[.ca] Sure Thing Songbook

voice as it should be:
The voice and style of Sylvia McNair is not likely to hit it big in the popular music scene because she is operetic. But from her primary career singing classical music she brings a talent, a quality, and a purity to the music chosen for this album that is unparalleled. In my estimation her voice comes very close to "pure melody," unadorned, yet clear, solid, and pure. The lack of over-produced accompanyment for this album allow for McNair's voice to shine, shine, shine, as I think it should be allowed to and does. The timelessness of the material she sings and the naked beauty of McNair's voice takes me places emotinally very very few other recordings have taken me. A MOST recommended recording!

the song is "kern":
that's all i needed to know about this cd when i first learned of its existence....andre previn lent great creadence to it....sylvia mcnair was a question mark....and the big question before that mark was, 'would she be able to make the musical transition?'? i felt, with kern's greatest works (were there really any mediocre ones? if so (which I doubt) even they would be even a little incredible....so how could i lose. i could always turn it off. turn it off? I couldn't stop playing and replaying it....even those that were a bit of a stretch....make that a great stretch...for the diva turned out to have a pull on me....something happens to people who decide to sing "kern"...they begin to believe this is what they were meant to do....and they even have us believing it....and, after all, maybe that's the kind of legacy jerome kern left us.....some composer's melodies fade and feel dated after awhile....kern's work seems to transcend the works of even those considered to be giants...berlin, rodgers, and even gershwin looked up to kern as 'their man'. do i recommend this cd? only if you want to feel you walked into a strange, distant, empty land and heard a beautiful song for the first time in your life....only you knew every musical phrase as it took its turn in telling us of itself....the consistent factor here...and all of kern's genius...is the fact that he never disappoints you. he doesn't know how to compose a dishonest or dissonant chord. i guess the title of this cd says it all, doesn't it. .

The Next Step:
I fell in love with McNair's voice when I heard her sing in a recording of Orff's 'Carmina Burana'. Here is a soprano that could actually hit the REALLY high notes in 'Dulcissime' without sounding strained and forced. it encouraged me to pursue her other recordings. As a lover of early American theatre this CD was the logical choice. I LOVE IT. There are several songs I didn't know, but are some of my favorites now like "a fine romance" and "pick yourself up". She sounds like she is completely enjoying herself and the bass and piano do a fabulous job of supporting her instrument.

Superb voice, accompaniment:
I was really drawn to Sylvia's vocal stylings on this CD, knowing how difficult it is to adapt from opera to popular music. Granted she seems a little stiff and a bit lacking in jazz swing on the brisker numbers such as "I Won't Dance", but she more than compensates for this minor flaw with her superlative renderings of the gorgeous ballads included here. "The Folks Who Live On the Hill" is probably my favorite cut. As a pianist, I was in awe of Andre Previn's accompanying genius. Every pianist who accompanies a singer should listen to this CD several times. I was a big Previn fan in the seventies, and it's great to here him in this intimate setting. Nice work by the bassist as well. I just hope that we will continue to see more McNair/Previn releases soon!

Is this the voice of an angel or am I dreaming..............:
I wonder am I still with this world, or have I gone to another planet without knowing it. I keep pinching my self and it still hurts, so I guess my body is still here. How about my soul, maybe it's gone. It's hard to know where to begin , when talking about Sylvia. I guess it is best to start by saying Sylvia has the voice of an angel. Her voice is not over powering, but seductive and sweet. Her sound seems to be the coo that I love to hear. Sylvia seems to really know how to sing a love song and personalize it for her listner. I do wish the powers that be would let her record some more of this beautiful music. I would like to invite everyone to let Sylvia perform her magic on you. I am sure once you hear her voice you will beg for more. I Would Like To Strongly Recommend This Cd

• Land Where the Good Songs Go
• I Won't Dance
• Nobody Else But Me
• Folks Who Live on the Hill
• Fine Romance
• Remind Me
• You Couldn't Be Cuter
• Why Was I Born?
• I'm Old Fashioned
• All the Things You Are
• Can't Help Singing/They Didn't Believe Me
• Till the Clouds Roll By/Look for the Silver Lining
• Sure Thing/Long Ago (And Far Away)
• Can I Forget You?/Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
• Pick Yourself Up
• Song Is You
• Land Where the Good Songs Go (Reprise)
• Go Little Boat