps one of the most interesting tracks that brims with originality is James' take of Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years." Eschewing the syrupy feel of the original, James' funk-lite take of this Adult Contemporary hit gives this song of enduring hope some grit and ardency. Also, of note is James' take of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly." With James' weathered-worn voice and her nuanced reading, this positive anthem of faith is given a new lease of life drenched with a Gospel flavor. The lavish flamenco intro and its jazzy piano undercurrent cover Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" with a new musical veneer calling to mind the works of smooth jazz maestro Dianne Reeves.
Considering James' background in blues, Prince's 1984 number one "Purple Rain" might sound like an odd cover. Though James does give it a fair read, .Sklair's electric guitar fills coupled with James' vocal patterning after the Purple Highness' phrasing leaves more to be desired. "Somewhere," the theme from the musical "West Side Story," is decent. But somehow it fails to escape from the shadow of Barbra Streisand's near-perfection rendition of this tune. All of which is redeemed by a very innovative reading of "All the Way." Unlike Celine Dion's bombastic rendition, James' take of this Sinatra classic has the romantic feel of a late night jazz café at closing time.
Amongst the avalanche of cover albums, "All the Way" shows personality. Never one to be restrained by genre, time frame or arrangements, this album's strength rests in is its diversity of tunes and also the ways James interprets them. But what binds these paeans together is still the smoky voice of James. With the scores of years of experience, James' voice has a timbre of believability and tenacity as if every note comes from her heart derived from a dolorous yet fulfilling pilgrimage.
Description of All the Way
CD > POPULAR MUSIC > JAZZThroughout a near-50-year career that has seen few low points, at least professionally, Etta James has established herself as one of music's most talented R&B, blues, and jazz singers. On All the Way, she attempts to tackle the easy-listening genre with a diverse set of ballads that span the Frank Sinatra-approved title track to covers of songs by Prince, Simply Red, John Lennon, and R. Kelly. Appearing after two roof-raising albums--2003's Let's Roll and 2004's explosive Blues to the Bone--this is a jarring change-up. Amidst schmaltzy production, cushy trumpet, and mushy keyboard strings, James settles into a Sunday-morning-coffee-and-newspaper approach.Occasionally the force of James's distinctive, compelling voice overpowers the syrupy backing, but, for the most part, the plain-vanilla arrangements diminish and even enervate her typically spicy vocals. Unlike the classic "At Last," on which James pushed the romantic song into overdrive, she remains in neutral for the majority of these tracks. There's no interplay with the band, and she makes a few missteps, such as the lackluster version of West Side Story's "Somewhere" (that goes nowhere). Those seeking low-key yet accomplished background music versions of James Brown's "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" will find this just what the elevator operator ordered. The rest of James's fans may feel the woman who could once sing the phone book and make it sound riveting has dialed a wrong number. --Hal Horowitz
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