Rating:
Genre:
Classical
Release Date: 03/10/2009
Come Christmas time, and there's another album, the fifth, from the Welsh soprano
Katherine Jenkins. This time she mixed it up a little with a bit of
classical,
"Sancta Maria" from
Mascagni's
Callellera Rusticana and
"Be Still My Soul" from
Sibelius'
Finlandia, a little bit of show biz with
"Secret Love" from
Calamity Jane and
"Somewhere" from
West Side Story, a little bit of
pop cover versions with
"I Who Have Nothing," originally made famous by
Shirley Bassey, and
Seal's
"Kiss from a Rose," and finally a few new songs especially written for her,
pop songs with two contributions each from
Steve Mac &
Wayne Hector, better known for their work with
Westlife and
Il Divo, and
Gary Barlow who contributed the songs
"Shout in Silence" and
"Viva Tonight." Jenkins was being marketed by
Universal Classics and Jazz at this point as a known name, an artist whom they would expect to chart in the Top Ten with every album, and
Rejoice didn't disappoint, hitting number three in its first week, her highest placing on the charts to that point. However, it did disappoint some of her core fans who had been expecting more with her
classical arias and crossover songs sung in her mezzo soprano voice, with which she had been achieving more and more success as the years went by. What wasn't expected was a crossover into the
pop market. Not that she'd joined the ranks of
Charlotte Church and released a full-on dance
pop album, for even the new tracks were beautifully sung pieces, sounding every bit the arias as the
Sibelius and
Mascagni songs, and while she had been on this crossover path for several years, covering
"Everything I Do" and
"Be My Love" on
Serenade, and
"Music of the Night," "Amazing Grace," and
"Over the Rainbow" on
Living a Dream, they appeared to suit her voice more than the selection on
Rejoice, particularly
"Kiss from a Rose," which really didn't work, and
"Somewhere" which for anybody who has seen the film
West Side Story (and there are countless millions of them) will know, came at one of the most emotionally charged moments in film as Tony lay dying, but one would never associate this scene with the version of the tune sung by
Jenkins. And the songs by
Gary Barlow, as good a songwriter as he was, were not two of his best. Nevertheless, the supermarket traffic pushed
Rejoice high into the charts, and
Jenkins appeared sexier on the cover art, too, with a
Mariah Carey style, flowing hairstyle, and what one would presume was an off the shoulder, strapless dress (as all one could see was bare shoulders). Compare that to her earlier work and the polo neck sweater on
Premiere.
~Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide
;)
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