Spotlight CD Review
Michael Ferreri - Sweet Dreams
Michael’s steely vocal quality is well-balanced on this album against crisp arrangements mostly featuring piano, bass and drums, though strings, electric guitar and accordion also feature on selected tracks. The opening song, ‘Words He Doesn’t Say’ from Romance, Romance, provides a pleasant introduction to those new to Michael’s work, whilst Sondheim’s ‘Marry Me a Little’ is handled with great clarity of diction, a Ferreri trademark, particularly true of the songs with densely-packed lyrics that he seems to favour.
Ferreri has chosen largely from the work of contemporary songwriters and on this album offers worthy renditions of songs by the likes of Stephen Schwartz, John Bucchino and Maury Yeston. He has an appealing voice though one might hope for greater use of his ability to add a little more colouring and individual phrasing in order to engage the listener more personally. The cover of Frank Wildhorn’s ‘Storybook’ is a case in point; technically sound but perhaps sacrificing the emotional sub-text in favour of a rather strident ending. Billy Joel’s ‘Lullabye’, on the other hand, is well-handled, sung with tenderness and restraint.
The album closes with Ferreri providing his own piano accompaniment to another Billy Joel song, ‘And So It Goes On’. This provides a sweet closing number, again handled deftly and providing evidence of the singer’s ability to capture the attention with less voice but utter commitment to the lyrics.