Clare Teal With The Syd Lawrence Orchestra A Tribute To Ella Fitzgerald

Sometimes we feel ridiculously small when we discover an artist and learn their story. That’s the case here. Since I received this album and did my research on this artist, I struggled to find a way to talk about it. Indeed, I came across her website, where these few words appeared at first glance… ‘Jazz Vocalist Rebecca Kilgore.

Rod Stewart first embraced his appeal to the middle of the road way back in 2002 when he recorded It Had to Be You, the first in a series of explorations of the Great American Songbook. Given those albums, it's no great surprise to hear Stewart sing with an orchestra on You're in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. What is a surprise is that he's hopped upon the orchestral overdub bandwagon, letting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra glop on strings and horns over original vocal tracks for such hits as "Maggie May." Clever guy that he is, Stewart contributes a couple of ringers – including a duet with Robbie Williams on "It Takes It Two" – but those only wind up illustrating how stilted and stiff the overdubs are.

Rod Stewart first embraced his appeal to the middle of the road way back in 2002 when he recorded It Had to Be You, the first in a series of explorations of the Great American Songbook. Given those albums, it's no great surprise to hear Stewart sing with an orchestra on You're in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. What is a surprise is that he's hopped upon the orchestral overdub bandwagon, letting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra glop on strings and horns over original vocal tracks for such hits as "Maggie May." Clever guy that he is, Stewart contributes a couple of ringers – including a duet with Robbie Williams on "It Takes It Two" – but those only wind up illustrating how stilted and stiff the overdubs are.