CD Review
Tom Michael - Sailing On
1.
I've Got The World On A String 2. Sailing On 3. Two Chairs 4. Take Five5. The Way You Look Tonight 6. Who Will Buy? 7. I Just Have To Breathe
8. Anyone Who Had A Heart 9. Old Devil Moon / Moonglow
10. I Have Dreamed 11. I'd Give It All For You 12. The Way We Used To Be
Executive Producer: Tom Michael BeMe Music BEME002
Although that particular gem isn’t featured on Tom’s album ‘Sailing On’, another Rodgers and Hammerstein classic (‘I Have Dreamed’ from The King and I) is performed in similar vein, along with other great ballads spanning several decades. Thus the album’s title song, composed by Alan Menken and Dean Pitchford, has a charmingly lyrical feel whilst being sung with complete conviction. That all-time favourite on cabaret singers’ albums, ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ also appears. For those who might ask ‘do we need yet another version?’, the answer might lie in the beguiling combination of vulnerability and strength that the singer is able to create.
Tom Michael brings that vulnerability to cabaret through his sensitive interpretations; the strength on the other hand, is drawn from a combination of solid technique and a tenor voice that has a lived-in, some might say slightly worn, quality. The listener can sense that they are listening to an irrepressible optimist when the material is sad and a man who is twice shy after his one bite when the song is more upbeat. Perhaps it is for this reason that he seems to slip so comfortably into ‘Two Chairs’, written by someone with a similar delicacy of touch, Tom Andersen. The highlight of the whole project, however, is the performer’s rendition of Bacharach and David’s ‘I Just Have to Breathe’ in which he achieves one of those precious moments when singer, song and arrangement are in perfect unity, his singing sublimely controlled, his message universally true.
Whilst Tom Michael evidently loves to luxuriate in the time and space of a slightly sad, romantic ballad, there is plenty of evidence that he can swing too. The opening number, Harold Arlen’s ‘I’ve Got the World on a String’ and Yip Harburg’s ‘Old Devil Moon’ (here seamlessly combined with Moonglow) are given an energetic airing. Both styles are synthesised in Lionel Bart’s ‘Who Will Buy’, which starts slow and dreamily but ends at full pace. Fun is also had when Beckie Menzie adds her own considerable vocal talents to two numbers; the harmonies and vocal blend in ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ are especially appealing. Ms Menzie is also responsible for most of the arrangements on the album, for which she (and her fellow musicians) also deserves mention.
Tom Michael’s subtle weaving of contradictory emotions and styles has enabled him to offer a very satisfying album that will grow and grow on the listener as new delights are discovered with each playing. This album is a gem worthy of any cabaret devotee’s collection.
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