| San Francisco voice coach, George Quick reviews the latest CD from D.C. Anderson |
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D.C. Anderson and I have worked in the theatre together a few times. In the nineties, we performed together in a production of Man Of La Mancha, I directed him in a production of You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow and I directed him in a production of Dames At Sea. D.C.’s sister, Claudia and I worked together on a tiny little holiday production of Amahl And The Night Visitors. D.C. gave me his first CD, Time Was, and it played over and over at my house (still does). D.C. Anderson has a perfect voice (in the same way that I’ve always thought that Barbara Cook has a perfect voice). He has an ideal vocal production that I’ve always strived for in my work as a voice coach. The sound is musical, effortless and alive. There’s nothing forced about what D.C. does. His singing voice is his speaking voice made melodic. Since D.C. is a strong actor, there’s a real presence in his songs " he’s there in-the-moment in each song. Each song is a mini-play, or really, in these recordings, more like a small independent film. As a voice coach, I frequently use recordings by many famous singers, to have voice students hear this ability to fully become the song. D.C. Anderson’s recordings are a master’s lessons in performing this way. This CD is a collection of songs that are gentle, humorous, sad, witty, grieving, tender and touching. It’s a sort of song cycle of modern art songs - songs that are in a sort of folk style. This CD is like a well-made independent film. Not catering to the mass-market style of popular music today, “i am still” is true to itself, true to D.C. Anderson as an artist. I was lucky enough to receive this CD in the mail a month ago and have been living with the CD ever since. Now I think it is time that I tell others they should add this CD to their musical libraries. My voice coaching students should pay close attention. Now, for some of my favorite songs on the collection (they’re all wonderful, these are just my favorites today as I write this). First there’s I Am Still, which is such a beautiful poem, a short film of a piece. I should mention here that the music is by Steven Landau and it is quite good. Steven, another old friend, was musical director of the first national tour of Titanic, and musical director and arranger for the critically acclaimed Deaf West Theater production of Big River, which played at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, on Broadway at the American Airlines theater, and on international tour. Years ago, I was part of a singing duo, Corber and Quick, with Judy Corber, who is now the brilliantly talented up-and-coming jazz-singer-to-know, Judy Wexler (look her up on Google). Steven Landau was our orchestra at the keyboard. He was a great arranger for us, and a great man. I’m so happy that he’s writing these great songs with D.C. They’re a great pairing, along with the other composers on this collection. This is how intimate the CD is - one of the funniest bits is the false start to Have Fun, it takes us right into the recording session with D.C. The song is pretty damned funny as well, and Elizabeth Doyle’s music gives it a very enjoyable Maltby/Shire feel. D.C. is so great at putting hilarity, joy and fun right into his voice. Sad Man " an achingly tender song with music by Ron Zimmerman and lyrics so simple and moving. The music has an almost retro sixties feel, while it sometimes reminds me of Sondheim, sometimes of Bacharach and David, it always perfectly suits the lyrics. The man in this song is so fragile, so vulnerable. This is simply an elegant song, sung by a master musician. The intensely intimate guitar work at the top of Hard This Goodbye sets up the lonely lyricism that follows. The piano joins D.C. and the guitar for an effective trio. There’s a driving force to this ballad… driven to the hard goodbye of the title. There are few rare gems like The Visit in this world, and I am grateful to D.C. and Steven for putting this one in such a perfect setting. Oh, I could write something about each song. Let me just add that Dear Mother is exquisite. The final song, Fixed Up Heart, with music by Steven Landau, is another fluid blending of lyrics, guitar, piano, singer and song. Listen to this CD to discover which songs are your favorites. George Quick, a San Francisco <a href="http://www,performancecoachsf.com/voice.html"> voice coach</a> has been a professional actor for over 30 years, a <a href="http://www,performancecoachsf.com/voice.html"> voice coach</a> for 15 years and a professional theatre director for more than 10 years. Quick teaches acting, <a href="http://www,performancecoachsf.com/voice.html"> singing</a> and public speaking in San Francisco. Read more at: http://www.ArticlePros.com/arts_and_entertainment/Music/article-39369.html. |
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