Title: Great Songs, but Mind the Singer
Product review: This is one of those discs where the listener has to balance the advantages of the program with the disadvantages of the performance. Bolcom is one of this country's most versatile and brilliant composers, and those qualities are demonstrated to great effect in the songs on this album. His piano playing is, as one would expect, also solid and expressive. The drawback here is Carole Farley. Although her diction and intonation are good, as far as tone-color goes, she seems to be a one-trick pony; and if you don't like that trick (opera singer trying to sound like what she thinks a musical theater singer sounds like), listening to her can get very tiring. So while I highly recommend the disc for its content, I suggest listening to excerpts first before buying just to make sure that the singer's voice doesn't drive you batty.
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