Friday, July 23, 2010

You're A Shining Star

The thing is: it's not as though opera STAR Renée Fleming is in want of an audience. And yet her newest cd is a collection of indie covers (Arcade Fire, The Mars Volta, Tears for Fears) - songs she had never heard before the producers handed her a mixtape. Adventurous, okay!, but the problem I have with this album is the pretty clear "this-is-slumming-it" attitude in the interviews - maybe a touch more condescension than would be ideal ("I was heartened by the social involvement of these young artists and I was really thrilled to know there's a generation of young people coming up who care" - well, yes, non-classical musicians can care too). I would be so curious to know who exactly is listening to this album...

Honestly? There are some just-fine covers on this cd (and the novelty of Renée Fleming singing Death Cab for Cutie is going to take a few more listens to wear off), but there's a reason every critic panned this one. Crossover albums are funny things.

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