Duets - Friends & Legends

by Anne Murray

Overview

Not resting on her laurels -- 50 million records sold since her 1967 debut with "Snowbird" -- Anne Murray has teamed with legendary producer Phil Ramone on what is certainly one of the early surprises of 2008 and, moreover, one of the best recordings of her distinguished career. Many of the songs here have been mega-hits, but for this special event the Canadian thrush (whose mature voice shows an appealing rough edge these days) teamed up with a cast of all-star female vocalists and revisited some of the grand moments in her recording history. With Shelby Lynne releasing a contemporaneous tribute album to Dusty Springfield, Murray offers her own tribute to the pop-soul diva in the form of a lush, soulful duet of "I Just Fall In Love Again," with Dusty's ethereal vocal imported from her original 1979 recording, and the two voices meshing seamlessly in the aching closing verse and chorus. Lynne herself joins the proceedings on a stomping cover of Lennon-McCartney's "You Won't See Me," a real barnburner of a track made doubly incendiary by the thundering drums, soaring, Beatles-like horns, and chanting female background chorus. A beautiful orchestral arrangement and a more introspective vocal add an earthier feel to Murray's new treatment of Kenny Loggins's "Danny's Song," to which Martina McBride lends an affecting blues-tinged reading. The disc's most seductive moment is an orchestra-and-small combo waltz rendering of Murray's 1980 Grammy winner, "Could I Have This Dance," featuring a silky vocal contribution from Amy Grant. Emmylou Harris, Celtic Woman, Shania Twain, k. d. lang, and Sarah Brightman (on a feisty rendition of "Snowbird") make the most of their moments as well, and Murray knocks everything out of the park, without any performance enhancers save her own impeccable vocal artistry.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/15/2008
Label:	Manhattan Records
UPC:	0094638627821
catalogNumber:	86278

Tracks

1. Danny's Song
2. I Just Fall in Love Again
3. Another Pot O' Tea
4. Daydream Believer
5. Somebody's Always Saying Goodbye
6. Song for the Mira
7. Time Don't Run Out on Me
8. Cotton Jenny
9. A Love Song
10. You Needed Me
11. Nobody Loves Me Like You Do
12. You Won't See Me
13. Could I Have This Dance
14. A Little Good News
15. Snowbird
16. When I Fall in Love
17. Si Jamais Je Te Revois (If I Ever See You Again)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Anne Murray   Primary Artist,Vocals,Background Vocals
Gil Goldstein   Strings,Accordion,Conductor
Doug Riley   Keyboards
Bob Carlisle   French Horn
Abe Appleman   Violin
Kevin Axt   Bass
Diane Barere   Cello
Elena Barere   Violin,Concert Master
Virgil Blackwell   Bass Clarinet
Peter Bleakney   Bass
Peter Cardinali   Bass,Background Vocals
Jim Cox   Keyboards
Gary Craig   Drums
David Finck   Electric Bass
Michael Francis   Background Vocals
Brian Gatto   Keyboards
Hae Young Ham   Violin
Georges Hebert   Guitar
Birch Johnson   Tenor Trombone
Tony Kadleck   Trumpet
Barry Keane   Percussion,Drums,Background Vocals
Jeanne LeBlanc   Cello
Ann Leathers   Violin
Richard Locker   Cello
Brent Mason   Electric Guitar
Rob Mathes   Strings,Conductor
Steve Nathan   Keyboards
Dean Parks   Guitar
Shawn Pelton   Drums
Lou Pomanti   Organ,Piano,Electric Piano,Background Vocals
Michael Rhodes   Bass
Steve Sexton   Keyboards
Pamela Sklar   Bass Flute
Andy Snitzer   Trumpet,Alto Saxophone
Biff Watson   Acoustic Guitar
Gregg Field   Drums
Diane Lesser   English Horn
Billy Masters   Electric Guitar
Craig Mumm   Viola
Carol Webb   Violin
Jeff Kievit   Trumpet
Dawn Langstroth   Background Vocals
Aidan Mason   Guitar
David Chan   Violin
Chris Hall   Tuba
Phil Myers   French Horn
Nathan Moore   Background Vocals
Chris Caswell   Keyboards
Enrico DiCecco   Violin
Jonathan Dinklage   Violin
Katherine Fink   Alto Flute
Irene Breslaw   Viola
Katherine Fong   Violin
Desiree Elsevier   Viola
Catherine Ro   Violin
Eva Burmeister   Violin
Vincent Lionti   Viola

Technical Credits

Anne Murray   Producer,Audio Production
Gordon Lightfoot   Composer
John Stewart   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Kenny Loggins   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Gil Goldstein   Horn Arrangements,Woodwind Arrangement
Gerry Goffin   Composer
Jeff Balding   Engineer
Charlie Black   Composer
Rory Michael Bourke   Composer
Jim Cox   rhythm arrangement
Steve Dorff   Composer
Frank Filipetti   Engineer
Randy Goodrum   Composer
Edward Heyman   Composer
Robert John "Mutt" Lange   Producer
Harry Lloyd   Composer
Gene MacLellan   Composer
Rob Mathes   Horn Arrangements,Woodwind Arrangement
Doug McClement   Engineer
Bob McDill   Composer
Phil Ramone   Producer,Audio Production
Bill Rice   Composer
Schmitt   Engineer
Gloria Sklerov   Composer
Jeff Wolpert   Engineer
Victor Young   Composer
Larry Herbstritt   Composer
Larry LeBlanc   Liner Notes
Peter Hamilton   Engineer
Glenn Matullo   Engineer
Allister MacGillivray   Composer
Tommy Rocco   Composer
Pamela Phillips   Composer
Paul Grady   Composer
George Seara   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

For her 34th studio album, Anne Murray recorded a set of duets with many of her favorite female singers, from Nelly Furtado to Sarah Brightman. There are a number of country duet partners here, such as Shania Twain, Emmylou Harris, and Martina McBride, but there are even more pop-oriented women singing with Murray, encompassing the likes of Celtic Woman and Celine Dion. This makes perfect sense, as Murray's always straddled the pop-country fence effortlessly. Her singing on Duets: Friends and Legends is just as effortless. Now in her fifth decade as an active recording artist, her voice hasn't lost a beat, sounding just as pure and clear as it did on 1970s "Snowbird" (done here with a surprisingly relaxed, easy vocal from Brightman, sounding for all the world like a young Olivia Newton-John). The majority of these songs are ones which have been sizeable hits for Murray in the past, most of which work nicely recast as duets, or at least showcases for harmony singing. There are exceptions, of course: sadly, the late Dusty Springfield's voice doesn't fit "I Just Fall in Love Again" at all, and Nelly Furtado sounds mightily out of place on "Daydream Believer." But for each of those there's an Emmylou Harris on "Another Pot o' Tea," k.d. lang matching Murray perfectly on "A Love Song," and most of all, Shania Twain showing up with what might be the best vocal of her career on the classic "You Needed Me." Murray clearly inspired most of her duet partners to bring their "A" games, and since she's pretty much always on hers (and Phil Ramone, of all people, provides sterling production which knows when to stay out of the way), what results is often magical.

All Music Guide - Thomas Inskeep