Album: Passage Of Time / Artist: Liz Callaway / Broadway Show Tunes / Jazz / 13 Tracks
There
is something that you ought to know right away about multi-Tony Award
nominee and Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway’s new album Passage Of Time;
it is fabulous and not only are there not any weak tracks on this record,
but each and every song in and of itself gives you enough of a reason to add
this CD to your music collection. Callaway, who has appeared for five years
as Grizabella in Cats, and also starred in the original casts for
Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers and The Look Of Love,
brings her stage presence to this wonderful book of songs, as she
collaborates with Alex Rybeck to create spectacular arrangements for the
medley “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” and “Singing In The Rain,” which
conjures up images of Gene Kelly dancing down the street. The Callaway
family is noted for its abundant talent, as Liz’s sister Ann Hampton
Callaway is a critically acclaimed jazz and cabaret singer, their mother
Shirley Callaway excels as a singer and pianist and is a highly regarded
vocal teacher, while their father the late John Callaway was a fixture on
Chicago television and radio for many years. Liz Callaway continues to build
on the family’s reputation for delivering quality performances, with this,
her fourth solo album and she is backed by a twenty-six piece orchestra,
directed for the most part by Rybeck, but with guest appearances by Stephen
Flaherty (“Nothing To Lose”), Michael Starobin (“Children Will Listen”),
David Shire (“Patterns”) and Larry Moore (“The Perfect Year / Memory,” and
“Being Alive”), all of whom took their turns with the conductor’s baton.
Tommy Krasker produced the album. All arrangements were created by Alex
Rybeck and Liz Callaway, with Ann Hampton Callaway collaborating on the
arrangement for the song “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be.”
Liz Callaway’s vocals are both powerful and passionate as she performs the twinned tunes “Make Someone Happy,” from the 1960 Broadway production of Do Re Mi and “Something Wonderful,” from The King and I (1951). Jule Styne’s “Make Someone Happy,” (with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green) is presented by Callaway with the heart of Kay Cram a central figure in Do Re Mi, who despite her husband Hubie’s scheming, sticks by him. One does not need to look any further than the liner notes, to find the inspiration for the love that flows through Callaway’s phrasing, as she comments in the dedication notes for the album, “…to my great love and husband, Dan…” Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s “Something Wonderful,” performed in the original Broadway production by Dorothy Sarnoff as Lady Thiang, echoes similar sentiments, and while the ideals expressed may not be shared by those of a more feminist leaning, we might point out that the lyrics apply equally, to all partners in a relationship regardless of gender.
Unfortunately, this reviewer is not well acquainted with the production of The Madwoman of Central Park, from which the uplifting and up-tempo song “Better,” is drawn, but on the heels of having reviewed Thoroughly Modern Millie, Liz Callaway’s lilt and attitude reminds me a lot of the plucky Millie Dillmount from that outstanding musical. Throughout Passage Of Time, over and over again, Callaway creates for her listeners a theatrical experience that has not been matched, at least in my listening experience, on any album released to date. If time or finances prevented you from ever having seen any of these wonderful musicals, then Liz Callaway has presented you with one of the best seats in the house, and you get to thrill in the emotions and passions that she evokes and the outstanding musicians who help to bring these scenes to life.
As they did on “Make Someone Happy,” the string section consisting of nine violinists, three violists, three cellists and bassist Jered Egan shines, on the John Lennon and Paul McCartney classic tune “Eleanor Rigby,” as Callaway demonstrates that she is not only comfortable recreating songs from the theater, but she is equally comfortable with reinterpreting pop songs. As good as Callaway is, the string section pushes this song over the top, with their outstanding musicianship and it is a shame that this space does not permit us to acknowledge each of them individually. The song ends as it began with the beautiful and languid alto saxophones of Dan Willis and Rick Heckman.
A special treat appears in the form of the eighth track Carly Simon and Jacob Brackman’s “That’s’ The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” as Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway perform a duet and their stirring vocals give you goosebumps. If this was still 2009 and not early January, the Callaway sisters’ recording of this beautiful ballad would have been my pick for best recorded song of the year for 2009, as each of them take their turn with beautiful vocals, painting vivid word pictures against the canvass of pure passion.
We cannot possibly touch upon all of the songs from Passage Of Time, but before we close this review, we would be remiss if we did not mention another medley, this one consisting of two Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, “The Perfect Year,” from Sunset Boulevard (1994) and for anyone who has sat in the theater and lived the experience of Cats (Kent this one’s for you), based on T.S. Elliot’s Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, just close your eyes as Liz Callaway’s beautiful vocals evoke strong memories of that wonderful musical.
I know we just got through Christmas and budgets are tight this year, but the 14th of February is Valentine’s Day, and a beautiful way to say I love you to the man or woman who makes your heart skip a beat, would be to give them this treasure from Liz Callaway. Passage Of Time is a prophetic title for this album, because it will stand the test of time and when this reviewer has long disappeared from this earth, people will still be talking about one of the most beautiful and emotive albums ever recorded.
Reviewed January 2010
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