Jennifer holliday releases first secular cd in 20 years

[glencro]

Featuring jazz, pop, soul, standards and new material. Available 1/21/14 http://www.amazon.com/The-Song-You-J...nifer+holliday

[RossHolloway]

I will need to check this new release out. The woman has a wonderful voice.

[milven]

She was on THE VIEW this morning. She looked and sounded great

[milven]

She was on THE VIEW this morning. She looked and sounded great

Someone was kind enough to post it on Youtube. She still has it. I saw her in a preview of Dreamgirls in 1981 just before the show opened. It hadn't yet been reviewed. I went because I knew the story was based loosely on the Supremes. No one knew what a Jennifer Holliday was back then or what a Jennifer Holliday could do.

We found out when she sang And I Am Telling You. The audience gave her a thunderous standing ovation.

[jack020]

I still got a copy of the Dreamgirls Playbill signed by her that I found in a thriftshop in Florida some twenty years ago.
I saw Dreamgirls in its first run on Broadway, but her understudy Roz Ryan was performing that show.

[alanh]

On first listen, I have to say I'm slightly disappointed with the new album. It's really great to have Jennifer back with a secular album, but firstly I'm not sure about some of the song choices. The first half covers 'standards' like 'The Look Of Love', 'At Last' and 'The Song Is You' - and in all honesty they are songs that have either been recorded far too many times already or in versions that are already the standouts. Do we really need another 'Look Of Love'? Later songs [[the whole album is covers) are more contemporary and a couple of those don't really do much for me. However the real corkers are Jennifer's own version of 'The One You Used To Be' [[which she sings the socks off) and 'Love Is On The Way'. They both start with Jennifer restrained and then really getting into the songs. Others are vocally too full-on and we don't get a chance to really enjoy her full range of delivery. I suppose I've been spoiled by and have expectations compared to 'And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going'! [[For downloaders I'm also not happy that the preludes/introductions to four songs are charged as individual tracks when they are an integral introduction to the actual following song! But I guess that's Shanachie's fault, not Jennifer's!). Anyhow, that's my initial review. I stand to be disagreed with or even change my own mind with later listens!

[marv2]

Mixed feelings about Jennifer Holiday. She is very talented, no doubt. She knocked it completely out of the stratosphere when she sang and we first heard "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls back in 1981-82, but her attitude and personality all but destroyed her promising career in the years following her Broadway triumph. It's good to see she's hung in there and is back, but I will probably not be buying her newest offering.

[glencro]

If "The View" clip is any indication of the project, I'm placing my order right now

[glencro]

Mixed feelings about Jennifer Holiday. She is very talented, no doubt. She knocked it completely out of the stratosphere when she sang and we first heard "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls back in 1981-82, but her attitude and personality all but destroyed her promising career in the years following her Broadway triumph. It's good to see she's hung in there and is back, but I will probably not be buying her newest offering.

I have to agree Marv. It's really sad that she wasn't a bigger star with more recordings under her belt. Maurice White vowed not to work with her again after producing that incredible gem "Feel My Soul". A follow up album produced by him would have been awesome because her sophomore release was all over the place production wise. Then there was so much turmoil between she and Gerald Levert when he attempted to produce her that the project was scrapped. That could have been great since by that time he was producing great music for Barry White, Miki Howard, his dad and himself. She's definitely been her own worst enemy.

[splanky]

... Maurice White vowed not to work with her again after producing that incredible gem "Feel My Soul".... She's definitely been her own worst enemy.

If Maurice White promised himself to never work with a singer again, they must have been
some piece of work! Dang! I think of all of the great voices that deserved a bigger career than they got through no fault of their own and then here is Jen. Come back to me in another 20, darlin'....

[reese]

I just finished to Jennifer's new cd. I like it very much, probably her best album since her debut. As much as I love Jennifer's voice, I find most of her albums to be uneven. But in the case of this one, I think it is a very solid set throughout. Particular faves of mine are LOVE ME BY NAME, TOUCH, NOBODY DOES IT BETTER, ARE YOU LEAVING ME?, and LOVE IS ON THE WAY.

[marv2]

I have to agree Marv. It's really sad that she wasn't a bigger star with more recordings under her belt. Maurice White vowed not to work with her again after producing that incredible gem "Feel My Soul". A follow up album produced by him would have been awesome because her sophomore release was all over the place production wise. Then there was so much turmoil between she and Gerald Levert when he attempted to produce her that the project was scrapped. That could have been great since by that time he was producing great music for Barry White, Miki Howard, his dad and himself. She's definitely been her own worst enemy.

A little kindness and good manners go a long way. Talent is one thing, knowing how to interact and treat people well is another!

[mellow_q]

Jennifer Holliday has had several bouts with mental health issues over the majority of her career, which she has opened up about the last decade or so.
That may explain why she was "difficult to work with" during whatever commercial prime period she had.