I’ve seen Kerry Ellis perform live twice, once as Elphaba in Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked and then as a lead soloist in this year’s Night of 1000 Voices at the Royal Albert Hall. She also features on the DVD of the Royal Albert Hall production of Chess as Svetlana.
When I saw her in Wicked, I remember being somewhat underwhelmed. She had a lot of internet buzz about her portrayal of Elphaba being wonderful, as is often the case with hype, I felt a bit let down. I saw her back in 2008, and whilst I remember little of her performance, her co-star Dianne Pilkington as Glinda is still memorable.
But the one thing Ellis does possess in a wonderful voice, seen clearly in Chess (where I believe, vocally at least, she should have been cast as Florence) and I really got hooked on her as a performer when I saw her in May, singing songs as diverse as ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and ‘Don’t’ Cry for Me Argentina’.
Once she finishes in Oliver! where she is currently playing Nancy, Ellis has announced that she will be taking a break from acting and this album with Brian May is her foray into a career as a music performer.
The album features a couple of tracks that have been previously released ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘I’m Not That Girl’ from Wicked, but with a rock riff and ‘No One But You’ which you can hear her sing on the Original London recording of We Will Rock You, although the version on the album is longer and slightly more acoustic.
As I’ve said, Ellis has an incredible voice, seen particularly on this recording in ‘This Can’t Be Over’ and the beautiful ‘You Have to be There’ from the musical Kristina.
My only issue with the album is the sometime gratuitous electric guitar solos and riffs throughout some of the songs, most notably in ‘Anthem’ from Chess, which starts with a lovely piano based backing, but then an electric guitar smashes through the bridge, which unbalances the song, in my opinion.
Generally though, I wish Ellis the best of luck with her album, she certainly has the type of voice that deserves to be heard.
When I saw her in Wicked, I remember being somewhat underwhelmed. She had a lot of internet buzz about her portrayal of Elphaba being wonderful, as is often the case with hype, I felt a bit let down. I saw her back in 2008, and whilst I remember little of her performance, her co-star Dianne Pilkington as Glinda is still memorable.
But the one thing Ellis does possess in a wonderful voice, seen clearly in Chess (where I believe, vocally at least, she should have been cast as Florence) and I really got hooked on her as a performer when I saw her in May, singing songs as diverse as ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and ‘Don’t’ Cry for Me Argentina’.
Once she finishes in Oliver! where she is currently playing Nancy, Ellis has announced that she will be taking a break from acting and this album with Brian May is her foray into a career as a music performer.
The album features a couple of tracks that have been previously released ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘I’m Not That Girl’ from Wicked, but with a rock riff and ‘No One But You’ which you can hear her sing on the Original London recording of We Will Rock You, although the version on the album is longer and slightly more acoustic.
As I’ve said, Ellis has an incredible voice, seen particularly on this recording in ‘This Can’t Be Over’ and the beautiful ‘You Have to be There’ from the musical Kristina.
My only issue with the album is the sometime gratuitous electric guitar solos and riffs throughout some of the songs, most notably in ‘Anthem’ from Chess, which starts with a lovely piano based backing, but then an electric guitar smashes through the bridge, which unbalances the song, in my opinion.
Generally though, I wish Ellis the best of luck with her album, she certainly has the type of voice that deserves to be heard.
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