I LOVE them both. I listened to the 30 second preview clip of It's Quiet Uptown first and that drops you in in the middle and I hated the synth pop sound. But then I downloaded it and listened to the whole thing from the beginning and I felt completely the opposite. My favourite line in the song is "the moment when you're in so deep it feels easier to just swim down" and the synth made it sound like it was under water.
Both nearly brought me to tears they're so beautiful.
Kelly's voice is so versatile, she made me fall even more in love with this song. It was always one of my favorites from the cast recording, Kelly does it justice
I love Kelly Clarkson, but I hate this arrangement of It's Quiet Uptown and (for me) it's all about how distracting and clumsy I find that techno beat. IMO, that beat is so noisy that it overwhelms the emotion and beauty of the lyrics.
Even though it's been awhile, I can still feel the emotional effect of Kelly's acoustic (piano only) version of Piece by Piece that she performed on Idol. As It's Quiet Uptown is in a similar emotional vein, all I can think of is how much better Kelly's Idol version of Piece by Piece is, and how much more emotionally effective the song became when stripped of its dance beat.
I'm hoping that the other queen of "rip my heart out" songs (Adele) will do her own cover, with a quieter, simpler accompaniment.
Castle2 said: "I LOVE them both. I listened to the 30 second preview clip of It's Quiet Uptown first and that drops you in in the middle and I hated the synth pop sound. But then I downloaded it and listened to the whole thing from the beginning and I felt completely the opposite. My favourite line in the song is "the moment when you're in so deep it feels easier to just swim down" and the synth made it sound like it was under water.
Both nearly brought me to tears they're so beautiful.
"
I agree...after listening to the full thing - it's not as bad as I was expecting. I spoke (somewhat) too soon.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
I'm the biggest K-Clarks fan around, but I don't know. I think taking it out of context just shows how bland that track is! It sounds like bad R&B pop. But her voice - as always - sounds amazing.
I love Kelly's vocals but I agree the track is overproduced. For me. The emotional impact gets dampened but BUT to be fair - I realize that what I'm suggesting is basically a re-recording of the OBC version with her vocals which is never what this mixtape was supposed to be about.
Busta's My Shot is fantastic. It removes Broadway musical completely and take the song to it's original inspirational roots which is very impressive.
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
"Quiet Uptown." Not for me. I agree with John Adams and the other poster. I've listened to it three times, but just feel it's lacking what the song does so expertly in the show. Even on the recording, away from the story. Goldsberry's vocals are so unadorned, so unembellished, the lyric and (for my money) the show's at least second most haunting melody make the case. Clarkson's rendition -- mixing in odd shifting points of view -- is characterized by the singer taking over for the song, the voice and the pop stylings drawing undue attention. This is one of the most perfect expressions of grief ever written for the musical theater. It's admittedly a challenge to approximate its impact out of context. Yet giving it the post-Idol treatment diminishes the song's elegance and adds a layer of sentimentality. It feels self-indulgent; less is just more here.
Clarkson is a powerful singer. I wish she'd trusted the song and her own voice. It feels over thought and over sung. It's the one song on the mixtape that loses the most, in my opinion. To be fair, I'm not sold on its success out of the story. Maybe I'll change my mind. Just my 1.5 cents.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Satisfied and Immigrants are being released around the world at midnight tonight (so have already come out in some places) but i don't want to wait 14 hours....anyone know where i can hear them now??
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
Thanks for posting that link, Gypsy! To me, that cover doesn't go far enough to reinvent the song. It's basically the same arrangement. Why bother? I liked My Shot because it was different in tone from the original.