Audra Mcdonald [Import, CD]

As a musician and music lover, I highly recommend this recording. I look forward to similar statements by Ms. McDonald in the future.

The beef that many people have with this CD is Audra's choice of material. Yes, it is a risk for a performer to make her recording debut with material from relatively unknown and young composers. As some reviewers have stated, some of the "best" songs from this disc were ones with which they were already familiar...If you're expecting Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne, or Jerry Herman you're in for a huge disappointment. In fact, if you're expecting Sondheim you're still in for a disappointment.

This CD is best approached with an open mind. Audra's emotional depth and honesty in her performance of this material clearly demonstrates her love, support and belief in not only these selections but their respective composers as well. Our duty is to trust a performer in his or her choice of material. If we value the performer, then we need to value and understand that every song is intentional. Every song is a personal, intimate moment that the performer is sharing with the rest of the world.

The songs on this disc deliberately and successfully stray from the exhausted popular form of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus. Jenny Giering's "I Follow" is a gorgeous, quiet, introspective and haunting piece. Ricky Ian Gordon's song cycle pieces are brilliant and quite evocative of the moods of the Langston Hughes poems from which the text was derived. Adam Guettel is a master of fusing theatrical music with a contemporary "pop"-like quality to create music that is not only smart but ear-friendly as well.

Do yourself a favor. Purchase this CD if you're willing to judge for YOURSELF--free of preconceptions--the quality of the pieces. At worst, you'll have a CD of a glorious vocal talent. At best, you'll have discovered along with the rest of us some amazing new composers.

Even Audra can't rescue this dreadful music.