Megan Mullally & Supreme Music Program - Big As a Berry

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Music reviews of Big As a Berry

Music Review: Megan bursts with energy and pushes her range...
Rating: 4 Stars

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!

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