[.ca] And So Much More

From Amazon.com:
In between making her name with husband Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde and becoming a Rosie O'Donnell favorite, Linda Eder released her second solo album, And So Much More, in 1994. Her strong, rich voice lends itself well to Wildhorn's power pop, including the bluesy opener "I Don't Remember," the lovely title track, the swinging "Til You Come Back to Me" and "Is This Any Way to Fall in Love," and "I'll Forget You" from The Scarlet Pimpernel. Relying less heavily on Wildhorn numbers than she has on some of her later albums, Eder covers "All the Way," Leslie Bricusse's "When I Look in Your Eyes," Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," and the powerful closer "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Eder also begins her tradition of including a Harold Arlen number, here "The Man That Got Away"--a nod to Judy Garland yet also distinctive in an arrangement that makes time stand still. Michael Feinstein joins her for a duet on "Someone," which they performed on their joint national tour in summer 2000. --David Horiuchi

Linda is Remarkable in this Collection!:
When Brent and I combined our CD collection, I was fortunate to benefit by this fabulous collection of songs by Linda Eder (our friends often ask, "Is that Barbra Streisand?"). Linda could easily be the next Barbra! This collection of songs offers some up-tempo beats and some romantic pieces too! Her voice is crisp on the title track "And So Much More". Our personal favorites include: "The Man That Got Away" "Someone" (with Michael Feinstein) and "Is This Anyway To Fall In Love". Her rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is remarkable and makes this collection complete! You will not be disappointed.

Great material, better performance:
And so much more is a classic, and yet it is new. A softer album than the 2 newer ones, with the (obligitory) duet with Michael Fienstien. Want a romantic and fun evening share this recording with someone special. The only female singer who I enjoy nearly as much is Nancy LaMott. Suzannah McKorkle, Laurie Beechman, Amanda McBroom, Rosemare Clooney, KT Sullivan, Mary Clere Haran & Ann Hampton (or Liz) Callaway are all wonderful, but at least one\stwo steps behind.

Consumate Artist:
I love this album. The arrangements are beautiful. Eder is the consumate artist. Her rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" gives me tingles up my spine.

A Dramatic Change From Her Debut Album:
Linda Eder went abruptly from that leather swathed "rocker" on her debut album to a soft, ballad performing muse with a remarkably Streisand-like bob, and let her audience see her other side. This album is mostly soft, 50's-like ballads, and I will certainly not say that on this album she didn't try to mimic somewhat the styles of other great performers. But she is her own person with her own voice. Her coy "I Don't Remember" is followed by the lovely title number. Then she really gets going. The campy, fast-paced "Till You Come Back to Me" is pure Eder, no copying or mimicing there, but then we come to "The Man That Got Away," a well known Judy Garland classic. But Eder has the talent to make this song her own. She phrases things differently ("The-e-ere is nothing. . . sadder than") and her characteristic "cry" between notes help to personalize this song to Eder. "When I Look in Your Eyes" is beautiful song with a haunting melody, followed by the standard "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin. "In the Cool, Dark Night," a relaxing ballad, is next, and then comes "Someone," a duet with Michael Feinstein. One of the gems on this album is "Is This Anyway to Fall in Love" peformed in a way that only Linda Eder could. But one of my very favorites on the album is "I'll Forget You." Here is a song in which Eder truly makes you feel what she feels; it will truly move you. "Next Time I Love is another wonderful, but sad song. "All the Way," another standard is performed flawlessly, and the albums concludes on a spine-tingling note with "Bridge Over Troubled Water." If Simon and Garfunkel really knew how to sing their own song they would have done it like Linda Eder did. But then, no can sing a song like Linda Eder.

.....And So Much More!:
Well, I must say that this cd is aptly titled! "And So Much More" certainly describes my feeling when puchasing this disc and giving it a first listen. I had no idea what to expect but was so thrilled upon hearing Ms. Eder's voice that I became an instant fan. There's so much MORE than what I had expected! There is so much that is right about this cd that the only liability,being soon-to-be husband Frank Wildhorn's heavy handed production and at times "intrusive" orchestration, seem like minor flaws. Linda Eder's voice is a wonderful vehicle for the song selection,which is wisely chosen and never over-bearing (are you listening Barbra?) . Highlight's include "I Don't Remember", "Is This Anyway To Fall In Love?", "I'll Forget You" and a great duet with Michael Feinstein "Someone". Carefully crafted and impeccably sung and you have the makings of a strong yet subtle piece of music. How often are we fortunate to find that combination these days? Perhaps the greatest pleasure is simply that Linda is a vocalist in the traditional sense of the word....meaning singing 'standards' and show tunes in a straight-forward fashion, with honesty and emotion. What a find! This truly is music for "adults"...and by that I simply mean music where melody, lyrics and perfect "pop" sensibilities come to together to mesh wonderfully.And to give credit where credit is truly due...the decision to use Jack Murphy as a lyricist was a stroke of genius! Sophisticated, clever yet words that tug at your heart-strings will never go out of fashion (sorry Mr. Porter!). Obviously I think this is almost a perfect package and while I've yet to hear Ms. Eder do anything quite as strong recently, although she's comes close,she receives kudo's for putting out an remarkable disc. So much more....indeed!!

• I Don't Remember (Wildhorn-Murphy)
• And So Much More (Wildhorn-Yeston)
• Til You Come Back to Me (Wildhorn)
• The Man That Got Away (Arlen-Gershwin)
• When I Look in Your Eyes (Bricusse)
• Smile (Chaplin-Turner-Parsons)
• In the Cool Dark Night (Wildhorn-Yeston)
• Someone (duet with Michael Feinstein) (Wildhorn-Murphy)
• Is This Any Way to Fall in Love (Wildhorn-Murphy)
• I'll Forget You (Wildhorn-Knighton)
• Next Time I Love (Wildhorn-Murphy)
• All the Way (Cahn-Van Heusen)
• Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon)